DRIVIN' FOR MILES

Texas accelerates to No. 1 on list of best states for road trips this summer

Siri, take me to Texas.

Photo by Getty Images

Summer's just getting started in the Lone Star State, and so is the summer travel season. Good news for in-state adventurers - especially those who prefer not to fly: Texas is the No. 1 state for a summer road trip, according to the latest report by personal finance website WalletHub.

With a total score of 60.33, Texas sped into the top spot in 2023 after ranking third in WalletHub's 2022 report (score: 56.63). New York, which ranked first last year, slipped into second place in the new report, while Maine fell all the way down into No. 10 after ranking second-best in 2022.

The analysis takes 32 different metrics into consideration to determine the rankings for the 2023 edition of the "Best and Worst States for Summer Road Trips". One factor is the price of gas, which currently is more than $3.50 per gallon nationally but about $3.21 in Texas, according to AAA. Only two other states in the WalletHub report - Louisiana and Mississippi - had lower costs to fill up the tank.

Other factors include camping costs, road safety, number of recreational activities, and more. And travelers can't forget about one major monetary inconvenience: inflation.

Texas earned a respectable No. 7 ranking for costs, and did even better in the category of activities, coming in at No. 5.

Texans already know how fun their home state is, with activities ranging from exploring some of the state's best parks, to trying out urban treasure hunting, to visiting world-class local museums. It's no surprise WalletHub agreed.

In terms of safety, Texas ranked a less desirable No. 38. The top five safest states for road trips, in order, are Maine (No. 10 overall), Vermont (No. 27 overall), New Hampshire (No. 34 overall), Iowa (No. 21 overall) and Wyoming (No. 8 overall).

The top 10 best summer road trip destinations are:

No. 1 – Texas
No. 2 – New York
No. 3 – North Carolina
No. 4 – Ohio
No. 5 – Idaho
No. 6 – Louisiana
No. 7 – Florida
No. 8 – Wyoming
No. 9 – Minnesota
No. 10 – Maine

The worst summer road trip destinations, as decided by WalletHub, are Montana (No. 46), Hawaii (No. 47), Connecticut (No. 48), Delaware (No. 49), and Rhode Island (No. 50).

The full report and its methodology can be found on wallethub.com.

travel Road Trip texas WalletHub reports

Holiday News

American Airlines expects record-setting travel on Thanksgiving 2024

Photo courtesy of American Airlines

American Airlines ready for takeoff.

The holidays are looming and American Airlines is ramping up. Over the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend, the Fort Worth-based airline expects to process nearly 8.3 million customers across more than 77,000 flights.

According to a statement from American's COO David Seymour, the airline is having a good fall season and canceled fewer flights than its peers during October.

“Thanks to the hard work of our 130,000 team members, we canceled fewer flights than any of our major competitors this October and beat our own records for on-time departures and arrivals,” Seymour says.

That's surely good news. One hates to rain on their parade, but in June 2024, the only flight I booked this year, my flight was canceled less than 24 hours before take-off. I had made hotel reservations, scheduled a pet sitter, planned events, and arranged for a friend to pick me up at the destination airport. One employee speculated that it may have been "insufficient crew." Their only solution offered was: Feel free to reschedule your flight.

Thanksgiving facts and figures
The travel window runs from November 21 to December 3, and the airline expects to carry more than 500,000 more customers than it did last year.

The most-traveled day will be Sunday, December 1. The second most-traveled day will be Monday, December 2.

The peak of peak: 1,035 mainline and regional aircraft will be enroute at 10:45 am on Sunday, December 1 — the highest number of flights handled at any given time during American’s travel period.

The airline expects to serve more than 6.8 million Biscoff cookies on board from November 21 to December 3.

Travel tips
Download the American Airlines app and check in for your flight, noting added any bags to your trip. This will save you time at the airport.

If traveling internationally, download the Mobile Passport Control app, which can speed up your entry into the U.S. Global Entry members can download the Global Entry app, which allows you to submit your entry and go straight to the officer.

Upon arrival at the airport lobby, scan your mobile boarding pass to print bag tags quickly at a kiosk. If you’re not checking bags, go straight to TSA security with your mobile boarding pass.

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