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There can be a lot to think about at Christmas, from whether public transport is running to when shops and services are open.
With UK bank holidays on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day, and a fourth holiday in Scotland on 2 January, here are some tips to help you win the festive period.
When are roads likely to be busiest?
Motoring organisations the RAC and AA predict that 2025 could see the busiest festive getaway on record.
The RAC expects 37.5 million trips to take place in the week running up to Christmas Day. It thinks roads are likely to be especially busy after lunchtime on Saturday 20 December, and during the afternoon and evening on Christmas Eve.
It suggests the following periods may be quieter:
- Saturday 20 December, before 12:00 GMT
- Sunday 21 December, before 10:00
- Monday 22 December, after 17:00
- Tuesday 23 December, before 11:00
- Wednesday 24 December, before 11:00
You can check for planned roadworks and closures in England on the National Highways website.
For instance, the M27 motorway will be closed in both directions between junctions nine (Whiteley) and 11 (Fareham), from 20:00 on 24 December until 04:00 on Sunday 4 January.
Details of planned roadworks are also available from Traffic Scotland, Traffic Wales and TrafficwatchNI.
You can also check local weather warnings before setting off.
Make sure you have plenty of fuel, that your tyres are properly inflated and your lights are working. Prepare for bad weather by carrying a charged phone, food, drinks and warm clothes. Top up your screen wash and de-icer supplies.
Many BP and Shell petrol stations will be open as usual, but some garages may have shorter hours. All Tesco petrol stations will be closed on Christmas Day. On other days, opening hours could be different to those of the linked store.
Are trains, buses and ferries running?
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Trains
Some National Rail services will finish early on Christmas Eve, and no trains will run on Christmas Day.
Most train operators won't run any services on Boxing Day either. However, a small number of firms (Chiltern Railways, London Overground, Merseyrail, ScotRail, Southern and Stansted Express) will have a very limited service.
The UK's busiest station, London's Liverpool Street, will be closed for eight days between Christmas Day and New Year's Day, for works on its roof.
No trains will call at London Waterloo on 27 and 28 December, with trains terminating at Clapham Junction and a reduced timetable between 29 December and 4 January.
Improvement works will also affect services into Cardiff Central station between Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.
You can check for other engineering works and timetable alterations on the National Rail website.
There are no Eurostar services on Christmas Day, but trains are running every other day.
Buses and coaches
Most local bus services will not run on Christmas Day, but check individual websites for detailed schedule information.
National Express is running extra coaches on a number of UK routes between 20 December and 4 January.
On Christmas Day itself, 355 services will operate from 96 locations. This includes routes between Edinburgh, Glasgow and London, as well as some to and from Heathrow, Gatwick and Luton airports.
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Transport for London (Tfl)
Bus, tram, DLR, underground, overground and Elizabeth Line services will finish earlier than usual on Christmas Eve. No services will run on Christmas Day.
There is no Elizabeth line service on Boxing Day, and a number of overground lines are also shut. Some Tube lines have restricted service. No night Tube or night overground services will operate.
Tfl services will run through the night on New Year's Eve.
Some black taxis and private cab firms may operate throughout the period, including Christmas Day. Hire bikes and electric scooters will be available.
The congestion charge will not apply between Christmas Day and New Year's Day. The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is suspended on Christmas Day only, but the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) remains active throughout the period.
Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels charges do not apply on Christmas Day.
Ferries
The Port of Dover will close at 15:30 GMT on Christmas Eve and reopen at 07:30 on Boxing Day.
The final departures on 24 December are:
- DFDS (Dunkerque route): 12:00
- DFDS (Calais route): 13:15
- Irish Ferries:14:25
- P&O: 16:05
There are no sailings to or from Holyhead or Portsmouth ports on Christmas Day either, but services will run on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day.
What if I'm flying over Christmas?
Most UK airports are open on Christmas Day, although they may have a reduced schedule. All Heathrow and Gatwick terminals will be open as normal.
The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) expects Friday 19 December to be the busiest travel day, with around 460,000 passengers. Around 160,000 people are due to fly on Christmas Day itself, a 13% increase on 2024.
Planned strike action at London Luton Airport could cause disruption, between 19 and 29 December. Some easyJet check-in and baggage handling staff employed by DHL Group are set to walk out over pay.
All air passengers are advised to check the status of their flights before setting off. Experts also recommend confirming any return journey.
As usual, passengers should arrive at the airport three hours before long-haul flights and two hours before short-haul flights.
You may need to make alternative travel arrangements to get to the airport if public transport is not running. If you plan to drive, consider booking parking in advance.
The CAA recommends that passengers:
- leave presents in hand luggage unwrapped, to allow security checks
- remember that party poppers are not allowed on UK aircraft
- remember that some airlines do not allow other festive items like crackers
What if I need a doctor or dentist?
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GP surgeries are generally closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day.
Some practices offer out-of-hours services which you can access via the NHS 111 helpline, which operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Calls are free from landlines and mobile phones.
If you run out of medication when your GP is closed, you can use the NHS 111 emergency prescription service.
A&E departments will be open as usual throughout the festive period. Urgent treatment centres are also operating, but may have reduced hours.
You should only call 999 for life-threatening emergencies such as heart attacks, strokes, severe bleeding or difficulty breathing.
Most NHS dentists are closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day. Emergency services are available via NHS 111 for urgent issues.
When will pharmacies be open?
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Most pharmacies will be closed on Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
However, one or more should be open near you under out-of-hours arrangements. Your local pharmacy should display details of the rota, or you can find details online.
You can find open pharmacies near you via the relevant NHS website:
Boots will open more than 60 pharmacies on Christmas Day and more than 460 on New Year's Day.
All Superdrug pharmacies will be closed on Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Most branches in Scotland will remain shut on 2 January.
What about supermarkets and food delivery services?
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You should check your local store's opening hours, but in general you should assume:
- early closing on Christmas Eve
- almost all stores will be shut on Christmas Day
- Aldi, Lidl, M&S and most Waitrose shops will also close on Boxing Day. Other chains have reduced hours
- early closing on New Year's Eve
- Aldi, Lidl, M&S and most Waitrose shops are closed on New Year's Day
Smaller local shops are more likely to be open earlier and later than the large superstores. Many petrol station forecourt shops will be open too.
The Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats apps and websites will be running throughout the festive period, but restaurants will set their own operating hours.
When will universal credit and other benefits be paid over Christmas?
Some payments will be made earlier if they're due between 24 December 2025 and 2 January 2026:
- universal credit payments due on 24, 25, or 26 December will be made on 24 December
- other payments due on 24, 25, 26 December will be paid on 23 December
- all payments due on 1 January including Universal Credit will be paid on 31 December
- in Scotland, payments due on 2 January will be made on 31 December
Child benefit payments due on bank holidays will also be paid on a different date:
- in Northern Ireland, payments due on 29 or 30 December will be paid on 30 and 31 December
- in Scotland, payments due on 5 January will be made on 6 January
The Department for Work and Pensions says that you should tell the office that pays your benefit if you do not get your payment.
