Outside of vacations and holidays, popular travel days tend to be at the start and end of the weekends and for shorter bus and train trips, shop opening and closing times tend to coincide with daily peaks.

Changing travel behaviors have impacted when trains, buses, coaches and even ferries and airlines are busy. These post-COVID travel trends show no signs of reversing. With some people working remotely more often, 4G / 5G and more reliable on board wifi and power sockets on modern buses, coaches and trains (see Section 8 for more about what’s on board), commuters and office workers are able to attend workplaces at different times and do more work while travelling.

Of course, many people work or study in a way that requires them to be physically present, so a baseline level of travel for work will always persist, while some office workers and businesses see at least some value in face-to-face meetings. However, travel behaviors have changed, meaning that leisure based journeys being made by workers can start earlier in the day or even a day earlier or later than in previous years, with some fortunate people able to ‘remote work’ from the beach! Or mountain. Or coffee shop.

Friday and Sunday evenings remain in high demand, but Thursdays and Mondays have also become more popular, while overnight bus and coach services have also increased in frequency in recent years.

Holidays, vacations and breaks. Yes, we all love time away from work, school or college for a getaway to see friends, family and new places. This is known as leisure travel during the peak travel seasons. And the atmosphere on board can be really good fun during these seasonal peaks and holidays - think of all the major events, even if you’re not religious, like Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Eid.

Then there are concerts, festivals, sports matches, birthdays and weddings. There are also peaks around the year caused by things like seasonal working (such as summer jobs away from home) and students moving to and from university/college cities and campuses.

Finally, if you’re in a climate with changeable weather, you know that a warm, sunny forecast for the coming weekend  is going to increase the number of people wanting to make the most of it while they can!

According to a survey from The Vacationer, the 2023 Christmas travel window will see around 131 million Americans planning to travel. If so, that will mean that over 50% of the population of the USA will have used bus, train and coaach stations, stops, airports, roads and cars. Predicatbly, the worst days to fly are set to be December 21 to 27, excluding December 25 (we can all probably guess why!). This compares to around 45% of Americans who were intending to travel for Thanksgiving 2023.

Over in the UK, the busiest days on the roads are expected to be December 22 and 23 according to the AA. This is because people in the UK tend to celebrate Christmas on December 25, just like Americans, which this year falls on a Monday, whereas many countries in Latin America, Eastern Europe and Scandiavia exchange presents and begin celebrations on December 24.

As with all busy seasonal travel times, the best advice is to plan ahead if you can, book early and secure your seats. If you plan to drive a car, the advice is, of course, a little different; pack for the weather, allow plenty of time to avoid feelings of frustration, drive safely and check over your vehicle before setting off (pump up those tyres, check the oil and windscreen wash!). Of course, the stress of driving is best avoided, so it is always worth checking to see if public transport is a better and more affordable option.

And finally, some folks travel on December 24 or 25 for reasons such as work commitments or they're not celebrating Christmas. This is why some public transport providers continue to operate on Christmas day, such as bus and coach operators. Many of these operators' trips can be found using our buy now link.