According to the travel assistance company AAA, people across the country are looking to maximize their 3-day weekend with an increase in local road trips and domestic flights. Although AAA hasn’t released a full travel forecast for the holiday, they have offered some traveling predictions based on their booking data to make your trip smoother — from best travel times to the top destinations!
🚗 AAA Travel Predictions:
- Domestic travel is expected to rise by 9% compared to last year.
- The cost of domestic travel has decreased by 2%.
✈️According to AAA, here are the top travel destinations this Labor Day weekend:
- Seattle, Washington
- Orlando, Florida
- Anchorage, Alaska
- New York, New York
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- Denver, Colorado
- Chicago, Illinois
- Juneau, Alaska
- San Francisco, California
🚗Best and worst times to travel by car during Labor Day weekend:
➡️Departing:
- Thursday, August 29:
- Best Times: Before 11:00 a.m.
- Worst Times: 1:00 p.m. — 7:30 p.m.
- Friday, August 30:
- Best Times: Before Noon, After 7:00 p.m.
- Worst Times: 2:00 p.m. — 6:00 p.m.
- Saturday, August 31:
- Best Times: After Noon
- Worst Times: 8:00 a.m. — 11:00 a.m.
⬅️Returning:
- Sunday, September 1:
- Best Times: Before Noon
- Worst Times: 2:00 p.m. — 8:00 p.m.
- Monday, September 2:
- Best Times: Before 10 a.m.
- Worst Times: 11:00 a.m. — 8:00 p.m.
- Tuesday, September 3:
- Best Times: After 1:00 p.m.
- Worst Times: 8:00 a.m. — Noon
🌴Local Traffic Prediction:
- From Los Angeles to Bakersfield: via I-5 S
- Worst traffic time: Monday 2 at 2:15 p.m.
- Expect time: 1 hour 56 minutes — a 28% increase
Additional Tips: AAA anticipates rescuing over 300,000 stranded motorists during the weekend. Common issues include flat tires, dead batteries, and lockouts. To avoid these problems — inspect your car before departure and carry an extra set of keys, if possible. You can read the full AAA report here.
⭐ Bonus – Local Road Trips: If you’re planning a road trip, check out our recommendations for local destinations that are worth the road trip to make the most of your 3-day weekend.