The worst times to travel for the Fourth of July
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Expect delays whether you're traveling by car or by plane for the Fourth of July weekend.
What's happening: Nearly 51 million people in the United States are projected to travel over the extended Fourth of July weekend, according to AAA.
Why it matters: That's the highest number on record for Americans traveling by car and air over the Independence Day holiday.
- This year’s projection surpasses the previous July 4th weekend record set in 2019 of 49 million travelers.
What's happening: In the Bay Area, AAA projects a peak congestion period Friday at noon, when it anticipates a trip from San Francisco to Sacramento taking 2 hours and 18 minutes, about 48% longer than normal.
- Generally speaking, the best times to travel by car are in the morning or after 6pm, according to INRIX, which provides transportation data and analysis.
- Meanwhile, Friday is expected to be the busiest day of the holiday weekend at San Francisco International Airport, Doug Yakel, a spokesperson with the airport, told Axios San Francisco.
- SFO expects about 155,000 passengers traveling in and out of the airport Friday, representing about 90% of what the airport saw during this time in 2019.
- Between Friday and July 4th, SFO expects about 735,000 passengers in total.
Be smart: Unless you've gone all-electric, you're going to need gas if you're hitting the road.
- The average cost of regular gas in the San Francisco Bay Area is about $4.85/gallon, according to GasBuddy.
- Yes, but: GasBuddy has a handy tool to track down some of the cheapest gas in the area. In San Francisco proper, the cheapest gas is $4.39/gallon at Marathon Gas in the Richmond, per GasBuddy.
What's next: If you get stuck at the airport, be on the lookout for the Wag Brigade, a group of therapy animals designed to make air travel suck just a little bit less.