Tech

Google Maps' Thanksgiving Tips: Leave On Tuesday, Buy Booze Beforehand

Using data it collected in its mapping service, Google compiled a list of Thanksgiving tips to make planning for the holiday a bit easier.

Google Maps' Thanksgiving Tips: Leave On Tuesday, Buy Booze Beforehand
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Google collects a lot of data on a whole lot of things. And when the company compiles that data, it can suss out some interesting observations and trends. (Video via Google)

The Google Maps team, for example, examined search data to compile a list of Thanksgiving tips "to make your holiday plans go a little bit easier." (Video via Google)

First, try not to travel the day before Thanksgiving. If you're leaving home, it's best to travel on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Well, unless you live in Boston; Google says Boston's worst travel day is Tuesday, not Wednesday.

Second, pick up your ham, your pies and your booze before Wednesday. Google says on the day before Thanksgiving, searches for "ham shop," "pie shop" and "liquor store" have been top trends the last three years.

Lastly, if you plan on eating at a restaurant on Thanksgiving, you might want to avoid the buffets. According to Google, "buffet restaurants" was the No. 1 Google Maps search term nationwide on Thanksgiving Day.

Regardless of what day — or to what place — you choose to travel, there are going to be more Americans leaving home this year than in years past. According to AAA, nearly 47 million Americans will travel for the Thanksgiving holiday. Nearly 42 million of those who travel will be on the road. (Video via AAA)

Google also provided some tips for Black Friday and the weekend following Thanksgiving. You can read all the travel-savvy suggestions on the Google Maps blog.

This video includes images from Getty Images.