Summer travel: Brace for hassles and high prices

Published on May 27th, 2022.

Gas prices and Covid cases are high as the US rolls into Memorial Day weekend and the busy summer travel season.

The tangled web of global restrictions is still in play, but most Americans are planning to be out and about this summer.

According to the US Travel Association, about six in 10 Americans are planning at least one summer trip.

Gas prices are definitely a factor. US Travel is reporting that 63% of American travelers say rising gas prices will impact their decision to travel in the next six months.

That's certainly the case for Eric Stevens, a single dad in Los Angeles who has decided he won't be going anywhere. He's spending about $180 a week on gas for his day-to-day obligations.

Typically, he and his kids would choose a travel destination within about one tank of gas from their home in Encino.

"We've done Tahoe, we've done San Francisco, Carpenteria, Santa Barbara. There's no way I can afford that this weekend," Stevens said.

They wanted to visit Lake Havasu in Arizona this year, but necessities like daycare trump travel.

"Dad has canceled fun due to inflation," Stevens wrote to CNN. He told CNN's Pete Muntean that he feels like he's depriving his younger kids of the kinds of travel experiences and memories his older kids had.

"This will likely be one of the most expensive Memorial Day travel periods we've ever seen," Andrew Gross, a spokesperson for travel organization AAA, told Muntean.

Out of the more than 39 million people AAA expects to travel over the holiday weekend, nearly 35 million will drive.

The share of travelers planning to drive actually dipped -- from 92.1% last year to 88.9% this year -- "a slight indication that higher prices at the pump are having an impact on how people choose to travel this Memorial Day," AAA said in its forecast.

For those who are planning to hit the road this summer, CNN Travel has rounded up 11 ways to soften the blow of high gas prices on your road trip.

Original News: https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/summer-travel-memorial-day-2022/index.html