(File Photo of the AAA East Central Logo)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Pittsburgh, PA) According to AAA booking data, Seattle, Orlando, and New York are the three most popular cities over Labor Day weekend*. Car rentals, flights and hotels are less expensive for the 2025 Labor Day Weekend compared to the 2024 Labor Day Weekend. In 2025, domestic roundtrip flights are cheaper by 6% compared to 2024, with a ticket price average of $720. AAA booking data also confirms that rates for hotels are lower by 11% and car rental costs are cheaper by 3% compared to last Labor Day. According to AAA car rental partner Hertz, the top destinations based on advanced bookings are Orlando, Denver, Boston, Los Angeles, and Atlanta, with the busiest day to pick up rental cars expected to be Friday, August 29th. Summer gas prices have matched the averages in 2021 as they have remained low. On Labor Day of 2024, the national average for a gallon of regular gas was $3.33. Hotel are cheaper by 2% and airfare is more expensive by 8% for the cost to travel internationally for the Labor Day weekend of 2025. The number one spot on the top international destinations from AAA is Vancouver, with most of the cities on that list being European cities.
*According to that same release from AAA East Central, AAA looked at booking data for Thursday, August 28th through Monday, September 1st, and compared those numbers with booking data for that same five-day period in 2024.
According to a release from AAA East Central, here are the top Labor Day Weekend destinations domesticcaly and internationally:
AAA’s Top Labor Day Weekend Destinations
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DOMESTIC |
INTERNATIONAL |
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SEATTLE, WA |
VANCOUVER, CANADA |
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ORLANDO, FL |
ROME, ITALY |
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NEW YORK, NY |
DUBLIN, IRELAND |
|
BOSTON, MA |
LONDON, ENGLAND |
|
ANCHORAGE, AK |
PARIS, FRANCE |
|
CHICAGO, IL |
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS |
|
ATLANTA, GA |
BARCELONA, SPAIN |
|
DENVER, CO |
ATHENS, GREECE |
|
MIAMI, FL |
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND |
|
LAS VEGAS, NV |
LISBON, PORTUGAL |
Best and Worst Times to Travel by Car over Labor Day Weekend
According to INRIX, a provider of transportation data and insights, the best times to drive over Labor Day weekend are before lunchtime, and for those hitting the road on Saturday, a better time is earlier. As the day progresses, traffic congestion worsens. Early evening and in the afternoon typically the worst times to drive over the holiday weekend. An extra busy time is expected to be Saturday because of a good amount of drivers going out of town or taking trips during the day.
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Best and Worst Times to Travel by Car |
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Date |
Best Travel Time |
Worst Travel Time |
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Thursday, Aug 28 |
Before 1:00 PM |
1:00 PM – 8:00 PM |
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Friday, Aug 29 |
Before 12:00 PM |
12:00 PM – 8:00 PM |
|
Saturday, Aug 30 |
6:00 AM – 10:00 AM |
10:00 AM – 6:00 PM |
|
Sunday, Aug 31 |
Before 11:00 AM |
12:00 PM – 5:00 PM |
|
Monday, Sep 1 |
Before 12:00 PM |
1:00 PM – 4:00 PM |