Travelers Head Out Early for Memorial Day Weekend

AAA predicts more than 39 million people across the country are set fly or hit the road for Memorial Day. Some are doing it early.

Patrick  Detwiller flew from New Orleans to Newark, rented a car and headed to Kennebunkport, Maine for a relaxing getaway and headed back before the holiday weekend even begins. Now, he’s starting to notice some backup 

“We actually tried to get the week before. We wanted to go before the northeast schools got out, before the traffic got crazy,” Detwiller said. “It’s getting there, especially like in Boston, you know."

He said it was busy.

"They were setting up for the weekend, they were putting all the flags down, stuff like that for the Memorial Day celebration,” he said.

On the bright side, renting a vehicle has become cheaper and easier. Daily car rentals have decreased 16% compared to last year.

When it comes to those traveling from Bradley International Airport Thursday morning, the crowds were bearable.

Two passengers said they had no problem getting through TSA, but cost is a different story. The lowest airfare is still 6% more than last year.

“Flights are up, I paid a lot more for this ticket than I did the last time I went,” said Deborah Collett.

Sharon Stone, of Ventura, California, is visiting from the West Coast to see her family.

“It was worth every penny that I had to spend to come on out across the states to come and visit family,” she said.

Some travelers were driving rather than flying.

“You start to add it all up, so maybe it’s time to enjoy home,” Keith Light, of Rhode Island, said

“The other thing I’m aware of is that other trips I either need to make in the next couple of months, I’m thinking about rationing my time on the road because it is so expensive,” he added.

Experts said the busiest periods of travel on Thursday is 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday between noon and 7 p.m., so avoid those spans if you can.

The busy time for the return trip is between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Monday.