Traveling This Thanksgiving? Here’s Insider Info on the Best Time to Leave in New Jersey

Be prepared - it's gonna be a busy Thanksgiving on the roads.

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It's no surprise - Thanksgiving travel is going to be busier this year than it was last year, per AAA. And that's not shocking considering we were all advised to stay home last holiday.

Since more and more people will be out on the roads, I thought it would be a good idea to help you prepare for your travel. Ever heard of "Mapping Thanksgiving" from Google Trends? It's a really neat tool that shows what states are searching on Google around the holiday.

There's a specific section for Thanksgiving Travel. Since the results don't specifically focus on New Jersey, I pulled both New York and Philadelphia since those are the state's 2 closest major cities, and probably where our travelers are headed.

The results didn't vary all that much between the two cities. If you're heading out on Thanksgiving, the best time to do it is Wednesday at 4 am (better load up on that coffee), and the worst time to go is Wednesday at 4 pm (did somebody say rush hour?) I remember when my Dad picked me up from college the night before Thanksgiving 11 years ago (yikes) and we got stuck in major traffic on Route 1. So I'd say this info checks out.

When you're coming back home, Google says your best bet is to leave on Friday morning at 4 am. Then the info differs when it comes to the worst time to head back home - for New York, the worst time is Sunday at 3 pm, but in Philly, the worst time is Saturday at 3 pm.

I guess more people are staying an extra day in the Big Apple.

Happy traveling!