This is the best time to leave the city to beat traffic on Memorial Day weekend according to experts

As we wait for the weather to turn, well, normal, we focus on our travel plants this Memorial Day weekend, specifically looking at what the best and worst times to leave town are.

Fair warning as you set up your schedule: AAA predicts that the number of folks traveling this year will exceed pre-pandemic levels.

"We're projecting an additional one million travelers this holiday weekend compared to 2019, which not only means that we're moving beyond pandemic-era lulls, but also signals a very busy summer travel season ahead," Alec Slatky, of AAA Northeast, said in an official statement.

What's more, the company noted that, according to its own booking data, NYC is the third most popular domestic travel destination this weekend. Keep all of that in mind when scheduling the upcoming days. 

To help you out, we report on transportation analytics company INRIX's just-released Memorial Day forecasts. Got a pen and paper? You're going to want to write this all down:

Thursday, May 23

Worst travel time: between noon and 6pm

Best travel time: before 11am and after 7pm

Friday, May 24

Worst travel time: between noon and 6pm

Best travel time: before 11am and after 7pm

Saturday, May 25

Worst travel time: between 2pm and 5pm

Best travel time: before 1pm and after 6pm

Sunday, May 26

Worst travel time: between 3pm and 7pm

Best travel time: before 1pm

Monday, May 27

Worst travel time: between 3pm and 7pm

Best travel time: after 7pm

If you're staying in New York for the holiday and are still looking for things to do in town, here is our list of the best Memorial Day weekend events in NYC. Beaches are officially opening as well, so you might want to browse through our list of the best ones out there.