{"id":909836,"date":"2026-07-03T13:04:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T13:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/909836\/"},"modified":"2026-07-03T13:04:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T13:04:16","slug":"record-number-of-americans-expected-to-travel-for-4th-of-july-aaa-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/909836\/","title":{"rendered":"Record number of Americans expected to travel for 4th of July, AAA says"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\"><strong>JACKSONVILLE, Fla.<\/strong> \u2013 A record number of Americans are expected to hit the road or take to the skies this Independence Day holiday, <a href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.aaa.com\/2026\/06\/72-2-million-americans-expected-to-travel-over-july-4th-week\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/newsroom.aaa.com\/2026\/06\/72-2-million-americans-expected-to-travel-over-july-4th-week\/\">according to AAA<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">The auto and travel organization projects 72.2 million people will travel during the 4th of July holiday period \u2014 up slightly from 71.8 million last year. AAA noted the overall increase is smaller compared to gains seen in previous years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Despite gas prices reaching four-year highs, 85% of Americans traveling for Independence Day are expected to drive. AAA projects about 61.4 million people will travel by car this year, compared to 61.3 million last year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">AAA has identified the best and worst times to be on the road over the next three days:<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\"><b>Friday, July 3<\/b><\/p>\n<ul class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 etvbxt font_openSans articleList\">\n<li class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Stack-vJ7SwH7U__StackBase-sc-1m5bkhd-0 evEXvX dsnUCb\">\n<p>Worst: 12\u20137 p.m.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Stack-vJ7SwH7U__StackBase-sc-1m5bkhd-0 evEXvX dsnUCb\">\n<p>Best: Before 11 a.m.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\"><b>Saturday, July 4<\/b><\/p>\n<ul class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 etvbxt font_openSans articleList\">\n<li class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Stack-vJ7SwH7U__StackBase-sc-1m5bkhd-0 evEXvX dsnUCb\">\n<p>Worst: 10 a.m.\u20132 p.m.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Stack-vJ7SwH7U__StackBase-sc-1m5bkhd-0 evEXvX dsnUCb\">\n<p>Best: After 3 p.m.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\"><b>Sunday, July 5<\/b><\/p>\n<ul class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 etvbxt font_openSans articleList\">\n<li class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Stack-vJ7SwH7U__StackBase-sc-1m5bkhd-0 evEXvX dsnUCb\">\n<p>Worst: 12\u20136 p.m.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Stack-vJ7SwH7U__StackBase-sc-1m5bkhd-0 evEXvX dsnUCb\">\n<p>Best: Before 11 a.m.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">For some travelers, the choice to drive comes down to convenience and cost. Abby Howard and Abi Scroggins, traveling from Auburn, Alabama, to Northeast Florida, said driving simply made more sense for their trip.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">\u201cCheaper,\u201d Scroggins said, \u201cA little bit easier, too. Just like logistically, we can bring more stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">The milestone nature of this year\u2019s holiday is also a contributing factor \u2014 2026 marks the nation\u2019s 250th anniversary.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">AAA says nearly 6 million people will fly domestically during the 4th of July travel week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">At Jacksonville International Airport on Friday morning, travelers were already in a festive mood \u2014 decked out in red, white and blue ahead of the holiday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">For Army veteran Jason Kirk, the trip carries special meaning. He is heading home to Chicago to celebrate with family.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">\u201c250 is quite a milestone for our country,\u201d Kirk said. \u201cI\u2019m a veteran [and] served in the military for 26 years, so it really means a lot to join with family and mark this milestone for our country.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX &#8211; All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 A record number of Americans are expected to hit the road or take to the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":909837,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5136],"tags":[29164,5229,8314,3188,723,7310,7341,18001,12013,1164,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-909836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-aaa","tag-america","tag-duval-county","tag-fl","tag-florida","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-international-airport","tag-jax","tag-morning-show","tag-travel","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116856191022065097","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/909836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=909836"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/909836\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/909837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=909836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=909836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=909836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}