AAA Mid-Atlantic is projecting more travel this Labor Day weekend than a year ago.
While AAA doesn’t do the regular projections like on Memorial Day and July 4, the expectation is that this Labor Day weekend will be busier than last year.
That’s based on estimates from travel sales, and it includes driving, flying, and cruises.
AAA travel data bookings are seeing a 4% increase in domestic destinations, and a 40% increase in international destination bookings to places like Vancouver, Rome, London, Dublin, and Paris as the top five international destinations.
For those hitting the roads this weekend, AAA spokesman Jim Lardear says there are some peak travel times to avoid.
"Thursday night we're anticipating late in the afternoon is going to be one of the busiest times on the road for the holiday as the getaway day, but then you also see Friday afternoon into the early evening hours also really representing a very busy time to be on the road,” said Lardear. “So, if you have flexibility in your planning, I would encourage drivers to figure out what that off peak hour is and travel either early morning or after 8 pm."
As of Tuesday afternoon, the average price for regular in Delaware was $3.64 - down a nickel from last year.
And that price has dipped lately, dropping two cents from Monday and about 12 cents compared to last week. But it’s still about two cents higher than a month ago.
And AAA spokesman Jim Lardear warns the looming storm down south could push prices higher in the near future.
"As we head into the later part of this week a lot's going to be determined on gas prices what happens to some of those refineries in the Gulf Coast from the impact of the hurricane coming up through Florida. So the storms and the uncertainties that they bring really adds to the volatility that we see of prices going up and down," said Lardear.
Lardear notes if you do drive make sure your vehicle is ready for the trip as the heat can take a toll on your vehicle.
