Christmas falls on Friday, December 25, 2026, and New Year’s Day on Friday, January 1, 2027. The year end holidays are the busiest travel stretch of the year: for 2025, AAA projected a record 122.4 million travelers between December 20 and January 1, and 109.5 million of them, about 9 in 10, planned to drive.
Below are 22 holiday drives between major cities, including two winter trips to the Grand Canyon, priced with real road distances and this week’s gas prices. The numbers update every week through the holidays, and each drive opens in the Trip Planner with one click.
What 22 Christmas drives cost in gas this week
Prices are for the week of September 21, 2026 from the U.S. Energy Information Administration and update weekly. The national average for regular is $4.48 a gallon, $1.64 more than in Christmas week last year ($2.84). At this week's prices, these round trips run from about $34 for Philadelphia to New York up to $295 for Washington to Orlando.
| Drive | Miles each way | Drive time | Gas, round trip | Trip Planner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia to New YorkPA to NY | 96 | 2 h 7 min | $34 | Plan it |
| Seattle to PortlandWA to OR | 181 | 3 h 21 min | $77 | Plan it |
| Austin to DallasTX to TX | 196 | 3 h 8 min | $61 | Plan it |
| Houston to San AntonioTX to TX | 197 | 3 h 8 min | $62 | Plan it |
| Nashville to MemphisTN to TN | 212 | 3 h 38 min | $74 | Plan it |
| New York to BostonNY to MA | 216 | 4 h 49 min | $76 | Plan it |
| New York to WashingtonNY to DC | 228 | 4 h 41 min | $81 | Plan it |
| Miami to OrlandoFL to FL | 235 | 4 h 3 min | $79 | Plan it |
| Dallas to HoustonTX to TX | 239 | 3 h 45 min | $75 | Plan it |
| Atlanta to NashvilleGA to TN | 248 | 4 h 27 min | $85 | Plan it |
| Los Angeles to Las VegasCA to NV | 270 | 4 h 28 min | $120 | Plan it |
| Tampa to MiamiFL to FL | 280 | 4 h 45 min | $94 | Plan it |
| Las Vegas to Grand Canyon VillageNV to AZ | 282 | 5 h 6 min | $115 | Plan it |
| Chicago to DetroitIL to MI | 283 | 5 h 4 min | $100 | Plan it |
| Chicago to St. LouisIL to MO | 297 | 5 h 13 min | $104 | Plan it |
| San Diego to Las VegasCA to NV | 332 | 5 h 31 min | $148 | Plan it |
| Phoenix to Los AngelesAZ to CA | 372 | 6 h | $165 | Plan it |
| Los Angeles to San FranciscoCA to CA | 383 | 6 h 30 min | $184 | Plan it |
| Minneapolis to ChicagoMN to IL | 408 | 7 h 2 min | $143 | Plan it |
| Los Angeles to Grand Canyon VillageCA to AZ | 493 | 8 h 18 min | $219 | Plan it |
| Denver to Salt Lake CityCO to UT | 535 | 8 h 6 min | $188 | Plan it |
| Washington to OrlandoDC to FL | 851 | 14 h 3 min | $295 | Plan it |
Round trip in a car that gets 25MPG. Drive times assume no traffic. “Plan it” opens the trip in the Trip Planner, where you can enter your own MPG and add stops.
Each drive links to its full route guide, with costs for other vehicles, tolls, and the cheapest places to fill up along the way.
How we priced each drive
Distances are real driving routes from downtown to downtown (to Grand Canyon Village for the canyon trips), calculated with OpenRouteService, the routing our Trip Planner uses. Every trip is priced for a car that gets 25 MPG, and drive times assume no traffic or winter weather.
Gas prices are EIA’s weekly retail prices for regular gasoline. EIA publishes its own price series for 9 states, and for the rest, including Washington, DC, we use the average for the region. The drive out is priced at the gas price of the state you leave from and the drive home at the price of the state you start back from, the same way the Trip Planner prices every leg.
To adjust for your own car, multiply the table’s number by 1.25 for a 20 MPG SUV, by 0.83 for a 30 MPG car, or by 0.5 for a 50 MPG hybrid.
Will gas be cheaper at Christmas?
History says it usually is. We compared EIA’s weekly U.S. average price of regular gasoline in Thanksgiving week and Christmas week for every year since 2014. In 10 of those 12 years, Christmas week was cheaper, typically by about 10 cents a gallon, and in 2022 prices fell 53 cents between the two holidays. The exceptions were 2016 and 2020, when prices rose by 11 and 12 cents.
| Year | Thanksgiving week | Christmas week | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | $2.821 | $2.403 | Down 42¢ |
| 2015 | $2.094 | $2.026 | Down 7¢ |
| 2016 | $2.155 | $2.264 | Up 11¢ |
| 2017 | $2.568 | $2.472 | Down 10¢ |
| 2018 | $2.611 | $2.321 | Down 29¢ |
| 2019 | $2.579 | $2.532 | Down 5¢ |
| 2020 | $2.102 | $2.224 | Up 12¢ |
| 2021 | $3.395 | $3.295 | Down 10¢ |
| 2022 | $3.648 | $3.120 | Down 53¢ |
| 2023 | $3.289 | $3.116 | Down 17¢ |
| 2024 | $3.044 | $3.024 | Down 2¢ |
| 2025 | $3.061 | $2.841 | Down 22¢ |
Winter blend gasoline is cheaper to make, and gasoline demand is usually at its lowest in winter. A pattern is not a forecast, though: 2026 has been an unusually volatile year, and a refinery outage or a winter storm on the Gulf Coast can push prices up at any time. Budget with this week’s price and treat any drop as a bonus. You can follow the trend on our gas price history chart.
Winter weather costs mileage
Cold is the cost Christmas drivers can’t avoid. In city driving, a gas car’s mileage is about 15 percent lower at 20°F than at 77°F, and up to 24 percent lower on short trips of 3 to 4 miles, according to fueleconomy.gov. Hybrids lose about 30 to 34 percent under the same conditions. On a long highway drive the engine warms up quickly, so the loss is smaller; a 10 percent fuel cushion covers most winter road trips.
Electric cars take the biggest hit: at 20°F with the heater on, range can drop by about 41 percent. Our guide to cold weather EV range covers how to plan charging stops, and the holiday road trip gas budget planner turns all of this into a simple budget.
When to leave
For the 2025 holidays, the traffic data company INRIX expected Christmas week to be busier on the roads than New Year’s week, with the lightest traffic on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day themselves. On other days, leaving before 11 AM avoided the worst of it, and congestion tended to build from early afternoon into the evening. Less stop and go driving also means better mileage.
Five ways to spend less on a winter drive
- Check tire pressure on a cold morning. It drops about 1 PSI for every 10 degrees colder it gets, and soft tires waste gas. See our guide to tire pressure and gas mileage.
- Skip the long warm up. fueleconomy.gov suggests driving off after about 30 seconds; idling burns a quarter to a half gallon an hour.
- Take off the roof box or ski rack when you can. A large roof box can cut fuel economy by 6 to 17 percent on the highway and 10 to 25 percent at 65 to 75 mph.
- Keep the tank at least half full. AAA advises it for winter driving, and it means a storm delay never leaves you hunting for fuel at a pricey highway exit.
- Fill up in the cheaper state. Compare prices on the gas prices by state page. The Trip Planner also flags when the next state on your route is noticeably pricier.
Plan the rest of your holiday driving
Driving for Thanksgiving too? Our Thanksgiving road trip gas cost table prices 20 family visit drives the same way. For any other route, the Trip Planner prices every leg with live regional gas prices.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does gas cost for a Christmas road trip?
Divide your round trip miles by your car's MPG, then multiply by the price per gallon. A 600 mile round trip in a 25 MPG car uses 24 gallons, so it costs $108 at $4.50 a gallon. In cold weather, add about 10 percent. The table on this page prices 22 holiday drives with this week's EIA gas prices.
Are gas prices lower at Christmas than at Thanksgiving?
Usually. In 10 of the last 12 years, the U.S. average price of regular gasoline was lower in Christmas week than in Thanksgiving week, typically by about 10 cents a gallon, according to weekly EIA data. The exceptions were 2016 and 2020.
What is the best day to drive for Christmas?
Christmas Day and New Year's Day usually have the lightest traffic, according to INRIX, and Christmas week is busier on the roads than New Year's week. On other days, leaving before 11 AM avoids the worst congestion, which tends to build from early afternoon into the evening.
How much more gas does a car use in winter?
In city driving, a gas car's mileage is about 15 percent lower at 20°F than at 77°F, and up to 24 percent lower on short trips of 3 to 4 miles, according to fueleconomy.gov. Hybrids lose about 30 to 34 percent. On a long highway drive the loss is smaller, so a 10 percent fuel cushion covers most winter road trips.
How far can an EV go on a Christmas road trip?
At 20°F with the heater running, fueleconomy.gov says EV range can drop by about 41 percent, so a car rated for 300 miles may manage closer to 180. Preheat the cabin while the car is plugged in, use seat warmers, and plan more charging stops than the rated range suggests.
Are tolls included in these costs?
No. The table covers gas only. Budget tolls separately, especially on Northeast routes such as New York to Boston, where they can add $20 or more each way.
Sources: EIA weekly retail gasoline prices; AAA year end 2025 travel forecast, including INRIX traffic timing; fueleconomy.gov on cold weather and driving habits; routes by OpenRouteService.