SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Brace yourself, holiday travel for Thanksgiving is already here!

AAA is expecting it to be very busy the days leading up to the holiday. And whatever your mode of transportation, road or air, experts recommend making sure you’re prepared.

“Bring snacks, bring water, download some music…,” Laura Sacktor, a student at Mt. Holyoke College suggests.

AAA says most travelers will drive to their destinations with just over 1.2 million Massachusetts residents expected to travel by car. And travelers should expect the most traffic the day before Thanksgiving.

“I’m traveling today because my classes got cancelled a day early. I did not know that tomorrow was the busiest although I’m glad I changed my ticket to today instead,” said Kylie Brooks, a Mt. Holyoke student traveling to Pennsylvania on Tuesday.

22News spoke to some out of state college students who are meeting their families halfway this year to lessen the travel time.

“My older sister, she has a car so we are going to drive to New York together,” said Sacktor who originates from Maryland.

To make sure you get to your destination on time, AAA says the best time to head out is before Wednesday.

“It’s not easy as you can see. My bus is supposed to get here at 10:00 a.m. and now I got to wait until 12:21 p.m. I mean, I don’t mind the drive I just hate when it gets delayed like this,” said Yasmany Pepin, a Sophomore at AIC that is traveling to Boston.

“My dad is picking me up Wednesday to go back home,” said Rigel Gorden of Albany, New York. “We don’t really have any plans… we are just gonna kinda winging-it!”

AAA experts also recommend heading out as early as possible to beat traffic on the roads. The state is expecting traffic volumes to “equal to or just exceed pre-pandemic levels.”