fake imagesAt Christmas there can be a lot to think about, from whether public transport works to when shops and services will be open.
With UK public holidays being Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, and a fourth holiday in Scotland on January 2, here are some tips to help you win the festive period.
When are the roads likely to be busiest?
Motoring organizations RAC and AA predict that 2025 could see the busiest festive getaway ever recorded.
The RAC expects 37.5 million journeys to be made in the week leading up to Christmas Day. Roads are expected to be particularly busy after midday on Saturday, December 20 and throughout the afternoon and evening of Christmas Eve.
It suggests that the following periods may be calmer:
- Saturday December 20, before 12:00 GMT
- Sunday, December 21, before 10:00
- Monday, December 22, starting at 5:00 p.m.
- Tuesday, December 23, before 11:00
- Wednesday, December 24, before 11:00
You can check planned roadworks and closures in England on the National Highways website.
For example, the M27 motorway will be closed in both directions between junctions 9 (Whiteley) and 11 (Fareham), from 8pm on 24 December until 4am 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 you leave.
Make sure you have enough fuel, your tires are properly inflated, and your lights are working. Prepare for bad weather by bringing a charged phone, food, drinks, and warm clothing. Refill your screen washing and defroster supplies.
Many BP and Shell petrol stations will be open as usual, but some workshops may have reduced opening hours. All Tesco petrol stations will be closed on Christmas Day. On other days the opening hours may be different from those of the linked store.
Are trains, buses and ferries running?
Public address mediaTrains
Some National Rail services will end early on Christmas Eve and no trains will run on Christmas Day.
Most train operators will also not run any services on Boxing Day. However, a small number of companies (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 due to work on its roof.
There will be no trains at London Waterloo on 27 and 28 December, and trains will terminate at Clapham Junction and run on a reduced timetable between 29 December and 4 January.
The improvement works will also affect services to Cardiff Central Station between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.
Other engineering works and timetable changes can be found on the National Rail website.
There are no Eurostar services on Christmas Day, but trains run every other day.
Buses and coaches
Most local bus services will not run on Christmas Day, but please check individual websites for detailed timetable information.
National Express will be offering additional buses on several UK routes between December 20 and January 4.
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.
fake imagesTransport for London (Tfl)
Bus, tram, DLR, tube, surface and Elizabeth Line services will end earlier than usual on Christmas Eve. There will be no services on Christmas Day.
There is no Elizabeth line service on Boxing Day and several land lines are also closed. Some metro lines have restricted service. No night metro or subway services will operate.
Tfl services will operate throughout the night of New Year’s Eve.
Some black cabs and private taxi companies may operate throughout the period, including Christmas Day. There will be bicycle and electric scooter rentals.
The congestion charge will not apply between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is only suspended on Christmas Day, but the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) remains active throughout the period.
Charges for the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels are waived 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 December 24 are:
- DFDS (Dunkirk route): 12:00
- DFDS (Calais route): 13:15
- Irish Ferries: 14:25
- P&O: 16:05
There are also no departures to or from the ports of Holyhead or Portsmouth on Christmas Day, 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 reduced hours. All Heathrow and Gatwick terminals will be open as normal.
The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) expects Friday 19 December to be its busiest day for travel, with around 460,000 passengers. Around 160,000 people are expected to fly on Christmas Day itself, an increase of 13% compared to 2024.
The planned strike at London Luton Airport could cause disruption between December 19 and 29. Some EasyJet check-in and baggage handling employees employed by the DHL Group will be leaving for payment reasons.
All air travelers are advised to check the status of their flights before departure. Experts also recommend confirming any return travel.
As usual, passengers must 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 transportation is not working. If you plan to drive, consider reserving parking in advance.
The CAA recommends that passengers:
- Leave gifts in carry-on luggage unwrapped to allow for security checks.
- Please remember that party poppers are not allowed on UK planes.
- Remember that some airlines do not allow other holiday items like crackers.
What if I need a doctor or dentist?
fake imagesGP 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 medicines when your GP is closed, you can use the NHS 111 emergency prescription service.
Emergency departments will remain open as normal throughout the festive period. Urgent treatment centers are also operating, but may have reduced hours.
You should only call 999 in 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 through NHS 111 for urgent issues.
When will pharmacies open?
fake imagesMost pharmacies will be closed on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
However, one or more should be open near you after hours. Your local pharmacy should show rotation details, or you can find details online.
You can find pharmacies open 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 be closed on 2 January.
What about supermarkets and food delivery services?
fake imagesYou should check the opening hours of your local store, but in general you should assume:
- early closing on Christmas Eve
- Almost all stores will be closed on Christmas Day.
- Aldi, Lidl, M&S and most Waitrose stores 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 stores close on New Year’s Day
Smaller local stores are more likely to open earlier and later than big box stores. Many petrol station forecourt shops will also be open.
The Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats apps and websites will be operational throughout the festive period, but restaurants will set their own operating hours.
When will universal credit and other benefits be paid at Christmas?
Some payments will be made earlier if they are due between December 24, 2025 and January 2, 2026:
- Universal credit payments due on 24, 25 or 26 December will be made on 24 December.
- other payments due on December 24, 25 and 26 will be paid on December 23
- 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.
Holiday child benefit payments will also be paid on a different date:
- In Northern Ireland, payments due on 29 or 30 December will be paid on 30 or 31 December.
- In Scotland, payments due on 5 January will be made on 6 January.
The Department for Work and Pensions says you must tell the office that pays your benefit if you don’t receive your payment.
