If you’re traveling over Memorial Day weekend, be prepared to experience some crowds. The upcoming holiday weekend — which will run May 25-27 — is set to welcome a record number of travelers, according to AAA.
43.8 million Americans are expected to pack their bags for trips of more than 50 miles or more over the holiday weekend – a 4% increase from last year and close to the previous record of 44 million from 2005. .
“We haven’t seen travel numbers like these for Memorial Day weekend in nearly 20 years,” said Paula Twidale, senior vice president at AAA Travel, in a press release. “We are projecting one million more travelers this holiday weekend compared to 2019, which not only means we are exceeding pre-pandemic levels, but also signals a very busy summer travel season ahead.”
Both roads and airports will be extremely busy, with a historic number of roadtrippers since AAA began tracking data in 2000. There are 38.4 million drivers, a 4% increase over last year.
3.51 million airline passengers are expected to take to the skies over the holiday weekend, a 4.8% increase from 2023. This will make Memorial Day weekend the busiest at airports since 2005, AAA said.
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Here’s everything you need to know about traffic if you want a Memorial Day weekend getaway.
The summer is comming.Here’s everything you need to know for your summer trip.
What are the most popular Memorial Day weekend travel destinations?
Most popular domestic destinations:
- Orlando
- seattle,
- new York
- Las Vegas,
- Anaheim/Los Angeles
Most popular international destinations:
- Pomegranate
- Vancouver, Canada
- London
- Paris
- Dublin
What are the best times to drive on Memorial Day weekend?
To avoid the worst traffic, drivers leaving for the long weekend trip on Thursday, May 23 and Friday, May 24 should hit the road before 11am or after 7pm on Thursday and 8pm on Friday.
Travelers driving on Saturday, May 25 who leave before 1pm and after 6pm will be able to avoid the worst traffic jams. On Sunday, drivers should leave before 1pm to avoid the worst congestion.
Travelers heading home on Monday, May 27 should board after 7pm if they want to avoid peak traffic.
What are the worst times to drive on Memorial Day weekend?
Travelers should expect the worst traffic on Thursday between noon and 6 p.m.
Friday, between noon and 7pm, as you will also encounter passenger congestion.
During the weekend, peak traffic is expected between 2pm and 5pm on Saturday and between 3pm and 7pm on Sunday.
On Memorial Day, drivers heading home can expect peak traffic between 3pm and 7pm, also known as peak rush hour.
Peak congestion times in major US cities
Unfortunately, travelers passing through major metropolitan areas should expect travel times to be up to 90% longer than normal, according to Bob Pishue, transportation analyst at INRIX. “Travelers should stay up to date with transit apps, 511 services and local news stations to avoid sitting in traffic longer than necessary,” Pishue said in a statement.
Atlanta
- Worst route: Atlanta to Savannah via I-16 E
- Worst day: Saturday, May 25
- Worst time: 4:45 pm
- Estimated travel time: 5 hours and 31 minutes
- 54% increase in travel time
Boston
- Worst route: Manchester to Boston via I-93 S
- Worst day: Sunday, May 26
- Worst time: 8:45 am
- Estimated travel time: 1 hour and 48 minutes
- 50% increase in travel time
Chicago
- Worst route: Milwaukee to Chicago via I-94 E
- Worst day: Sunday, May 26
- Worst time: 4:30 pm
- Estimated travel time: 2 hours and 25 minutes
- 27% increase in travel time
Denver
- Worst route: Fort Collins to Denver via I-25
- Worst day: Sunday, May 26
- Worst time: 4:15 pm
- Estimated travel time: 1 hour and 24 minutes
- 56% increase in travel time
Los Angeles
- Worst route: LA to Bakersfield via I-5 N
- Worst day: Thursday, May 23
- Worst time: 6:15 pm
- Estimated travel time: 2 hours and 45 minutes
- 84% increase in travel time
new York
- Worst route: New York to Albany via I-87N
- Worst day: Thursday, May 23
- Worst time: 11:45 am
- Estimated travel time: 2 hours and 37 minutes
- 84% increase in travel time
Philadelphia
- Worst route: Philadelphia to Baltimore/DC
- Worst day: Friday, May 24
- Worst time: 7:30 am
- Estimated travel time: 2 hours and 37 minutes
- 64% increase in travel time
San Francisco
- Worst route: San Francisco to Napa via I-80 E
- Worst day: Friday, May 24
- Worst time: 11am
- Estimated travel time: 1 hour and 34 minutes
- 56% increase in travel time
Washington DC
- Worst route: Washington, DC to Baltimore via Balt/Wash Pkwy N
- Worst day: Friday, May 24
- Worst time: 2:15 pm
- Estimated travel time: 1 hour and 21 minutes
- 72% increase in travel time
Kathleen Wong is a travel reporter for USA TODAY and lives in Hawaii. You can reach her at kwong@usatoday.com.
