Labor Day weekend will be a busier time for travel this year, with domestic bookings up 4% from last year, according to AAA.
Whether traveling by car or plane, AAA reminds travelers to plan ahead for this busy Labor Day weekend.
“It definitely feels like it was busier this year than it was last year,” Moritz Drost said.
Moritz Drost and his girlfriend, Ashna Deo, are from Mountain View, Calif., in Santa Clara County. For Labor Day weekend they are traveling seven hours to spend time with family.
“The traffic has been terrible,” Ashna Deo said.
The couple thought that they would be able to get to their destination sooner than they did.
“It’s taking twice as long to get here," Drost said. "We thought we were going to be in Santa Barbara by now."
Now that they have seen what traffic is like on Labor Day weekend, they will be sure to plan ahead for when they head back home.
“Hopefully leave early in the morning and try to beat some of that heavy build-up,” Deo said.
If you are planning to travel this weekend, AAA recommends driving on Sunday when traffic will be minimal, and the best time to travel is either early in the morning or late at night.
“We'll leave early in the morning so I think it will be pretty good. A Lot of people are going to be trying to head to the beach and we will be heading away,” Letita Ward said.
According to AAA, most travelers leave on Thursday or Friday before Labor Day to take advantage of the long weekend and that is exactly what the Ward’s did.
Samuel Ward Sr. and Letita Ward are from Hayward, Calif., in the East Bay subregion of San Francisco, and say there was traffic on the way to the Central Coast.
“We ran into some traffic but it was not so bad," Ward said. "It was like stop and go, stop and go."
Despite the traffic, Ward says it is not a major concern for them.
“You're going to have traffic any way you go, and we're going to be in it either way,” Ward continues.
AAA also says they are seeing a demand for longer stays since many people now have the option to work remotely from anywhere.
