Drivers planning to travel over Easter should brace themselves for busy roads, after RAC research revealed there are going to be an estimated 21.46m leisure journeys made by car over the long weekend.

The busiest day is set to be Good Friday, with 4.62m trips planned. Following this is Bank Holiday Monday (3.96m), while 3.63m journeys are anticipated to take place on both Saturday and Sunday.

On top of this, there are set to be a further 5.6m trips occurring between Friday and Monday too.

Unsurprisingly, this will lead to busy roads, with INRIX data suggesting the M6 north between Liverpool and the Lake District, south towards Stoke-on-Trent, the M25 between Surrey and the M40 exit, and the A303 near Stonehenge could have the worst congestion.

To try and beat any delays, drivers are being encouraged to start their journey as early as possible or set off near the end of the day, while the RAC is advising drivers to take a look at their cars before starting their journey, to ensure they are ‘road-ready’. You can also find out about some useful pre-tour motorhome checks too.

RAC traffic spokesperson Rod Dennis said: “After two years of relatively quiet Easter bank holidays on the roads, our research suggests a return to traffic levels that are much more typical of this time of year, and it’s very possible this weekend could turn out to be one of the busiest for leisure journeys for many years. Add in the impact of disruption on the rail network and one of the biggest fixtures of the sporting calendar taking place this weekend and you have all the ingredients needed for problems on the roads. Traffic volumes will likely be even higher if some warm spring sunshine makes an appearance.”

“The key to avoiding the worst of any jams is planning. Put simply, the earlier you leave in the morning the more likely you are to miss the worst of the queues, especially if you are travelling a longer distance – although a fifth of drivers we polled said they were planning on driving shorter distances this Easter, specifically because of the extremely high cost of petrol and diesel at the moment.”

“As well as leading to queues of traffic, vehicle breakdowns also have the potential to ruin the long weekend for drivers and anyone they’re travelling with, so we’re urging people to make sure they’re vehicles are ‘road-ready’ before setting out. This is even more important for anyone travelling longer distances than they have for several months. A breakdown is much less likely if a car’s oil and coolant levels, as well as tyre pressure and tread depth, have all been checked before setting out.”

Are you looking for somewhere to head to this summer? Our guide to the best motorhome sites is a great place to start, as we round-up top locations to stay at from across the UK.

Image credit: Getty Images

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