The worst time to travel during the Christmas holiday has been identified.

As the festive season approaches, millions of people across the country are gearing up for long drives to visit their loved ones. However, with the increasing number of cars on the road, the AA has issued a warning about potential traffic congestion and delays of up to 40 minutes. This has been marked as an amber warning, with the period between now and Christmas Eve being the most critical.

But among these busy days, there is one that stands out as the busiest. According to data collected by the RAC and transport analytics company INRIX, today, also known as "Frantic Friday", is expected to see nearly three million separate car trips. And the worst part? Setting off too early or too late could result in being stuck in traffic for up to 43 minutes on major routes like M3, M25, M23, and M53.

The chaos on the roads is not expected to ease up anytime soon, as Saturday is predicted to be even worse with over 3.7 million car trips. And for those procrastinators who leave their Christmas shopping until the last minute, Christmas Eve is set to be the busiest day with 3.8 million trips expected. This is in addition to the 5.7 million trips that are projected for Wednesday and Thursday this week. The RAC has even described this as an "extended period of pre-Christmas panic".

But not all journeys will be long and hectic. According to the AA, most trips are expected to be less than 50 miles. Some people are even taking the opportunity to escape the cold and head for sunny destinations abroad for Christmas.

As for the worst travel times, Friday, December 20 between 2pm and 7pm has been marked as the busiest time to travel. The same goes for Saturday, December 21 between 1pm and 6pm, and Sunday, December 22 between 8am and 11am. On Monday, December 23, the peak hours to avoid are from 10am to 4pm, and Tuesday, December 24 from 10am to 4pm.

If you happen to be travelling on these days, the AA suggests avoiding hotspots like the M25 clockwise between M1 near Watford and M23 to Gatwick Airport, as well as the M3 in Surrey and Hampshire. But the worst of them all is the M53 northbound from Chester to Liverpool. So plan your journey accordingly and try to avoid these congested areas to make your Christmas travel a little smoother.

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