LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Memorial Day travel will look and feel different this year as AAA says millions will travel for the holiday weekend.
T Lyn Moore, a Louisville native who lives in Texas, is one of them. One of the owners of Louisville Xtreme, Moore does a lot of traveling to Kentucky and is looking forward to coming home for Memorial Day.
"With COVID lifting slowly, I have been yearning for the outings that we never got to have in 2020,” Moore said. "I'm excited to be able to get the food, the fun the family."
But there is also a part of the trip she's dreading.
"And that is the influx of the cost of everything that you're going to have to do," Moore said. "The airlines, the rental cars and the gas, mainly."
According to AAA, the demand for gasoline, rental cars, hotel rooms and airline tickets is up.
"More than 37 million people will travel this coming Memorial Day weekend, and that is up 60% from 2020,” said Lynda Lambert, spokesperson and safety advisor for AAA.
Lambert said the price you’ll pay for gasoline, hotel rooms, air travel and car rentals is also up.
"Rental cars are hard to find, and sometimes, if you find one, the price is much higher than what you are used to paying. It's out of your price range,” Lambert said. “And one of the reasons is that last year, during the pandemic, those cars were just sitting on the lots, and the rental companies had to make money, so they sold off their fleets."
And even if you drive your own car, Lambert said filling up the gas tank won't be cheap.
"National gas prices right now are averaging $3.03 per gallon," she said. "That's 17 cents more than last month, but it's $1.12 more than this time last year."
Jerry Zegard, who recently traveled from Florida to Louisville, said other than masks, the airports and airplanes are getting back to normal.
"Oh my God, the airports were packed," he said. "You would never know there was a pandemic. We landed in Louisville. I've never seen the Louisville airport that crowded in my life."
Lambert said the majority of people will travel by car and offered some advice.
"Don't leave during popular travel times like rush hour," she said. "Try to leave early or late, if at all possible. Because Thursday afternoon and Friday afternoon will be very, very busy, especially if you're heading through metropolitan areas."
If you are hitting the road and want to find the cheapest gas prices, hotel rooms or even plan your route, AAA has a free app that will provide that information.
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