More often than not, holiday weekends bring excitement about time off work mixed with dread over anticipated traffic for those traveling by car. This Labor Day weekend travel period is no different, and a recently released report offers insight into the best times to avoid roads and skip sitting in traffic.
To beat the congestion this Labor Day weekend, avoid driving when the mix of holiday road trippers and work commuters will be at their combined peak. According to the American Automobile Association (AAA)’s report, the times to avoid are:
- Thursday, September 3 from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.
- Friday, September 4 from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.
- Saturday, September 5 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
- Monday, September 7 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
The report emphasized that traffic can pool during Labor Day weekend – aka the “unofficial end of summer,” due to the short length of the travel period. INRIX, a transportation data and insights source, directly noted that “travel over Labor Day weekend tends to be concentrated within a short window.”
Labor Day Weekend Travel Trends
To create its report, AAA analyzed booking data for September 3 through 7 of this year and compared it with last year’s. The findings show that airfare, hotels, and gas prices are generally higher this year than in 2025.
While the cost to book domestic round-trip airfare increased by 2% ($750 per ticket, on average), travelers going to the most popular destinations this Labor Day travel period are paying $790 on average, almost 20% more than in 2025. That said, international airfare for this Labor Day weekend is reportedly 4% lower than last year, “averaging $1,240 per ticket.”
The source claims the top five domestic destinations for travelers this Labor Day weekend are Seattle, Washington; Orlando, Florida; Boston, Massachusetts; Denver, Colorado; and New York, New York. And for jet-setters heading abroad, the top international hotspots are Rome, Italy; Vancouver, Canada; London, England; Dublin, Ireland; and Paris, France.
