AAA is projecting that more than 54 million Americans will travel nationwide over this Thanksgiving holiday, a 4.8-percent increase over last year, or 2.5 million travelers. This is also predicted to be the highest Thanksgiving travel volume since 2005. This is despite higher gas prices at the pump with the national average at $2.79 as of Nov. 1, a 31-cent increase over this same time last year.

The largest number of travelers will take to the road, with 48.5 million driving — a 5-percent increase over last year. While 4.27 million will fly, a 5.4-percent increase over last year, 1.48 million will take trains, buses and cruise ships, an increase of 1.4 percent.