Christmas getaway set to be busiest on record as RAC forecasts 37.5m car journeys

The RAC is forecasting the busiest festive getaway on record, with an estimated 37.5 million car journeys planned in the week leading up to Christmas Day as households across the UK travel to see friends and family.

The breakdown and recovery provider said this year’s figure is the highest since it began tracking festive travel patterns in 2013, representing an increase of around eight million trips compared with the 29.3 million estimated last year. The surge comes as Christmas falls midweek in 2025, prompting many drivers to travel earlier than usual to avoid peak weekend congestion.

RAC analysis suggests around 18 per cent of all festive journeys, equivalent to 6.5 million trips, will take place on Wednesday 17 and Thursday 18 December. The main wave of travel is then expected to build rapidly from Friday 19 December, when 3.6 million trips are planned.

Saturday 20 December is forecast to be the most congested day of the entire getaway period. Around 4.1 million journeys are expected on what the RAC has labelled ‘Snarl-up Saturday’, making it the busiest Saturday since its records began. A further 3.5 million journeys are anticipated on Sunday 21 December, with an additional 5.3 million trips expected across the same weekend from drivers who have yet to decide exactly when they will travel.

Midweek Christmas drives early departures, with Snarl-up Saturday and Christmas Eve expected to see the worst congestion

Traffic volumes are expected to dip slightly at the start of Christmas week, with Monday 22 and Tuesday 23 December seeing 3.1 million and 3 million journeys respectively, reflecting normal working patterns for many people. However, Christmas Eve is forecast to be the single busiest day of the entire period, with 4.2 million trips planned. A further 4.2 million journeys are expected to take place at some point between Monday 22 December and Christmas Eve.

Transport analytics firm INRIX has warned of significant delays on key routes, particularly on Friday 19 December as drivers leaving major cities coincide with the end of the working week. Delays of more than 30 minutes are expected on sections of the M25 in both directions, including clockwise from Junction 15 near the M4 to Junction 19 at Watford, and anticlockwise from Junction 10 at Kingston to Junction 6 near East Grinstead. In the North West, congestion is forecast on the M60 clockwise between Junction 7 at Altrincham and Junction 18 for the M62 towards Leeds.

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In Wales, INRIX expects hold-ups from early morning on the same day, with delays of more than half an hour predicted from 7.30am on the M4 eastbound around Newport and the Brynglas Tunnels, as traffic builds towards the Prince of Wales Bridge.

The RAC and INRIX have advised drivers to expect lengthy delays on both Snarl-up Saturday and Christmas Eve, particularly between 11am and 7pm when the majority of journeys are expected to be made. While commuter and heavy goods vehicle traffic will be lower over the Christmas bank holidays, leisure travel by car is forecast to remain high.

RAC data indicates that 4.7 million car journeys are planned on Christmas Day, followed by 4.6 million on Boxing Day and 4.1 million on 27 December, as people continue celebrations or travel home. Additional pressure on the road network could come from rail engineering works later in the holiday period. No trains will operate from London Liverpool Street or London Waterloo stations on 27 December, nor on routes between Cambridge and Cambridge North and between Bury St Edmunds and Stansted Airport. In Scotland, buses will replace trains in West Dunbartonshire from 27 December through to New Year’s Eve, which may also increase local road traffic.

Nick Mullender, RAC mobile servicing and repairs team leader, said: “With record numbers predicted to be taking to the roads this Christmas, journeys have the potential to be ‘Grinch-worthy’ without some careful planning.

“The week before Christmas is one of the few times of year when most of the UK hits the road simultaneously, with 2025 looking to be the busiest getaway period since our records began. ‘Snarl-up Saturday’ will be especially busy amid journeys home and the final weekend for gift shopping, but it’s midweek Christmas Eve that takes the top spot, suggesting many drivers are saving their precious annual leave and making getaway journeys at the very last moment.

“This year motorists tell us the reliability and convenience of the car, the practicality of transporting passengers, presents and luggage, and the cost compared to catching trains or coaches are the main reasons for driving rather than using any alternative form of transport. Seasonal issues are also a factor in the decision, like fears about public transport being delayed or cancelled due to bad weather or engineering works.“