Holiday Return Journey

[Merryoldgoat]

We are going on holiday tomorrow about 5 hours away (longer with stops - we’re driving). We have two kids, 4 & 9.

Due to come home the Saturday of Jubilee Weekend.

I think we should leave Friday around 7pm after dinner - kids bathed and into PJs and head off.

DH thinks we go in the morning. Checkout by 10 so not hideous but quite a lot to do hurriedly in the morning.

YANBU - Set off Fri eve
YABU - Set off Sat morn

maybe you’re not enjoying it though oP? And that’s why you want to come home early. Have you had enough?

People saying you've paid for Friday night so stay over but it's really Friday day time you're paying for otherwise you'd have to leave by 10.00 Friday morning. We have left Friday night before but it depends on the drive/driver. As we're older now the Saturday drive home is part of the holiday with interesting places to stop on the way.
Doing it for traffic reasons here could backfire I think because of the nature of the specific weekend.

Where are you coming back from? If it's devon or Cornwall I would definitely leave Friday evening.

Saturday is change over day so we have found the traffic awful leaving on a Saturday.

Last summer we came back from Devon to south London and it took all day with the queues.

So no one thinks the jubilee weekend traffic on the Saturday will be really awful

I don't think so. People will have gone away either this weekend for half term or they will go away Thursday to Sunday for the long weekend.

Some towns may be busy because they have closed roads for parades, street parties etc (Friday won't necessarily be any better, though) but if you stick to motorways and A roads, I can't see it being an issue at all.

Oh and I totally disagree about Devon & Cornwall! The A303 is MUCH better on a Saturday than a Friday - there is no comparison. Travel on Saturday and you fly through, go on a Friday and you'll spend at least an hour in various queues not helped by people stopping to take photos of Stonehenge for Instagram

Having done this for the best part of 20 years, pack the car with everything but essential pyjamas, toiletries etc on the Friday evening, and if you're self-catering, sort out all the kitchen malarkey as well. Then on the Saturday morning you only have a few bits left to put in the car. Unless you have already paid for breakfast, leave early and have breakfast on the way home.

Saturday morning so you have the full Friday to enjoy. I hate the thought of traveling looming over my head when traveling in the evening

Set off Saturday evening after enjoying another full day on holiday surely? That's what we're planning. Check out, head to the beach, do the day and PJ's after dinner.

We have to be out on Sat by 10 - full day out in a cramped car? Not really seeing the appeal.

I’m here and the traffic was terrible at points - it took us 9 hours. We were all hot, kids were agitated and it really wasn’t any fun.

We’ll decide later in the week but I really can’t believe a Friday evening would be worse than this.

Unless you are prepared to leave really early on the Saturday I would travel on Friday night.

We’ve decided to play it by ear - who knows? We might have a dreadful time and come home on Wednesday 🤣

definitely do not travel Wednesday night before the bank holiday Thursday! By Saturday morning the traffic should have settled, i would travel then

I'd leave on the Friday night. Yes, it might be busy at the start of the journey but it will definitely tail off as you drive. Nice leisurely Saturday and you will all be able to get the holiday stuff sorted and then Sunday total rest before work again on Monday.

We go to cornwall a lot and Saturday is hell, so many people leave the Friday night. By sat nav our house to cornwall is around 5 hours but it’s taken us 12 to get home on many occasions! Often we leave about Saturday tea time and get straight through in five hours, I will never give up the last night of the holiday!