AAA estimates that 45.1 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home over the Memorial Day holiday period from Thursday, May 22 to Monday, May 26. This year’s domestic travel forecast is an increase of 1.4 million travelers compared with last year and sets a Memorial Day weekend record. The previous record was set in 2005 with 44 million people traveling for Memorial Day weekend.
Despite concerns over rising prices, AAA reports that Americans are taking advantage of the long holiday weekend to travel, even if the trips are closer to home.
“Memorial Day weekend getaways don’t have to be extravagant and costly,” says Stacey Barber, vice president of AAA Travel. “While some travelers embark on dream vacations and fly hundreds of miles across the country, many families just pack up the car and drive to the beach or take a road trip to visit friends. Long holiday weekends are ideal for travel because many people have an extra day off work and students are off from school.”
Orlando, Florida, is this year’s top holiday destination for Memorial Day weekend, according to AAA booking data for trips between May 22 and May 26. AAA says Orlando tops the domestic list thanks to its popular theme parks and nearby cruise port, Port Canaveral. Cruising is also the reason Seattle and Anchorage, Alaska, are top destinations this Memorial Day — the holiday weekend marks the peak Alaska cruise season.
AAA’s top Memorial Day weekend destinations for 2025 include:
- Orlando, Florida
- Seattle
- New York
- Las Vegas
- Miami
- San Francisco
- Anchorage, Alaska
- Chicago
- Denver
- Boston
AAA projects up to 39.4 million people will travel 50 miles or more by car over Memorial Day weekend, which is up by 1 million people compared with 2024. For Memorial Day weekend, about 87% of travelers prefer to take road trips over other forms of transportation. In addition, AAA rental car partner Hertz shares that it’s seeing high demand for rental cars in Orlando, Denver, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Miami and Seattle, all of which are in the top destination list.
AAA also reports that about 3.61 million people will travel by air domestically over Memorial Day weekend, up 2% compared with 2024. Most flights are to popular destinations, including Chicago, New York, Orlando, Denver and Seattle.
Travel by other modes of transportation has also risen post-pandemic. AAA projects that 2.08 million people will travel by train, bus or cruise over Memorial Day weekend, up 8.5% compared with 2024. The growing popularity of cruises is highlighted by the strong demand for Alaska cruises this season, with top domestic cruise destinations including Fairbanks, Anchorage and Juneau.
