ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — With Memorial Day approaching, the start of the busy summer travel season is about to kick off.

And what a start it will be. According to AAA, 38.4 million people nationwide will travel by car, meaning expect busy roadways and highways.

AAA is recommending people leave for their destinations early to beat the rush.

“We haven’t seen Memorial Day weekend travel numbers like these in almost 20 years,” said Paula Twidale, senior vice president of AAA Travel. “We’re projecting an additional one million travelers this holiday weekend compared to 2019, which not only means we’re exceeding pre-pandemic levels but also signals a very busy summer travel season ahead.”

In Tampa, AAA said the worst time to travel by car is between noon and 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 29 and between noon and 7 p.m. on Friday, May 30.

The agency also is predicting the peak congestion area will be from Gainesville to Tampa via I-75 southbound.

And while road trips are expected to set a record, we're seeing gas prices similar to last year.

"Gas prices have been ticking down in recent days and they really remained steady over the past month or so,” said AAA Spokesperson Aixa Siaz. “So, we haven't seen any spikes in gas prices"

Meanwhile, Bay area gas prices remain steady.

The current average for regular gas in Florida is $3.44, which is slightly lower than yesterday's average and lower than the national average of $3.59.