*By Chloe Aiello* Airports nationwide are gearing up for one of the busiest holiday travel weekends on record. But thrifty procrastinators take heart: there may still be some workarounds to help save money on holiday travel this year. [AAA projects](https://newsroom.aaa.com/2018/11/thanksgiving-travel-forecast-2018/) 54.3 million Americans will hit the roads, rails or sky this Thanksgiving weekend. That's the most travelers since 2005, and a close to 5 percent jump from last year. The vast majority of travelers will drive, but airports still expect to field their fair share of passengers ー an estimated 4.3 million, according to AAA. "It's a bottleneck. Thanksgiving suddenly everyone seems to be traveling all at once, in particular travelers who don't travel very much," Mark Ellwood, contributing editor at Conde Nast Traveler told Cheddar on Wednesday. But not all airports ー or travel days ー are created equal. Hopper, an app that predicts and recommends travel routes, ranked the season's busiest airports and days for travel. Wednesday, Nov. 21 is by far the most popular day to depart for Thanksgiving destinations, whereas Sunday, Nov. 25, is the most popular for return trips, Hopper said. As far as airports go, Atlanta is the most popular. An estimated 1.2 million passengers are scheduled to take off from Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport. It's followed closely by Los Angeles International Airport and O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, which anticipate an estimated 1.1 million departures each. Airports in Denver, New York City, San Francisco, Charlotte, North Carolina, Orlando and Seattle round out the top 10. "My main tip really is get out early, try and give yourself at least two hours ... whatever you can do to give yourself as much time as possible, especially if you're going through these busiest airports," Liana Corwin, consumer travel expert at Hopper told Cheddar on Wednesday. And while it may be a little late to save big bucks on flights for the Thanksgiving weekend, there are a few ways frugal travelers can get the best travel value over the holidays ー especially if they're willing to go the extra mile when making travel plans. "If you haven't booked your Thanksgiving travel yet, you are on the later side, and of course flights will be more expensive," Calvin Iverson, travel expert at travel deals website TravelPirates, told Cheddar on Wednesday. Iverson recommended a few hacks for off-price adventurers, including taking trains or buses, flying out from alternative airlines, or booking a "combo trip," which means booking a flight one way, then finding a different way home. "In addition to all that, this is the best time to check in on your points. If you have frequent flyer miles that you haven't used or if your credit card offers rewards, take a look, see, you might have a free flight that you didn't know you could book," he added. And for those looking to take the path less traveled, Iverson recommended some alternative destinations for holiday or winter getaways. "Colder weather usually means fewer tourists, so in the U.S., I like to recommend northern cities, like New York or Boston ... and seasonal beach towns," he said. "You can go to Cape Cod for really good prices, or head down to the Hamptons. North Carolina and South Carolina have great beach towns, too, and this time of year, you can get a much better price." Lastly for those budget hounds willing to wait out Thanksgiving weekend entirely, airlines offer some of the best deals of the season on the Tuesday after Cyber Monday, or what Hopper calls "Travel Deal Tuesday." Hopper is already promoting deals on fares to destinations like Honolulu; Reykjavík, Iceland; Sapporo, Japan; and Cape Town, South Africa. "The Tuesday after Thanksgiving actually has consistently the most airfare sales of the entire post-Thanksgiving sale period ... that's really when airlines are going to be putting out their best deals of the entire year," Corwin said. For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/millions-take-to-the-skies-in-thanksgiving-travel-rush).
