BEFORE YOU GO: What to know ahead of Thanksgiving travel

Thanksgiving brings turkey, family time and maybe even some football, but it can also bring standstill traffic, long airport security lines and headaches at the gas pump.

Here are some tips to help you better navigate the busy travel season:

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday after are the busiest travel days, you can avoid heavy traffic and long lines if chose to travel days outside Wednesday and Sunday.

Taking to the skies

USA Today reports, the Tuesday and Wednesday leading up to Thanksgiving are also the priciest days for airfare. Thanksgiving Day is actually the cheapest day to fly, try booking an early Thursday morning flight and you can still get home in time for the turkey dinner. Sunday is the most expensive day to fly back, Saturday and Monday are both pretty expensive but not as bad as Sunday.

If you are flying out of the Denver International Airport, get ready because DIA has been ranked the fifth busiest airport in the nation, that’s according to Hopper and InsureMyTrip. About 787,629 passengers are expected to travel out of DIA this Thanksgiving.

You can better avoid lines at DIA by traveling during the off hours. Researchers say 10 a.m. is the busiest time at DIA.

If you are flying out the Colorado Springs Airport, be on the lookout for long-term parking deals that the airport has offered in the past. Looking ahead, you can receive 50% long-term parking from Dec. 1-31. Click here to view the coupon.

Hitting the road

AAA reports 48.5 million Americans are expected to hit the roads over Thanksgiving week.

The good news if you plan to travel by car to your family dinner? Gas prices are expected to plummet.

Experts suggest waiting to fill up your tank until right before you go because with the drop in crude oil prices, gas prices are only expected to decrease even more. According to AAA, 41 percent of gas stations nationwide are selling unleaded gasoline for $2.50 or less.

Leading up to Thanksgiving week, Colorado Springs gas prices averaged $2.67. Click here to find the cheapest gas prices and view gas trends in Southern Colorado.