CHARLOTTE — Memorial Day marks the start of a busy travel season. But with record-high gas prices, travelers said their annual trips are costing them a lot more.
Drivers told Channel 9 that it’s cheaper to travel to the southern United States than to the North or to parts of the Midwest. However, they said either way you cut it, it’s still a larger bill than in 2021.
“We’re on a road trip. We’re having fun,” driver Tamarlin Barner said.
Barner said she is taking her grandchildren to Disney World. She said she estimates she spent $400 to $450 to go round trip from Columbus, through Ohio and eventually to Orlando.
Rich Reynolds and his wife, Terri, told Channel 9 they were traveling from Pittsburgh. They said they figured they would pay an extra $600 round trip, which is around the cost of a plane ticket.
The couple said they were conserving gas by slowing down.
“So, yeah we’ve been taking it slow,” Terri Reynolds said.
While pulling up to the pump may be painful for some travelers, others said it has its own rewards.
“I’m old school and I like to drive. And I like to stop at places and look around and check things out,” Barner said.
According to AAA, the national average for a gallon of gas is $4.60. But a lot of travelers said that was a small price to pay for some Memorial Day fun.
(WATCH BELOW: Controlling your costs: How to better your gas mileage)
©2022 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/LH3JSJEF3VBLRJLJQESEAG34AM.png)
