Hitting the Florida roads for Memorial Day weekend? Avoid these days and times
MIAMI - This upcoming Memorial Day is expected to be a busy one on the road.
This year, nearly 2.3 million Floridians are forecast to take a road trip for the holiday weekend, according to AAA - The Auto Club Group. That's a new all-time record and nearly 106,000 more Floridians on the road than last year.
The busiest times will be Thursday and Friday afternoons from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. The best advice for those looking to avoid congestion is to travel before noon or after 7 p.m. Travelers going back home on Sunday or Monday should avoid the afternoon hours when return trips will peak.
"Traveling by car is appealing for many people because of the convenience and flexibility it provides," said AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins. "However, that holiday road trip may cost more at the gas pump this year."
During last year's holiday weekend, Florida gas prices averaged $3.41 per gallon. On Monday, May 20th, prices were averaging $3.44 a gallon. It remains to be seen if the price will go up mid to late week.
In total, AAA forecasts more than 2.5 million Floridians will journey 50 miles or more. That's 126,500 more holiday travelers than the previous high, which was set last year.
The auto club projects 224,201 Floridians will travel by air and 64,012 by other means.
For those catching flights, the average price for a round-trip domestic flight will be $778, according to AAA booking data. That's 2% more than last year's holiday weekend. International flights are 4 percent more expensive - averaging $1485 for a roundtrip ticket.
Overall, AAA expects 3.51 million Americans to travel by air this holiday weekend, "an increase of 4.8 percent over last year and a 9 percent jump compared to 2019."
Nationally, AAA projects the second highest traveled Memorial Day on record with nearly 43.8 million Americans hitting the road, air, buses, trains, or cruise ships. That's 1.7 million more travelers than last year, a 4 percent increase, yet slightly behind 2005's record of 44 million, according to the auto club.
