Well, if you're watching this, hopefully you've already hit the roads or hopped a flight to wherever you're going this holiday season.

If not, well, you can expect some big crowds at the airport and traffic on the roads.

The Port Authority says we're in the middle of a peak travel period lasting from yesterday until January 2nd.

Melissa Rose Cooper talked to travelers today to get a sense of the holiday rush just days before Christmas.

Hundreds of people waiting patiently inside Newark Airport as they look over their luggage to hit the baggage carousel.

Some even taking the opportunity to take photos with loved ones, while others like Samantha Podlas passing the time with her furry friends Ace and Bomber, after flying in from Georgia.

It's been good.

There's a lot of people right now, and the plane was definitely crowded.

But doing it alone with these two could have been worse.

So it was.

Good.

Podlas is used to traveling for the holidays to see her family in Newburgh, but says this time was a little different.

Definitely busier this year, I would say.

But I didn't even have dogs last year, the last two years because I moved away three years ago.

But this year is definitely busier.

The last two years or more smooth sailing.

She's one of millions of Americans traveling during what Triple A is calling the busiest holiday travel season in years.

Spokesperson Tracey Noble says 2.6 million New Jersey residents are expected to get out of town this year.

That's up 2.7% from 2022.

We are actually seeing travel up across all modes of transportation for the year end holidays.

So automobile travel is up 2.1%.

Air travel is up 5.1%.

And other modes of transportation is actually up 16.3%.

So a huge jump in those traveling by train, bus or cruising.

And as you can see, things are pretty busy here at the airport.

But travelers say the crowds aren't stopping their excitement from spending time with their families.

We'll be here for New York for three days and into Philadelphia to visit family for three days and then back home to Florence.

Noble, attributing the increase in travel to a slight drop in overall prices.

Well, we've seen our prices come down a little bit compared to where they were last year.

So people took advantage of those cheaper prices.

And we've we've also seen seen some relief at the gas pump.

So prices are trending much lower than they were a year ago.

Over the past couple of days, they've fluctuated a little bit, but there are still plenty of stations across New Jersey that are selling gas at below $3 a gallon.

Another reason why driving remains the top mode of travel.

We've got 2.4 million New Jerseyans that are going to be driving to their holiday destination.

That's 90, almost 90% of those that are traveling.

And it still remains the easiest way to move a family.

So if you are a family of four or five and you're all going to the same place, it's much cheaper to throw everybody in the car than it is to pay for airfare or, say, cruise fare.

We know that our roadways are going to be extremely busy.

So if you can if you are an early bird or a night owl, leaving early or late is your best option or taking the road less traveled.

So route yourself off the major highways, take a scenic route.

It might be longer, but you have a better chance of staying, you know, moving forward instead of sitting in traffic.

And same goes for the airports.

If you are flying to your destination, get to the airport much earlier than you originally would.

And whether you're hitting the road or the skies this holiday season, Noble says it's always best to practice a little extra patience to make sure everyone makes it to and from their destination safely.

For NJ Spotlight News, I'm Melissa Rose Cooper.