Anyone planning to celebrate Memorial Day weekend out of town should prepare to deal with millions of other holiday travelers this week. The American Automobile Association (AAA) announced in a press release on May 13 that nearly 44 million individuals will travel at least 50 miles anytime from May 23 through May 27. The report indicated that about 2.8 million travelers are New York residents, and around 2.5 million are planning to drive.

Other states that will have an increase in travelers include Florida and Wisconsin. 'We haven’t seen Memorial Day weekend travel numbers like these in almost 20 years,' said Paula Twidale, Senior Vice President of AAA Travel. Despite the high number of travelers, the software company INRIX did come up with the best times to be on the road during the long weekend.

INRIX concluded in this year's data that the best times to hit the road on May 23 and 24 are before 11 am and after 7 pm. Travelers will also get to their destinations in good time if they drive before 1:00 and 6 pm on Saturday and before 1 pm on Sunday. Drivers who are looking to travel on the actual Monday holiday should expect the best driving time to be anytime after 7 pm.

As for the worst driving times, Memorial Day Weekend travelers will likely have a tough time driving between 12 and 6 pm and 12 to 7 pm this Thursday and Friday. They should also avoid driving between 2 to 5 pm on Saturday. Travelers who want to attend their Memorial Day Weekend celebration on May 26 or 27 will need to avoid driving between 3 and 7 pm if they're hoping to get to their events in good time.

'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.' Americans have been celebrating Memorial Day since 1868, and it takes place every year on the last Monday of May.

Celebrations like parades and concerts have been planned nationwide to commemorate the holiday, and several states will experience great weather this week. According to Alec Slatky, the Managing Director of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Northeast, the company is 'projecting an additional one million travelers this holiday weekend compared to 2019.' He added that this number means the company is 'exceeding pre-pandemic levels' and 'a very busy summer travel season' is approaching.

According to AAA's Memorial Day travel forecast, nearly 40 million travelers will go by car, while more than 3.5 million will fly by plane. This year's traveler number is a 4 percent increase from 2023, and it comes close to matching 2005's record of 44 million. AAA announced in a May 12 news release that a record-setting 2.5 million Floridians will be traveling this holiday weekend.

It is 126,500 more travelers than its previous Florida record, which was set last year. AAA's data also shows that Orlando is this year's top Memorial Day Weekend U.S. destination, and Fort Lauderdale and Miami are among the top 10. The company also announced in a May 14 news release that Wisconsin will also experience a small increase in Memorial Day Weekend travelers this year. AAA's forecast shows that more than 816,000 Wisconsin residents will travel for Memorial Day Weekend, an increase of over 30,000 from last year.

Besides driving, travelers are expected to use methods like buses, cruises and trains to get to their Memorial Day Weekend destination. 'This category took the biggest hit during the pandemic with fewer people taking public transportation or not cruising at all,' Twidale said. 'Now, five years later, we’re back to 2019 numbers,' she added.

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