(CNN) — Xavier Vega and his partner, Soluna Vega, cheered in relief as the “Welcome to Connecticut” sign came into view. It marked the end of an unplanned 17-hour highway odyssey home after their flight became one of more than 1,000 cancellations on Saturday alone tied to the ongoing government shutdown.

The couple, who had to take a train, bus and a rental car on Saturday to drive over 1,100 miles from Florida, are among thousands of travelers whose plans have been derailed by the widespread cancellations – and are searching for other ways to get where they’re going.

Rental car companies have been flooded with one-way bookings. Avis, Hertz and Turo all reported sharp increases in demand as passengers scrambled to make it to their destinations by any means necessary.

An end to the travel woes could be in sight, with Senate lawmakers voting on a key step toward reopening the government Sunday night – but until then, frustrated passengers continue to face flight delays and cancellations.

For some like the Vegas, the disruptions have meant resorting to long drives, costly rebookings and days of uncertainty, all ripple effects of a shutdown that continues to grind the nation’s air system to a halt.

Exhausted and running on little sleep, Xavier and Soluna Vega set out on a 1,390-mile dash from Daytona Beach, Florida, to Connecticut, rushing to make it home on time for work Monday after spending $900 on a rental car – just two of countless travelers forced into marathon drives by the shutdown.

The nightmare began with what initially was a four-hour delay.

“Our (Saturday) flight went from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., to 8 p.m. to 11:45 p.m., and we just felt so hopeless,” Xavier Vega told CNN from their rental car on Sunday while his partner drove.

The couple had disembarked from a cruise in Miami with their best friend and took a train to Orlando, only to face a nearly 10-hour flight delay that ended in cancellation. The situation continued to worsen; a music festival in Orlando had wiped the city’s supply of rental cars. Desperate to get home, they managed to hop on a bus, which they nearly missed, to Daytona Beach, scrambling for Plan C.

But when they arrived, the situation was just as bleak; not a single rental car was available. Then, by sheer chance, a break came when they least expected it.