AAA Holiday Travel Forecast For New England

Almost 2 million New Englanders — or 13.3 percent of the population — are expected to travel this Thanksgiving, taking to roads, rails and the air to gather round turkey-topped tables with family and friends.

That would be about a .06 percent increase over the region's travel numbers last Thanksgiving.

Most New England Thanksgiving travel will take place on the road, about 1.71 million people traveling by motor vehicle, according to the AAA Thanksgiving Travel Forecast.

That number of road warriors would represent a modest increase — about .07 percent — over the 2011 figure.

Air travel is expected to slip a little, dropping 1.6 percent from last year's numbers in New England, the forecast states. 

Nationally, 43.6 million Americans are expected to travel for Turkey Day, or about 13.8 percent of the population, says AAA. And the mode of travel will be overwhelmingly be by vehicle. An estimated 90 percent of the nation's travelers will make their Thanksgiving sojourns by car, according to AAA.

The travel numbers for New England and the nation are comparable to last year's numbers, so they are not expected to be hobbled by high pump prices.

Nationwide, gas prices increased 15 percent from early July through mid-October.

To help you find the best price for gas and navigate roads that can grow crowded with traffic, here are two apps to load up with before you hit the road.

• GasBuddy‘s mobile app lets you search for gas prices by city, state, zip code, with listings for all cities in the USA and Canada. 
• Waze turns to other drivers in your area who share real-time traffic and road info, saving everyone time and gas money on their daily commute.

Feel free to share any tips you may for your fellow travleres by entering them in the comments box.