Tips on how to avoid delays in the South

With Christmas on the horizon, thousands of people will soon be heading home – but finding a way to beat the rush can be a daunting task.

The RAC has predicted this year will be the busiest festive getaway since it began recording the data in 2013, with Christmas Eve alone set to involve 4.2m trips.

But with several roadworks – including the closure of a section of a key motorway on the south coast on Christmas Eve – travellers will need be aware of potential problems.

Here is your guide to getting around the South over the festive period.

In Hampshire, the most significant problem will be closure of the M27 on Christmas Eve, between Junction 9 for Whiteley and 11 for Fareham.

This is so a huge concrete structure that will form a new junction can be slid into position.

Hundreds of thousands of vehicles will be diverted along the A27 during the closure, with the section reopening on 4 January.

“Significant delays” are likely, according to National Highways, and the advice is to plan an alternative route.

Elsewhere, the AA is warning the following hotspots will be among those seeing the most congestion:

• A34 between Oxford and Newbury
• M3/M25 interchange – Surrey (southwest of London)
• M4/M5 interchange – Near Bristol
• M42 J3A–J8 (M40 to M6 interchanges) – West Midlands

Friday 19 December is expected to be the busiest day on the roads, because of a combination of people still commuting for work, and others setting off for Christmas trips early, according to the AA.

The RAC said the best times to travel by road throughout Christmas week were:

• Saturday 20 December, before 12:00
• Sunday 21 December, before 10:00
• Monday 22 December, after 17:00
• Tuesday 23 December, before 11:00
• Wednesday 24 December, before 11:00

The railway network is very busy at this time of year, with blanket advice always to check before you travel.

Most services to and from the region will end at about 21:00 on Christmas Eve, and restart on 27 December, though Chiltern Railways are running a very limited service around Oxford and London on Boxing Day.

There will be no South Western Railway services between London Waterloo and Clapham Junction on Saturday 27 or Sunday 28 December.

On GWR, engineering works will impact services from 27 December to 4 January, especially around London Paddington.

Buses across the region will run as normal until Christmas Eve, when special timetables kick in and services begin winding down.

In Oxfordshire, the Airline service to Heathrow and Gatwick airports will run a limited service on Christmas Day. Normal weekend services will resume on 27 December, though without night buses.

In Berkshire, First Bus will run a Saturday-level timetable from Christmas Eve through to New Year’s Eve with some earlier finishes. On Christmas Day a reduced service runs on routes A4 and 7.

In Hampshire, Stagecoach will operate hourly specials on some Portsmouth-area routes, but nowhere else in the county.

In Dorset, First Bus Wessex will run some late-night routes on 31 January (1, 2 and 10). Networks in Bournemouth will follow a similar pattern with special Christmas Day and Boxing Day timetables on key routes.

Air travel over the festive period – in particular on Christmas Day – is becoming increasingly popular, according to the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Friday 19 December will be the busiest travel day, with nearly half a million people expected to take off.

At Southampton Airport, operations are reduced on Christmas Day but flights still operate to places like Dublin, Geneva, Glasgow and Paris.

The authority says top tips to avoid problems at airports include:

• Leaving presents unwrapped, as they may need to be inspected at security
• Checking airline rules before packing items such as Christmas crackers
• Not getting too excited on the plane – party poppers, it said, are not allowed on UK aircrafts