AAA releases travel forecast ahead of Labor Day weekend

(NBC, KYMA/KECY) - American Automobile Association (AAA) is out with its Labor Day weekend travel forecast.

The organization says bookings for domestic travel are running 9% higher that last year, while international trips are down 4%.

There's good news for those who plan to drive over the holiday weekend. That's because the average cost for a gallon of gas is much lower that last year. The current national average is $3.35-per-gallon. At this time last year, it was $3.82.

If you are looking to avoid heavy traffic, transportation-data provider INRIX says the worst time to travel by car on Thursday will be between 1:00pm And 7:30pm, and between 2:00pm and 6:00pm on Friday.

That flips on Saturday when you'll want to avoid driving between 8:00am and 11:00am, and then on Monday, it will likely be a slog all day, from 11:00am to 8:00pm, as people return home following the long weekend.