Although the roads in many places are already busier than usual due to the Easter holidays, things are set to get even busier as we head towards the Easter weekend.
Here, we have the breakdown on the busiest times in certain areas for each day. If you are travelling long distance, you should plan your journey in advance and then monitor the situation before you set off, avoiding the busiest times of possible.
If you are travelling locally, the situation will still be busier than normal, and many of the drivers will not be as used to the road system as you are, so, again, allow more time for your journey, and be patient and considerate.
Here is the traffic forecast for the roads of Spain for each day of the Easter holiday period:
Wednesday 27 March 2024
On this day, in all the Communities except Catalonia and the Valencian Community, the 2nd PHASE of the Special Operation HOLY WEEK – 2024 begins, the most important in terms of volume and vehicle movements along the entire road network, and which from at noon will cause traffic problems and traffic jams at the exits and entrances of large urban centres, both in the interior of the peninsula and those located on the periphery and coast, these becoming more accentuated as the afternoon progresses, until late in the afternoon and night when vehicles arrive in the destination areas.
Throughout the afternoon and evening, traffic planning and regulation measures will be installed on the high-intensity roads to ease the flow of vehicles leaving large urban centres.
The unfavourable hours for this day will be from 1 p.m. to midnight.
Thursday 28 March 2024
In the Autonomous Communities mentioned the previous day, the outbound exodus will continue from the early hours of the morning with high traffic intensities that will cause traffic jams at the entrances to large urban centres.
On this day, traffic planning and regulation measures will be installed throughout the morning to ease the flow of vehicles leaving large urban centres.
The unfavourable hours for this day will be from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Friday 29 March 2024
In Catalonia and the Valencian Community, vehicle movements out of large cities will continue in the morning, in the same way as the previous afternoon, which will cause high traffic intensities with traffic jams.
In the rest of the Communities, during the morning of this holiday there will be traffic intensities in the EXIT direction of the large urban centres on short-distance routes to leisure and recreation areas close to urban centres.
The unfavourable hours for this day will be from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
In the afternoon, and throughout the national geography, there will be movements of short-distance and local vehicles towards those towns where religious demonstrations are held.
Saturday 30 March 2024
Traffic problems may occur in the morning at destinations, due to short-distance local movements and especially in accesses to coastal towns and coastal roads.
In the afternoon, motivated by those who advance their return home on Saturday, long-distance return movements can be observed, with high intensity on some road axes.
Sunday 31 March 2024
On this day, the first RETURN of Operation “Holy Week – 2024” begins, with circulation problems and traffic jams expected in the destination places or areas due to the start of the return starting mid-morning, until early in the afternoon traffic problems begin on the main communication routes that channel the entire return movement of Holy Week, with the general network, motorways, as well as the roads that access coastal and coastal areas, standing out for their intensity until late in the afternoon when these problems are transferred to the accesses of large urban centres until late at night.
On this day, traffic planning and regulation measures will be installed throughout the day to encourage the passage of vehicles flowing into large urban centres.
The Autonomous Communities affected on this day by the return are: Andalusia, Aragon, Asturias, Canary Islands, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y León, Extremadura, Galicia, Madrid and Murcia.
The unfavourable hours for this day will be from 11 a.m. to midnight.
Monday 1 April 2024
On this day the RETURN begins in the Autonomous Communities in which this Monday is a holiday: Cantabria, Catalonia, Valencian Community, Balearic Islands, Navarra, Basque Country and La Rioja, with circulation problems on the main road axes of these Communities, as well as on the access roads of the provinces bordering them, with the return of vehicles occurring in a period similar to that of the previous day in the rest of the Autonomous Communities.
In these Communities, traffic planning and regulation measures will be installed throughout the day to encourage the entry of vehicles into large urban centres.
In the rest of the Autonomous Communities there will also be return movements, motivated mainly by the beginning, the next day, of school and university activities.
The unfavourable hours for this day will be from 11 a.m. to midnight.
At midnight on Monday night, the Special Operation HOLY WEEK – 2024 will end.
Official Websites for Travel Information
- For live traffic reports, visit the DGT traffic map
- For weather warnings, consult AEMET
- DGT Twitter account
- AEMET weather related road information
- Aemet Twitter account
- For flight information, check the AENA airport operator’s website
