If you’re traveling for the holidays, you will have lots of company. AAA forecasts a record number of travelers over the next couple of weeks, including 1.7 million Oregonians.
Marie Dodds with AAA Oregon told KLCC most people are going by vehicle. And with more rain, wind, flooding and mountain snow this week, she advised checking conditions before you hit the road, and to give yourself lots of time.
“Look at the weather forecast for the places you’re going,” she said. “Make sure you and your vehicle and all of your passengers are ready for winter weather, whether that means snow or lots of rain.”
Dodds also advised checking TripCheck.com, a website operated by the Oregon Department of Transportation. She said AAA projects it may take twice as long to get where you’re going on some routes in the region.
She said the most popular days to travel are this Friday and Saturday, and next Friday and Saturday after Christmas.
Triple-A projects more than 122 million Americans are traveling during these final weeks of the year.
Dodds said the high travel numbers are on trend with other holiday periods throughout 2025.
“This is shaping up to be a record year for travel,” she said. “And, every holiday AAA does a travel projection, and every holiday this year, we’ve broken records. And that’s the case for the year-end holidays.”
Dodds said while most people are traveling by car, airline travel is at a record high too.
Dodds said the cost of domestic flights, hotels and rental cars is up compared to last year. But gas prices are lower nationally.
Regionally, Bend is the most popular destination. Nationally, the hot places are Los Angeles/Anaheim, Las Vegas, and Maui. The top international destinations are Barcelona, Los Cabos, and Tokyo, according to AAA.
