The Busiest Travel Days for Fourth of July - NerdWallet (2024)

Making Fourth of July travel predictions is tricky this year because the holiday falls midweek, on a Thursday. Some folks may take Monday off to enjoy a long weekend, while others may save their vacation time for a different holiday.

With that in mind, here’s some guidance around booking July Fourth weekend air travel in 2024 and how you might be able to avoid the crowds (and potentially save money on airfare).

The Busiest Travel Days for Fourth of July - NerdWallet (1)

The best and worst days to fly July Fourth weekend

TSA collects data daily to capture the number of passengers screened at its U.S. checkpoints. NerdWallet analyzed the 2019-2022 air travel data for the seven days before and after July Fourth.

In each of the analyzed years, the Friday before July Fourth was the busiest travel day ahead of the Fourth of July weekend.

Are airports busy on July Fourth? The data shows the holiday is the least busy day to fly, with airport crowds averaging just 81% of what they are relative to the busiest travel day. The FAA's predictions show the same.

Based on an average of the analyzed years, here are the worst days to travel around July Fourth weekend, ranked from most to least crowded.

Pre-holiday:

Post-holiday:

  1. Sunday after.

  2. Monday after.

  3. Thursday after.

Instead, consider these options. Here’s what the data showed as the best days to travel over July Fourth, ranked from least to most crowded:

Pre-holiday:

  1. Saturday before.

  2. Tuesday before.

  3. Sunday before.

Post-holiday:

  1. Saturday after.

  2. Friday after.

  3. Wednesday after.

The smarter, cheaper Fourth of July travel itinerary

Based on recent historical trends, most people will kick off their Fourth of July weekend as early as possible, jetting off on the Friday before — or even ducking out of the workweek early by departing on the Thursday prior. Most travelers will likely maximize their weekends, waiting until the Sunday after the holiday to fly home.

But following typical July Fourth holiday travel patterns could mean costs in terms of airfare and time spent waiting in line at the airport. Deviate from that schedule to find lighter crowds and perhaps better July Fourth flight deals, too.

Try these travel days instead:

Embrace Saturday travel: Rather than rush out from work on Friday afternoon to jump on a flight, relax at home that evening and depart Saturday morning instead. Simply shifting your trip by one day could likely result in going from one of the busiest to lightest travel days of the July Fourth travel period.

The same goes for traveling back home. While it can be tempting to extend your trip as long as possible before work starts on Monday, skip the Sunday flight and fly home on Saturday instead. Bonus: You’ll give yourself a day at home to rest and recover before you hit the next workweek (how responsible of you).

Fly on July Fourth: If you don’t mind traveling on the holiday, you’re looking at the single emptiest air travel day of the period analyzed.

Do one better by flying out early on the holiday. Travel booking app Hopper’s spring 2023 Flight Disruption Outlook found that flights that depart from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. are half as likely to be delayed versus flights with scheduled departure times after 9 a.m.

Plus, a morning flight improves your odds of catching the fireworks at your final destination.

Fly on July 5: Will July 5 be a busy travel day in 2024? Likely yes. This year, July 5 falls on a Friday, one of the most expensive days to fly year-round.

July Fourth travelers in 2024 should feel leery that their flight itinerary will cost them in terms of price and airport queue congestion.

What about driving on July Fourth?

While airports will be packed, the roads won't be much better. According to AAA 2023 projections, an estimated 43.2 million people will drive to their destinations, an increase of 2.4% over 2022 and 4% higher than 2019 — and thus setting a record for the number of Americans traveling by car for the holiday.

The uptick in drivers might have something to do with gas prices. For the 2023 holiday, the national average for a gallon of regular gas has been more than $1 less over the past couple months than what it was on July 4, 2022, according to AAA.

🤓Nerdy Tip

If you are driving and are seeking to save money on gas, use gas price apps and pay with a gas credit card so you earn bonus points at gas stations.

If you're driving a car that you expect to book from a rental car agency, be prepared to pay up. The average cost of a car rental today is significantly higher than the same month in 2019 pre-pandemic, according to NerdWallet's travel price tracker, which is based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Boats and buses will be just as busy. AAA expected 3.36 million people will travel by bus, cruise, or train over the long weekend in 2023, which was 24% more than folks who used those transit methods last year.

How to maximize your rewards

You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of 2024, including those best for:

  • Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

  • No annual fee: Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card

  • Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

  • Bonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve®

  • Luxury perks: The Platinum Card® from American Express

  • Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

The Busiest Travel Days for Fourth of July - NerdWallet (2024)

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