If the thought of getting stuck in the middle of a huge crowd at the airport doesn't appeal to you, book these three travel days this Thanksgiving and avoid the headaches. 

The key to missing big crowds during big holiday travel weekends is, of course, to travel when nobody else wants to travel.  Like on Thanksgiving Day.  Easier said than done.  But if you can be flexible and talk Grandma into serving Thanksgiving dinner at 5 pm or on Friday, you might have the road to her house all to yourself.

The best days to travel during the week of Thanksgiving will be Monday, Thursday, and Friday, according to Smartertravel.com.  The busiest day will be Wednesday, and that might add extra time and money to your week.  Since the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is typically one of the busiest travel days of the entire year, fares are likely to be sky-high.  The other days during the week will have shorter TSA lines at the airport and fewer brake lights in front of you on the road, and your trip will be a lot cheaper.

The Monday before Thanksgiving (November 25) will have about half as many people traveling compared to later in the week, according to data from Hipmunk.  And since nobody wants to fly on a holiday, traveling on Thanksgiving (November 28) can lead to great deals in addition to less crowd stress. On the Friday after Thanksgiving (November 29) everyone seems to be shopping, watching football, putting up Christmas lights, or in a food coma, and traveling is not the first thing on their mind so fares can be cheaper then too. Sunday is the busiest travel day

Now is the time to book a plane ticket to save the most money, and if you book it for Thanksgiving Day, the advanced notice combined with the fact that it's a low-demand day just might help you win Thanksgiving.  You'll have more cash left over for fancy cranberry sauce instead of the canned kind, and you'll be able to really attack Black Friday.

It's the best time of the year, right?  Even better with some smart travel.

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