Record Florida Memorial Day Travel: Best Times To Drive, Head To Airport

FLORIDA — More than 42.3 million Americans are expected to travel 50 or more miles from home May 25-30 for the Memorial Day holiday, including a record number of nearly 2.4 million Floridians.

Florida AAA’s 2023 Memorial Day travel forecast calls for a 172,000 increase in the number of residents on the state's highways compared with last year and 96,000 more than before the pandemic, in 2019.

The state's travel numbers should reach new record highs in both the auto and air travel categories. An estimated 2.1 million Floridians will drive, which is 137,000 more than last year. Meanwhile, 208,000 are forecast to fly, which is 25,000 more passengers than last year’s holiday.

“Memorial Day weekend is the kickoff to what promises to be a very busy summer travel season,” said Debbie Haas, vice president of Travel for AAA – The Auto Club Group. “Despite various inflationary pressures, consumer spending is strong, and Americans still want to travel. Because of that, we’ve seen demand come roaring back, beyond pre-pandemic levels in Florida.”

Nationally, it’s expected to be third-busiest Memorial Day on record and a 7 percent increase over 2022, with 2.7 million more people projected to travel for the unofficial start of summer compared to last year.

Busiest Travel Times In Florida

Friday, May 26 will be the busiest day on the roads, according to transportation analyst INRIX. The best times to travel by car, during the holiday weekend, will be in the morning or evening after 6 p.m. The lightest traffic days will be Saturday and Sunday.

For those hitting the roads over the holiday weekend, transportation analyst INRIX is predicting when and where traffic will be the worst in the Tampa-St. Pete region and across the U.S.

If you're headed from Tampa to the Gainesville area via I-75S, the worst congestion will be Friday, May 26, at 5 p.m.

Travelers of Interstate 75 in Florida shouldn't be surprised this road is forecast to have peak congestion. INRIX expects peak congestion to happen around 2 p.m. Tuesday, May 23, en route to Gainesville, while the worst return time will be 5 p.m. Friday, May 26.

Here are the best and worst travel times over the Memorial Day weekend nationwide:

• Thursday, May 25: Worst travel time from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., best travel time before 1 p.m.
• Friday, May 26: Worst travel time from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., best travel time before 12 p.m.
• Saturday, May 27: Minimal traffic congestion expected
• Sunday, May 28: Minimal traffic congestion expected
• Monday, May 29: Worst travel time from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m., best travel time before 10 a.m
• Tuesday, May 30: Worst travel time from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., best travel time before 2 p.m. or after 6 p.m.

Gas prices are significantly lower than this time last year, which will likely bode well for Memorial Day and summer travel road trippers, AAA said.

Thursday’s national average of $3.57 is about $1 less than last year and Florida's average is trending about $1 less than 2022, as well. Florida’s statewide average was $3.37 on Thursday, May 25. Low demand and low oil prices are keeping pump prices low, as well.

AAA members can use the AAA Fuel Finder or use the AAA mobile app to find the lowest prices. Others can search gas prices by ZIP code or town using Gas Buddy.

Air Travel

Nationally, AAA projects that about 3.4 million travelers will fly to their destinations this Memorial Day, an increase of 11 percent from 2022. Air travel over the holiday weekend is projected to exceed pre-pandemic levels nationally, with 170,000 additional passengers — or 5.4 percent more — than in 2019.

Fliers are paying more for Memorial Day trips this year, in large part due to the rising cost of airline tickets. AAA booking data shows a 40 percent increase in airfare to this year’s top destinations.

This Memorial Day weekend is expected to be busy at Florida airports.

• Check your flight status before leaving for the airport: Don’t make a wasted trip. Download the airline app and check your flight status before setting out.
• Get there early: Airports will be crowded. Arrive at the airport at least two hours early for domestic flights and three hours for international.
• Understand expectations: Review TSA guidelines for getting through security and pack accordingly.
• If possible, travel off-peak: Based on AAA booking data, Thursday is shaping up to be the busiest day for air travel during the Memorial Day travel period with Monday being the lightest.