When to travel to avoid bank holiday gridlock, according to traffic authority

THIS year's bank holiday over the 'Feast of the Assumption' on August 15 is one of several that have been 'lost' due to falling on a weekend, but some regions will be moving it to the following Monday – and traffic jams will be the inevitable result.

Known as Operación Salida ('Operation Exit'), the day before and the first couple of days of a bank holiday, especially if it falls close to a weekend, is when the number of cars on Spain's roads multiplies, particularly in the outskirts of large, inland cities in a coastwards or countryside direction, as the workforce heads off for a mini-break or main holiday, or to spend the extra few free days with family or friends.

Before every Operación Salida, Spain's General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) gets prepared, with extra traffic police, digital warning and information boards, and bulletins, maps and guides online and via the media to keep drivers and passengers safe and make life easier for them.

Between now and late night on Monday, August 16, over 6.6 million cars are expected to be on Spain's roads.

To put that in perspective, if every car had just a driver and no passengers, it would mean one in seven of Spain's inhabitants would be travelling somewhere via trunk road this weekend.

The DGT has advised when the best and worst times of day for driving will be between now and Monday night.

From early Saturday morning, gridlocks are very likely on outbound roads from big cities and at the entrance to key coastal and mountain enclaves, with the latter more likely to get busy towards the end of the morning or around lunchtime, the DGT says.

To avoid getting stuck in tailbacks, try to arrive at your destination before 08.00, or delay setting off until after 15.00, according to the traffic authority.

Sunday will see roads busier than usual with cars making short trips – between neighbouring towns, or to beaches from their nearest residential areas – so if you plan to drive in a coastal direction or to a major shopping centre, for example, it is best not to do so in the morning.

After Operación Salida comes Operación Retorno ('Operation Return'), as everyone heads back to their home town for work the next morning.

For regions where Monday is not a bank holiday, this is likely to start on Sunday evening. 

Naturally, traffic queues will be at opposite ends and in reverse directions to those of Saturday – busier heading into large cities and inland, and in coastal areas but on the exit rather than entrance roads – and the sheer volume of cars could mean tailbacks continue well into the night, or even early the next morning.

The DGT says travel in these directions is best avoided between about 17.00 and midnight if you want to stay clear of gridlocks.

Where a national holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, it is nearly always written off – except for those who work weekends, and who will get the day off unless they are in an industry that needs 365-day-a-year cover, such as the health service – but the different regions are permitted to 'move' some of these to the Monday, provided they have not exceeded their annual limit of 12 bank holidays, to include local, regional and national ones.

Some national holidays are non-transferable – Christmas Day, New Year's Day, the Three Kings (January 6), Good Friday, and either Easter Monday or Maundy Thursday, whichever of the two the region in question takes as a non-working day.

Monday is a bank holiday in the Canary Islands, Andalucía (southern Spain), Aragón, Castilla y León, and Asturias.

But this does not mean traffic will be light everywhere else in the country; those who live in these five regions may well travel outside them, especially residents in the two which do not have a coast – Aragón and Castilla y León – to take advantage of the three-day weekend.