Planning on traveling out of Boston this 4th of July? Here’s what to expect

We are one day away from the Fourth of July, and people across the nation, especially in Massachusetts, will be celebrating.

If you’re planning to travel Wednesday and can get on the road now, you’ll be in good shape, as traffic is moving well.

However, as the day goes on, the roads are expected to get more crowded.

In fact, AAA says it expects nearly 71 million people are traveling over the Fourth of July holiday week, with more than 60 million of them projected to be driving to their destination.

The travel expert is once again expecting record numbers for this holiday. And that seems to be the trend after travel numbers dipped during the pandemic.

“We’re finding that post-pandemic, people are traveling differently, more people have remote work flexibility now, so what people are doing — many people — they’re leaving the weekend before, they’re working remotely from their destination a couple of days and then they’re taking a vacation and coming back,” said Aixa Diaz, AAA spokesperson. “What that does is – it gives you flexibility, you feel like you’re on vacation because you’re away, you’re not at home, so your routine is different, but you’re able to work remotely, not take as many vacation days.”

So, when’s the best and worst times to travel?

Wednesday and Thursday between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. is when you want to avoid being on the roads. If you can get going before noon, that’ll be your best time to travel.

Then on Friday, from 11 a.m. through 4 p.m., will likely be a rough ride on the roads, while travel before 10am is recommended.

And travel experts suggest avoiding rush hour because that will also add to congestion on the roads.