All we want for Christmas is to avoid traffic — so here are the worst days to be hitting the roads ahead of the holidays (and beyond).
Every Christmas involves a few time-honoured traditions. One of those is sitting in hours of traffic along with everyone else attempting to head away for the holidays.
Some days and times are usually worse than others for holiday gridlock, which is why the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) has released data for when traffic is expected to be its heaviest, based on travel patterns from years past.
Here are the dates to try and avoid travelling on, if you can.
Friday, December 22
One day has well and truly stood out for traffic armageddon and that is the Friday before Christmas (December 22).
It makes sense with Christmas falling on a Monday this year and people likely keen to use the weekend beforehand to stretch their holiday as long as possible.
Auckland's motorways will all be jammed that day from around midday, as will SH1 around Whangārei, SH1 between Taihape and Waiouru, SH1 between Ashburton and Christchurch, SH1 around Timaru, and SH6 in Queenstown.
For Wellington travellers, SH2 Remutaka Hill and SH1 north of Ōtaki are the areas likely to see the most congestion and delays.
This Friday will also be Air New Zealand's busiest day for flying people around or out of the country, with 50,000 passengers booked to take off then.
With the extra traffic on the roads that day, it will pay to leave yourselves an obscene amount of time to get to the airport and through its security checks. Take however long the most cautious member of your travelling party thinks you'll need and then double it. Or triple it. Unless, of course, you enjoy raised blood pressure and screaming at your family while running through airports.
Saturday, December 23
This Saturday also promises to be a traffic pain point in many areas, according to the NZTA data.
State Highway 1 between Puhoi and Wellsford will have heavy traffic heading north for much of that day, while the Auckland motorway between Manukau and Bombay will likely be busy from around midday.
In Wellington, the Remutaka Hill is picked to be busy that morning.
Traffic woes are predicted for some popular holiday destinations too, with heavy traffic for much of Saturday on both SH25 at Tairua and SH8 east of Wānaka.
Traffic delays are likely in the morning that day between Paeroa and Waihi and will also be a problem on SH29 around the Kaimai Range and on SH1 between Taihape and Waiouru.
Friday, December 29 and Saturday, December 30
But wait, there's more.
Once Christmas is out of the way, attention turns to end of the year celebrations and NZTA data shows that December 29 and 30 are traditionally busy on the roads, especially around popular New Year's destinations.
State Highway 1 between Puhoi and Wellsford is busy with people heading north from Christmas right up until December 30.
State Highway 25 around Tairua will be busy on Friday, December 29, as will SH8 near Wānaka.
Traffic is also expected to be heavy on Saturday, December 30 between Taihape and Waiouru.
Tuesday, January 2
January 2 is the last of the stat holidays for the Christmas break, so it's no surprise this day is historically busy with traffic as many people prepare to head back to work.
Areas that have seen especially busy roads that day include SH6 around Queenstown, although traffic is also expected to be bad there on January 3, 4 and 7. State Highway 8 heading southbound near Wānaka will also be busy on January 2.
The stretch of highway between Taihape and Waiouru will be bad for traffic again this day, as will SH79 at Geraldine and SH73 at Arthur's Pass.
A moratorium on road works
As per usual, NZTA will be halting road works for a set time over the holidays so as to not add to any traffic woes around the country.
It said that break from roadworks will run from 12pm on Thursday, December 21 through to 8am on Wednesday, January 3.
NZTA is also asking people to be patient while driving and give themselves plenty of time to get where they're going.
People can check the NZTA Journey Planner for live information on the day they're travelling, too — so they can safely and happily jingle all the way to their destination. (Sorry.)
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