The best times to travel from Philly for Memorial Day vacation
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Memorial Day travel is on course to be busier than ever.
Why it matters: More than 525,000 people in the Philly metro are expected to travel from Thursday through Monday, per AAA.
- That's up 3% over last year and would be a record high for the long weekend.
State of play: Despite rising prices and economic uncertainty, AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesperson Jana Tidwell tells Axios people don't want to give up traveling, especially in the post-pandemic world.
- "They're going to do it in a way that works for their budget," she said. "People will find a way to [travel]."
📈 Zoom out: AAA projects 45.1 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home between Thursday and May 26 — a new record.
- That's up by 1.4 million travelers over last year.
🚗 Zoom in: Cars are the preferred mode of travel in the region this weekend, per AAA.
- 9 out of 10 are projected to drive to their destinations.
🏖️ Travel hotspot: The Jersey Shore is the place to be this weekend — duh.
- Congestion along the Atlantic City Expressway will be the worst in the region during the holiday, per AAA.
- Monday at noon is pegged as the worst time to drive along this route.
Pro tip: Hitting the road in morning is generally your best bet to beat traffic, per Inrix, which crunches transportation data.
The overall best times to drive: Before noon on Thursday and Saturday.
- Friday: Before 11am
- Sunday: Before 1pm
- Monday: Before 2pm
The worst times to drive: 1–9pm on Thursday.
- Friday: Noon–8pm
- Saturday: 2pm–6pm
- Sunday: 1–5pm
- Monday: 4–7pm
✈️ Meanwhile, 38,000 people in the region will travel by plane this weekend — up 1.2% over last year.
Worth noting: Philadelphia International Airport will add new daily service to Edinburgh, Scotland, and Milan, Italy, starting Saturday.
Plus: American Airlines opens its Admirals Club Lounge and Flagship Lounge on Thursday.
- The Chase Sapphire Lounge opened in February.
