Here Are the Worst Times to Travel This Memorial Day Weekend

AAA is out with its annual Memorial Day travel forecast, which outlines not only how many people will hit the road this year, but when.

According to the organization, “INRIX, in collaboration with AAA, predicts drivers will experience the greatest amount of congestion on Thursday, May 23 and Friday, May 24 in the late afternoon as commuters leave work early and mix with holiday travelers.” While that’s not exactly surprising, considering this is a weekend holiday and all, what is interesting is just how much worse your expected travel times could be. Many metro areas will experience traffic that is three times worse than usual. (When is that infrastructure bill coming again?)

“Drivers in the most congested metros should expect much worse conditions than normal,” said Trevor Reed, transportation analyst at INRIX. “Travelers should anticipate delays to start on Wednesday and continue through Memorial Day. Our advice to drivers is to avoid the morning and evening commuting times or plan alternate routes.”

Here are AAA and INRIX’s best guesses for the worst travel times in several U.S. cities:

Metro Area	Worst Day for Travel	Worst Time for Travel	Delay Multiplier of Normal Trip
Atlanta	Thursday, May 23	4:30 – 6:30 PM	2.2x
Boston	Monday, May 27	3:45 – 5:45 PM	3.0x
Chicago	Friday, May 24	3:30 – 5:30 PM	1.6x
Detroit	Friday, May 24	2:30 – 4:30 PM	1.7x
Houston	Sunday, May 26	2:15 – 4:15 PM	1.0x
Los Angeles	Friday, May 24	4:30 – 6:30 PM	1.0x
New York	Thursday, May 23	4:45 – 6:45 PM	2.0x
San Francisco	Saturday, May 25	1:00 – 3:00 PM	1.6x
Seattle	Monday, May 27	3:30 – 5:30 PM	1.0x
Washington, D.C.	Monday, May 27	3:45 – 5:45 PM	3.0x

 

Millions Will Hit the Road for Memorial Day Travel

All in all, some 43 million Americans will take a trip this year, an increase of 1.5 million over last year. And despite rising gas prices, AAA expects 37.6 million people to drive, an increase of 3.5 percent compared to last year.

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“When gas prices are expensive, travelers may shorten the distance of a road trip, eat out less, or look for free activities,” said AAA gas price expert Jeanette Casselano. “But, overall, prices are very similar to this time last year and, like then, they aren’t letting that deter them from taking summer road trips.”

Air travel will also increase this year, to 3.25 million people, a jump of over 4 percent.

“Americans are eagerly anticipating the start of summer, and expensive gas prices won’t keep them home this Memorial Day weekend,” said Paula Twidale, vice president at AAA Travel. “Consumer spending remains strong, helped by solid job and income growth. Families continue to prioritize spending their disposable incomes on travel, and near-record numbers of them are looking forward to doing just that for Memorial Day.”

All that said, numbers like this make a compelling case for a relaxing and traffic-free staycation. But if you’re determined to get out and about this Memorial Day, hopefully this info helps you avoid some of the worst backups and headaches on the road.

Readers, what’s your trick to avoiding the Memorial Day travel rush? Do you leave in the middle of the night? Do you travel off the beaten path? Or do you simply fire up the grill and lounge in the backyard?

More from SmarterTravel:

• The Most Popular Memorial Day Destinations for 2019
• 10 (and a Half) Tips for Road Trips
• 10 Engrossing Audiobooks for Your Summer Road Trip