Traveling for Memorial Day weekend? Here's what AAA expects traffic to be like

As families gear up for the unofficial start of summer this weekend, motorists may find the roads are busier than usual as record setting amounts of drivers are headed for their Memorial Day adventures.

Travel projections from AAA are predicting that over 43 million travelers will be celebrating the holiday weekend by traveling over 50 miles from their homes, a 4% increase over the same season during 2023. While the numbers are not as high as the record high number of travelers in 2005, the early summer travel season is showing that families are continuing to increase their travel plans.

“Long holiday weekends like Memorial Day are the perfect way to kick off the summer travel season and Americans will be traveling in record-breaking numbers this year,” said Bevi Powell, senior vice president of AAA East Central. “Whether it’s a family road trip, a luxury cruise or a train trip across New England, travelers are making choices that will ensure they have the trip of a lifetime.”

Vehicle travel predicted to be at record setting levels, experts warn of high levels of traffic

According to the company's predictions, around 38 million people will be traveling in their car over Memorial Day weekend. In the forecast's Mid-Atlantic Region, which includes New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, there is expected to be around 4.6 million motorists on the roadways. According to AAA, some of the factors driving this personal form of travel are the flexibility and convenience it gives travelers.

With the increased volume of motorists, traffic is expected to be worse throughout the weekend around cities and other popular roadways. To avoid the bulk of traffic, travelers are being advised to avoid commuters by traveling early in the day and returning home during the weekend.

"Travel times are expected to be up to 90% longer than normal," said Bob Pishue, transportation analyst at INRIX. "Travelers should stay up to date on traffic apps, 511 services and local news stations to avoid sitting in traffic longer than necessary."

According to INRIX travel data, the best times to travel on Thursday will be before 11 a.m. to avoid lunch hour traffic or after 7 p.m. to avoid the rush of people leaving work. Similar advice is being given for Friday as well, with motorists encouraged to leave before 11 a.m. or after 8 p.m. to avoid commuters. On Saturday, motorists can sleep in a bit longer, as traffic is not expected to get to a "bad" point until 1 p.m. as local commuters enter the equation.

When returning home from vacations, motorists are encouraged to leave before 1 p.m. on Sunday to avoid the worst of traffic. On Monday, travelers hoping to avoid the larger swarm of cars may want to wait until the evening to travel, with INRIX suggesting the best time to travel will be at 7 p.m. that day.

Travelers traveling by air may notice some congestion in airports throughout the weekend as well, as an estimated 3.51 million travelers are planning to travel via airplane in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Ticket prices are averaging around 1% to 2% higher than last year, but there has been a 4.8% spike in travelers utilizing air travel for their plans this year. This year's air travel numbers are similar to those seen during 2005 and are a 9% increase from what was seen pre-pandemic.

Travel trends show more luxury and "bucket list" style trips planned, solo adventures on the rise

As the summer travel season gets kicked off, some interesting trends are already developing in this year's travel plans being crafted across the nation.

AAA Travel reports that there are more "bucket list" style vacations being planned this summer, with travelers using their budgets to plan once-in-a-lifetime trips. These can include a variety of styles, either being styled as a type of family reunion trip or luxury vacations for travelers seeking high-end destinations. Many travelers are also planning their own adventures, with women showing an increased interest in these types of trips.

Some new destinations are also making waves in the travel planning industry, with trips focused on Nature becoming more common. Some of these destinations include spots across Antarctica, Africa and the South Pacific region. For those seeking city views, Japan, New England, Canada and Europe are also popular destinations, with locations offering train travel being a big interest for perspective travelers.

For travel plans this Memorial Day, some of the top domestic locations are Orlando, Seattle, New York and Las Vegas. For those planning trips to other countries, some of the top cities planned for trips include Rome, Vancouver, London, Paris and Dublin.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Memorial Day weekend traffic: AAA predicts record levels