Hitting the road for Memorial Day? Here's when you should and shouldn't travel

Kaitlyn McCormick, Cherry Hill Courier-Post
·1 min read

The American Automotive Association is predicting this year to have the second highest Memorial Day holiday travel forecast since the organization began tracking travel trends in 2000.

In its annual travel forecast, AAA predicted that 43.8 million travelers would be heading out for the holiday travel period, a 4% increase from last year and just narrowly missing the 2005 record of 44 million Memorial Day travelers.

Road trips are projected to set a record nationwide as 38.4 million people are expected to travel by car.

INRIX, which provides transportation data insight, said in the AAA forecast that drivers leaving Thursday or Friday should aim to leave early to avoid commuter traffic.

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Best times to travel for Memorial Day Weekend

According to INRX, the best times to travel are as follows:

  • Thursday, May 23: before 11 a.m., after 7 p.m.

  • Friday, May 24: before 11 a.m., after 8 p.m.

  • Saturday, May 25: before 1 p.m., after 6 p.m.

  • Sunday, May 26: before 1 p.m.

  • Monday, May 27: after 7 p.m.

Worst times to travel for Memorial Day Weekend

According to INRX, the worst times to travel are as follows:

  • Thursday, May 23: 12-6 p.m.

  • Friday, May 24: 12-7 p.m.

  • Saturday, May 25: 2-5 p.m.

  • Sunday, May 26: 3-7 p.m.

  • Monday, May 27: 3-7 p.m.

Kaitlyn McCormick writes about trending issues and community news across South Jersey for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and the Burlington County Times. If you have a story she should tell, email her at kmccormick@gannett.com. And subscribe to stay up to date on the news you need.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: AAA releases Memorial Day Weekend travel forecast