AAA estimated nationwide, more than 53 million people will head out of town this holiday weekend.
Many of the local travelers Action News spoke with were college students -- happy to have a break from school, no matter the troubles of transportation.
"It was very long, a lot of traffic, delayed by half an hour," said Rajvir Singh.
He and his college roommate are back in Fresno from U.C. Davis.
RELATED: Fresno airport prepares for Thanksgiving holiday travel rush
About a million people will take a bus, boat, or train.
"It wasn't my first idea -- it was my mom, she planned it, I'm just along for the ride," said Carson Enderle, who is taking an Amtrak train from Fresno to Sacramento.
Enderle said it was a better option than sitting in a car for four hours.
But most Americans will be doing just that. AAA says 48 million people will spend hours in a car, often in bumper-to-bumper traffic.
About 4.2 million will board a plane.
Locally, Fresno Yosemite International Airport said it expects a 10% increase in air travel compared to 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.