The upcoming bank holiday weekend could see traffic congestion close to pre-pandemic levels as drivers make the most of the weather, the RAC has warned.

Routes from cities to coasts are likely to be hardest hit as day trips rise in popularity

More than 20 million leisure journeys are expected to be made by car over the late May bank holiday, closing in on levels last seen in 2019, when over 22 million drivers hit the road during the same period.

Traffic is expected to be at its worst on Friday 24 May, when more than four million journeys are planned as many schools also break up for the half term, according to the study by the RAC and the transport analytics specialists at Inrix.

But traffic levels aren’t likely to see much respite over the long weekend, as 3.7 million trips are expected to take place on Saturday 25 May, while 3.4 million journeys are anticipated on both Sunday and bank holiday Monday. A further 5.7 million leisure trips by car are also planned at some point throughout the long weekend.

Day trips are top of many drivers’ itineraries for the late May bank holiday. Some 22% have said they’ll be using their car for a day out with friends or family, while 8% intend to spend a day in the countryside or by the beach. Staycations rank third on the list as 7% said they are planning a short break, while a smaller proportion (3%) are heading to an airport or ferry port over the long weekend.

Peak congestion times vary over the weekend. Traffic is predicted to build through the day on Friday, with Inrix advising motorists to delay their departures until 6pm to miss the worst of the queues when both commuter and leisure drivers are sharing the roads. The M25 clockwise between J7 for the M23 and J21 for the M1 is expected to bear the brunt of the traffic, with those travelling on this stretch likely to suffer delays of more than an hour and a half in the late afternoon.

On Saturday, traffic is expected to peak between 3pm and 6pm, with motorists advised to start their journeys as early as possible in the day to be in with the best chance of avoiding traffic. Day trips are expected to be particularly popular – and routes from cities to coasts are likely to suffer some of the worst delays. In the middle of the day, the M5 southbound – a major holiday route – is likely to see major hold-ups with journeys on a 45-mile stretch between J16 north of Bristol and J25 for Taunton in Somerset expected to take over an hour longer than usual.

Elsewhere, snarl-ups are also anticipated on Saturday afternoon on the M25 anticlockwise towards the M23, the A14 eastbound towards the east coast, as well as on the M3 and A34 that funnel large volumes of leisure traffic towards resorts on the south coast.

Meanwhile, the clockwise M25 is expected to again be the busiest route for traffic at the end of the school half term on Friday 31 May, with journeys between the M23 and the M1 likely to nearly triple in duration to three hours.

Bob Pishue, transportation analyst at Inrix, said: “With near record number of travellers expected to be on the roads over the holiday period, drivers should be prepared for long delays, especially in and around major cities and towards the coasts. The best general advice to anyone spending time away from home this weekend is to travel as early or as late in the day as possible to avoid the worst delays. Travellers should stay up to date on traffic apps such as myRAC and listen to local news stations to avoid sitting in traffic longer than necessary.”