Holiday headaches
AAA predicts a record 5.6 million Texans will travel for the 4th of July
Maybe just stay home for the holiday.
Get ready to share the roads, Texas drivers: A new report by AAA Texas is predicting the highest travel volume on record during the 2024 Independence Day holiday week. An estimated 5.6 million Texans are expected to take a trip at some point during the nine-day period from Saturday, June 29, to Sunday, July 7.
The statewide projection is a 5.2 percent increase over last year's travel numbers, and an 8.3 percent hike from 2019, the report found. Driving has consistently been the most popular form of transportation during the holiday period — with 4.8 million people expected to travel by car in 2024 — followed by 555,000 estimated air travelers, and 242,000 taking public transportation.
It's enough to make Austin residents want to stay home and enjoy all the great local fireworks and events around town.
Summer break is the perfect time for a quick getaway to a family-friendly destination now that children are out of school, and there's no better place to be than Texas, which outshined the rest of the nation as the No. 1 state for for summer road trips in 2024. But don't forget to check your vehicle tires, battery, and fluid levels before embarking on that long road trip, as AAA Texas expects to rescue over 41,000 stranded Texas drivers during the holiday period.
The report says the top destinations in Texas are mostly located on the coast or near a body of water, like Galveston, Corpus Christi, or the San Antonio River Walk. But the beloved Texas Hill Country, plus major cities like Houston, Dallas, and Austin, weren't too far behind.
Drivers moving through Dallas should be especially cautious while on the road, as Hertz says the city is expected to see the highest rental car demand during the Independence Holiday holiday week in 2024. One can only imagine the number of non-residents taking to Dallas' traffic-ridden highways in a rental car. The busiest rental car pick-up days are expected to fall on June 28-29, and July 4. Other high-demand cities include Denver, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
Nationally, AAA Texas predicts nearly 71 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles over Independence Day week in 2024. Though most Americans will be traveling domestically, AAA Texas vice president and general manager Galen Grillo says many people will also be heading out of the country for the occasion.
"We anticipate this July 4th week will be the busiest for this holiday ever," Grillo says in a release. "Travel is in high gear this summer with more people not only booking domestic trips, but AAA travel advisors are seeing more international and cruise bookings as many people are taking bucket list vacations."
For those who will be flying for Independence Day, make sure to arrive at the airport at least two hours for domestic flights, or three hours prior to an international flight. And try not to check a bag if it can be avoided, just in case there are any flight delays or cancelations.
