How to Get Home for Christmas: Your Essential Travel Guide

Driving home for Christmas – a catchy Christmas song and a stressful yearly event – where the reality is often brake lights in the rain. Whether you’re heading back to your parents’ house, visiting friends, or escaping to a holiday cottage, getting home (or travelling anywhere) for Christmas is a massive operation for millions of us.

With predicted Christmas travel chaos on the horizon and millions of journeys planned, a little preparation goes a long way. In this guide, we’ll break down our top Christmas travel tips, look at the busiest days to avoid, and explain how temporary car insurance can be the secret weapon in your festive travel toolkit.

The Reality of Christmas Travel Chaos

We all hope for a clear run, but Christmas travel is notoriously unpredictable. No matter how early you plan to leave, you should always expect more traffic or public transport delays than usual in December. With Christmas Day falling on a Thursday in 2025, the great exodus of Xmas travel is expected to be more concentrated around the preceding weekend, leading to significant congestion on major routes and carnage on trains.

So, is it a good idea to travel during Christmas? Absolutely – seeing family and friends is what it’s all about. Do people travel a lot during Christmas? Yes, and they all tend to do it at the same time, which is why you need to be smart about it, to avoid a stressful journey.

What are the Worst Days for Christmas Traffic

If you can, you’ll want to avoid the peak getaway days. Surprise, surprise, weekends just before Christmas are going to be the worst for travel, so if you can set off to whenever you’re going mid-week, you’ll save yourself a headache. The days you want to avoid, if possible, are:

• Friday 19th December: Dubbed Frantic Friday, this is predicted to be the busiest day on the roads as commuter traffic clashes with early festive getaways.
• Saturday 20th December: Expect Snarl-up Saturday (named for the harrowing traffic predicted) to bring heavy congestion on major motorways as the masses set off on their Christmas travels.

According to travel predictions for 2025, avoiding these peak dates can save you hours of sitting in traffic. If you have the flexibility, travelling earlier in the week or very early in the morning is your best bet to beat the rush.

Xmas Rail Chaos: Why Driving Puts You in Control

It’s not just the roads that are busy – the rail network is bracing for significant disruption. Christmas 2025 is set to see extensive engineering works that could leave many passengers stranded or facing long replacement bus journeys.

With trains looking increasingly unreliable this festive season, driving offers one huge advantage: control. You decide when you leave, you’re not limited by luggage restrictions (perfect for all those presents), and you won’t be left shivering on a platform if a service is cancelled. If you don’t have a car of your own, borrowing someone else’s car with temporary insurance could be the smartest travel hack of the year.

Top Christmas Travel Tips for a Smooth Journey

To make getting home for Christmas as stress-free as possible, you need a plan. Here are some essential tips to keep you moving.

• Check your vehicle: Before you set off, give your car a once-over. Essential winter car checks include: checking your tyre pressure, oil levels, and screen wash well in advance. A breakdown is the last thing you need.
• Check for Roadworks: National Highways typically lifts a large percentage of roadworks over the festive period to ease congestion, but it’s always worth checking their website for any ongoing closures on your route.
• Pack smart: Don’t overload your car. If you have a boot full of presents, make sure you can still see out of the rear window; blocking your view could lead to some unexpected driving fines.
• Plan your route: Use a sat-nav with live traffic updates to avoid the worst jams.
• Leave at the right time: As mentioned, avoiding peak times is key.

Is There Any Transport on Christmas Day?

Trains and buses across the UK typically shut down completely on the 25th of December. In 2025, extensive engineering works are also planned for the rail network, which may affect travel on Boxing Day and New Year’s as well. There might be a very limited service on some specific airport routes, but for the vast majority of us, public transport isn’t an option. Taxis are available, but they often charge double or triple fares.

This means that if you need to work out how to travel on Christmas Day, driving is really your only reliable choice. This is where having access to a car – even if you don’t own one – becomes essential…

No Car? No Problem: Borrowing a Vehicle for Christmas

With the rail network causing tears and taxis charging a premium, being stranded without a car is a nightmare this time of year. But you don’t need to own a vehicle to get home in one, thanks to temporary insurance.

If you have a friend or family member willing to lend you their car, you can easily drive home for Christmas with temporary car insurance. It’s the quickest and easiest way to get on the road legally, providing comprehensive cover that is totally separate from the owner’s policy, meaning their no claims discount is protected. You can get a quote in under two minutes, or even quicker through our new temporary insurance app. This is ideal for:

• Students Returning Home: If you’re travelling home from university and need wheels to visit friends or escape the house, you can insure yourself on your parents’ car for a few days or weeks. It’s flexible and avoids the hassle of adjusting their annual policy.
• Expats Visiting the UK: Flying home for Christmas? Renting a car can be extortionate over the festive period, and relying on others for lifts can cause tensions. If you can borrow a car from a relative, expat car insurance allows you to drive legally while back home – if you still have a full UK licence.

If you’re the one handing over the keys, you might worry about your No Claims Discount. The beauty of temporary cover is that if the borrower has a bump, your policy isn’t affected. So, if you’re considering letting someone else drive your car over Christmas, temporary insurance is the way to go.

Beat the Christmas Traffic Fatigue: Share the Drive

Even if you have your own car, driving home for Christmas in 2025 is set to be a test of endurance. Sitting in traffic on the M25 or M6 for hours is exhausting, and fatigue is a real danger on winter roads.

A smart way to handle the chaos is to share the driving with your passengers. Switching drivers every couple of hours keeps everyone fresh and alert.

• Instant Cover: You don’t need to be a named driver on the annual policy to take the wheel. You can get short-term cover for just the hours or days you need to travel. It’s perfect for adding a temporary driver for a single long trip.
• Designated Drivers: Christmas is party season. If you’re heading to a festive gathering and want to make sure everyone gets home safely, designated driver insurance allows a friend to drive your car home legally, so you can enjoy a mince pie and a mulled wine without worry.

Don’t Let Travel Chaos Ruin Your Christmas

Getting home for Christmas shouldn’t be stressful. By planning ahead, avoiding the busiest travel days, and ensuring you have the flexibility to drive – whether it’s your car or someone else’s – you can beat the chaos. With temporary insurance, you can split the driving on a long journey or borrow a car to fill the gap left by cancelled trains. Temporary cover gives you the freedom to enjoy the festive season your way.

Get a quote in under 2 minutes or in just a few taps on our new app, and make your journey home a safe and happy one.