2 Florida cities among top 10 worst places to travel (by car and air) for Thanksgiving

Cheryl McCloud, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union
Updated ·3 min read
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Will you be one of the millions traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday?

You might want to keep this in mind: Three Florida cities rank among the Top 15 when it comes to the worst places for holiday travel, according to Forbes Advisor.

And coming in third in the country is Jacksonville.

AAA, which tracks holiday travel, predicted 55.4 million Americans will travel more than 50 miles for Thanksgiving between Nov. 22 and Nov. 26, making it the third-highest amount of travel over Thanksgiving since 2000, behind only 2005 and 2019.

Most of those travelers, about 49.1 million, will go by road, AAA said.

Planning to fly?

The Transportation Security Administration said it expects to screen more than 30 million passengers.

Forbes Advisor compared 42 cities across 14 metrics, including three key categories: driving experience, city experience and air travel experience.

Here's what it found.

Top 10 worst cities in U.S. for holiday travel

  • Memphis, Tennessee

  • Los Angeles

  • Jacksonville, Florida

  • New York City

  • Tucson, Arizona

  • Oklahoma City

  • Miami

  • Indianapolis, Indiana

  • Colorado Springs

  • San Antonio, Texas

Thanksgiving travel: Orlando, Miami lead list of worst airports to fly out of in U.S.

Florida holiday forecast: Will it rain in Florida for Thanksgiving? National Weather Service, AccuWeather forecasts

Jacksonville, Florida, ranks third in U.S. as worst cities for holiday travel

The boardwalk near the pier in Jacksonville Beach has many popular restaurants and stores for locals and visitors alike. Tourism in the greater Jacksonville area is good for business. There are many local venues and attractions that serve as draws to locals and tourists alike. The beaches of Jacksonville Beach offer sand, surf, sun and water sports of all kinds. The St. Johns River serves commerce, commercial and recreational fishing especially in the area around the Village of Mayport. On Wednesday July 26, 2017 a variety of those activities were photographed. (Bob Mack/Florida Times-Union)

Jacksonville's scores:

  • Driving experience: 90.63

  • City experience: 66.67

  • Air travel experience: 46.96

  • Overall score: 76.60 out of 100

According to Forbes, Jacksonville had the worst walk score (25.6) and the third worst transit score (20.8).

Jacksonville stands out as the city with the:

  • Seventh highest number of people involved in fatal crashes between November and January (11 per 100,000 city residents).

  • Seventh highest number of weather-related car accidents in November, December and January (192).

  • Eighth fewest restaurants with four or more stars on Tripadvisor (744).

Miami ranks 7th as worst city in U.S. for holiday travel

Miami’s scores:

  • Driving experience: 87.98

  • City experience: 24.59

  • Air travel experience: 84.48

  • Overall score: 71.29 out of 100

Miami ranks third worst in the category assessing air travel experience due, in part, to Miami International Airport having the highest number of property loss and damage claims during the holiday season (2.16 claims per 100,000 domestic passengers) between 2013 and 2022.

Miami also stands out as the city with the:

  • Fifth highest number of hours lost in traffic congestion per year (105).

  • Ninth slowest average speed in rush hour traffic (25 mph).

  • Ninth highest average hotel price for a four-night stay during the holiday season ($938.17).

Tampa comes in 15th as worst cities for holiday travel

Tampa's scores:

  • Driving experience: 81.81

  • City experience: 33.14

  • Air travel experience: 77.10

  • Overall score: 60.47 out of 100

What methodology was used by Forbes Advisor?

To determine which cities are worst for holiday travel, Forbes Advisor analyzed data for the 50 most populated cities (42 of which had available data) across three key categories: driving experience, city experience and air travel experience.

Driving experience, 40 points:

  • Number of people involved in fatal crashes between November and January per 100,000 city residents.

  • Number of fatal weather-related car accidents between November and January.

  • Average gas prices.

  • Number of hours lost in traffic congestion per year.

  • Average speed in rush hour traffic.

City experience, 35 points

  • Crime rate.

  • Average hotel price for a four-night stay during the holiday season.

  • Number of tourist attractions with three or more stars on Tripadvisor.

  • Number of restaurants with four or more stars on Tripadvisor.

  • Walk score.

  • Transit score.

Air travel experience, 25 points

  • Percentage of flights delayed, canceled or diverted.

  • Number of property loss and damage claims per 100,000 domestic passengers.

  • Percentage of property loss and damage claims reimbursed in full.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Worst cities for holiday travel by Forbes list? Jacksonville, Miami