If you’re among the millions of Americans planning to travel this Fourth of July, hopefully you’re heading in a direction where gas prices are lower.
While Pennsylvania prices this week dropped 2.4 cents per gallon, Bradford’s have not budged and stand still at $3.899.
As of Monday, according to GasBuddy reports, motorists in the Keystone State could expect to pay an average of $3.62 per gallon — 15.1 cents less than last month and 0.3 cents less than last year. The national average price for a gallon of gasoline is even less, at $3.41, again according to GasBuddy.
AAA estimates nearly 71 million Americans will travel over the upcoming week of July Fourth this year — almost 61 million of them by car.
For its reports, AAA defines the holiday travel period as the nine-day stretch from Saturday to July 7.
In the Mid-Atlantic region, which according to AAA includes Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey, 9.7 million people are projected to travel 50 miles or more from home.
Nationally, the projection reflects a 5% increase from 2023 and an 8% jump from 2019.
“Americans are embracing the opportunity to travel over the Independence Day holiday in record-breaking numbers,” said Bevi Powell, senior vice president, AAA East Central. “Whether by car, plane or train, we are seeing more people planning extended trips over the holiday to celebrate with family and friends.”
Regionally, the 8.1 million people projected to travel by car over the holiday stretch is a 4.5% increase in vehicular traffic. Another 900,000 will fly and another 725,000 will travel by some other means, such as bus, train or ship.
National travel projections exceed pre-pandemic numbers, according to AAA. The nearly 61 million setting off by car exceeds 2019’s total of 55.3 million. The estimated 5.7 million who will fly to their holiday destination is a 12% increase from 2019. Buses, cruises and trains will shuttle another 4.6 million folks, up 9% from 2023, but still just shy of the 4.79 million these methods moved back in ’19.
The average price for domestic roundtrip airfare is $800. Dallas, Denver, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles and San Francisco have the highest rental demand during the holiday week, according to Hertz. Cities expected to see the most holiday travelers are Seattle domestically, and Vancouver, Canada, internationally.
“Vancouver and Anchorage are top destinations because of the popularity of Alaska cruises this time of year,” AAA officials said in their holiday report. “Beaches in South Florida, Honolulu, Punta Cana and Barcelona are in high demand. Historical sites in European cities like London, Rome, Dublin, Paris and Athens are also popular.”
Regardless of the destination, if you’re traveling with family a few checklist items could help make for a successful trip. Check the fit and installation of car seats, secure loose items, pack an emergency kit, map routes ahead of time and bring chargers and entertainment.
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