Maryland Memorial Day Travel: Best Times To Drive, Head To Airport

MARYLAND — If you’re among the 42.3 million Americans expected to travel 50 or more miles from home May 25-30 for the Memorial Day holiday, the auto club AAA has tips on when it's best, and worst, to get out of the Baltimore-DC region. That includes when to avoid miles-long traffic crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to reach beaches on the Eastern Shore.

An estimated 853,000 Marylanders are expected to fly or drive over the holiday weekend. This is an increase of more than 6 percent over last year for Maryland travel, but still 6 percent less than pre-pandemic holiday travel in 2019, AAA Mid-Atlantic said.

“Americans, including those in our region, are ready to kick off the Memorial Day weekend with a trip,” said Ragina Cooper Ali, manager of public and government affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic in Maryland and Washington, D.C. “In Maryland and the Washington, D.C. Metro area, AAA expects this to be the fourth-busiest Memorial Day weekend since 2000 — when AAA started tracking holiday travel.”

• Related: Here Are Best Times To Cross Bay Bridge On Memorial Day Weekend

Nationally, it’s expected to be third-busiest Memorial Day on record and a 7 percent increase over 2022, with 2.7 million more people projected to travel for the unofficial start of summer compared to last year.

Road trips are the preferred travel method this holiday, with nearly 755,000 Marylanders expected to drive to their destination. This represents nearly a 6 percent increase over last year and accounts for nearly 90 percent of Maryland residents who will travel Memorial Day weekend.

The best times to cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge this weekend are:

• Thursday, May 25 – before 10 a.m. and after 9 p.m.
• Friday, May 26 – before 8 a.m. and after 9 p.m.
• Saturday, May 27 – before 8 a.m. and after 4 p.m.
• Sunday, May 28 – before 11 a.m. and after 5 p.m.
• Memorial Day Monday, May 29 – before 8 a.m. and after 10 p.m.

Officials expect heavier eastbound traffic Thursday through Saturday. They anticipate westbound congestion Sunday and Monday.

Busiest Travel Times In Baltimore-DC Region

For those hitting the roads over the holiday weekend, transportation analyst INRIX is predicting when and where traffic will be the worst in the region and across the U.S.

Across the U.S., Friday, May 26, should be the busiest travel day of the holiday weekend. Travelers heading out that day can avoid the worst traffic by driving in the morning or after 6 p.m. As an alternative, Saturday and Sunday are forecast to have lighter traffic.

Here are the best and worst travel times over the Memorial Day weekend nationwide:

• Thursday, May 25: Worst travel time from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., best travel time before 1 p.m.
• Friday, May 26: Worst travel time from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., best travel time before 12 p.m.
• Saturday, May 27: Minimal traffic congestion expected
• Sunday, May 28: Minimal traffic congestion expected
• Monday, May 29: Worst travel time from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m., best travel time before 10 a.m
• Tuesday, May 30: Worst travel time from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., best travel time before 2 p.m. or after 6 p.m.

“Gas prices are significantly lower than this time last year, which will likely bode well for Memorial Day and summer travel road trippers, especially those heading to our Eastern Shore beaches and Western Maryland lakes,” said Ali.

Thursday’s national average of $3.57 is about $1.02 less than last year and Maryland’s average is trending about $1.14 less than last year. Maryland’s statewide average was $3.49 on Thursday, May 25. Low demand and low oil prices are keeping pump prices low, as well.

AAA members can use the AAA Fuel Finder or use the AAA mobile app to find the lowest prices. Others can search gas prices by ZIP code or town using Gas Buddy.

Air Travel

AAA said nearly 71,000 Marylanders are expected to fly to their destinations this Memorial Day, that’s an increase of almost 7.5 percent over last year and accounts for 8 percent of those traveling.

Nationally, AAA projects that about 3.4 million travelers will fly to their destinations this Memorial Day, an increase of 11 percent from 2022. Air travel over the holiday weekend is projected to exceed pre-pandemic levels nationally, with 170,000 additional passengers — or 5.4 percent more — than in 2019.

Here, in Maryland, air travel, while robust, is still down nearly 4 percent compared to pre-pandemic.

“Even with high ticket prices, demand for flights is skyrocketing,” Ali said.

Fliers are paying more for Memorial Day trips this year, in large part due to the rising cost of airline tickets. AAA booking data shows a 40 percent increase in airfare to this year’s top destinations.

This Memorial Day weekend is expected to be the third busiest at Maryland airports. The highest Maryland air travel numbers were in 2019 (73,404) and 2018 (70,903), respectively.

• Check your flight status before leaving for the airport: Don’t make a wasted trip. Download the airline app and check your flight status before setting out.
• Get there early: Airports will be crowded. Arrive at the airport at least two hours early for domestic flights and three hours for international.
• Understand expectations: Review TSA guidelines for getting through security and pack accordingly.
• If possible, travel off-peak: Based on AAA booking data, Thursday is shaping up to be the busiest day for air travel during the Memorial Day travel period with Monday being the lightest.