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Wide shot of family loading rental car with luggage while on vacation

Source: Thomas Barwick / Getty

Inflation is gobbling up the Thanksgiving travel budgets this year. Expect to fork over more cash this year.
If you haven’t booked your trip yet make sure you set up price alerts for flights and car rentals. Using websites like Autoslash or Kayak.com can help you stay within your budget by letting you plug in your itinerary and price. They’ll send you an alert when the price is right.
If you’re not doing the cooking on Turkey Day, why not just show up in time for dinner. Ramona Holloway says she’s gotten some great deals by flying on Thanksgiving Day and she says there were no long lines to stand in. You will pay the highest prices and face the largest crowds if you plan to leave between Friday, November 18th and Wednesday, November 23rd.

Some trips are cheaper on an Amtrak train than flying. Check trainbuster.com

For the road trip some drivers are turning to services like FlexCar for weekly car rentals.

While driving your own vehicle is usually most cost effective, gas prices can differ a lot from exit-to-exit in the interstates. Make sure you have an app like gasbuddy.com that tells you where you can find the cheapest gas in the area. Between I-77 around Rock Hill, SC and I-77 near Concord, NC you could up to a $1/gallon difference in the price of gas.