If you were thinking holiday travel wouldn't be as bad this year, think again.

AAA projects 94.5 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more from home during the year-end holiday season, an increase of 0.6 percent from the 94 million people who traveled last year. It marks the fifth consecutive year of increases and the highest travel volume recorded for the season (Dec. 21 to Jan. 1).

"While economic growth has stagnated and consumer confidence has fallen Americans will not be scrooges when it comes to traveling this year," said AAA Chicago Regional President Brad Roeber. "Of all the travel holidays, the year-end holiday season remains the least volatile as Americans will not let economic conditions dictate their travel plans to celebrate the holidays."

For the entire holiday season, nearly 30 percent of Americans will take a trip, with more than 25 percent taking to the road.

Of course, with more cars comes more breakdowns. AAA projects to help 3.76 million motorists on the side of the road this holiday season, with the primary reasons being dead batteries, flat tires and lockouts.

Car rental rates have also increased by 13 percent.

The good news is that gas prices are about even with 2012 as travelers take to the roads this weekend, perhaps alleviating some of the bumper-to-bumper headache. Also, hotel rates are relatively the same as last year.

Some may want to think about flying instead of driving. Holiday air travel is expected to decline to 5.53 million people, compared to 5.61 million last year.

In addition, rates are cheaper, with the average lowest round-trip rate being $199 for the top 40 U.S. air routes. That's down from $204 last year.

Approximately 3.13 million travelers will choose other modes of transportation, including rail, bus and cruise ship.