Labor Day 2024 Travel: Best And Worst Times To Get Out Of Town In NYC

NEW YORK CITY – Residents of New York City taking a Labor Day road trip can get their long weekend off to a good start by avoiding certain times when traffic is expected to be heavier than usual.

Thursday and Friday afternoons and evenings will see the most traffic congestion, transportation data provider INRIX said in AAA’s Labor Day travel trends report. Either morning is better, but people leaving on the weekend should wait until Saturday afternoon.

People who are returning home on either Sunday or Monday should leave as early as possible to avoid heavy afternoon traffic, INRIX said.

Overall, here are the worst and best times to travel by car this weekend:

Worst Times

• Thursday: 1-7:30 p.m.
• Friday: 2-6 p.m.
• Saturday: 8-11 a.m.
• Sunday: 2-8 p.m.
• Monday: 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
• Tuesday: 8 a.m.-12 p.m. noon

Best Times

• Thursday: before 11 a.m.
• Friday: before noon, after 7 p.m.
• Saturday: after 12 p.m noon
• Sunday: before 12 p.m. noon
• Monday: before 10 a.m.
• Tuesday: after 1 p.m.

For travelers leaving the NYC metro, the most congestion is expected for drivers headed to the Jersey Shore on Thursday, and going to the Hamptons on Saturday. And for those headed back on Monday, INRIX expects the heaviest traffic to be coming from the Jersey Shore, and also from Albany.

According to INRIX, southbound traffic on the Garden State Parkway to the Shore will be heaviest on Thursday around 3:45 p.m. (with travel times increased by 13 percent, or about 12 minutes), and northbound traffic will be heaviest on Monday at about 7:15 p.m (with travel times increased by 32 percent, or 30 minutes).

If you're going to the Hamptons, the worst time to leave the city via the Long Island Expressway is Saturday at about 10:15 a.m., when you could spend an extra 25 minutes (14 percent of travel time) on the road.

Congestion on I-87 south from Albany is predicted to be heaviest around 3 p.m. Monday, with drivers slowed by about 40 minutes of traffic, making their trip home 28 percent longer.

Drivers can also check out AAA's latest data on New York City gas prices here.