AAA of Northern California says nearly 12 million Californians will leave home over Christmas and New Year's. That's a modest increase of 0.5 percent from last year. Cynthia Harris with AAA says Christmas falling on a Wednesday gives people some extra time to work with.
"That gives people an extra day to go out and party, to travel, to be with their family and friends, so these are two weekends that are back to back, plus an extra day,so this gives people a little more room to travel."
Harris says the majority of those traveling -- nearly 10.5 million -- will do it by car, and analysts say gas prices are expected to stay low through the New Year.
"Since so many people are planning to be driving to their holiday destinations, this will definitely give them a little extra money to be able to fill up their tanks or maybe even go further or extend their trips."
About 900,000 people plan to fly, a drop of 2.6 percent from last year.
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