Many people will use this Whitsun weekend to travel. The downside: heavy traffic jams, which the ADAC is warning about starting this Friday.

Even in 2025, the Friday before Whitsun was one of the peak traffic jam days: the ADAC recorded around 2,300 hours of “stop-and-go” traffic across approximately 4,000 kilometers of total motorway length.

Across the entire year, German motorways accumulated 478,000 hours of traffic jams. This corresponds to a waiting time of around 54.5 years. The total length of traffic jams reached 866,000 kilometers — almost 21 laps around the globe.

For tomorrow morning (Saturday), the ADAC expects continued heavy traffic. Whitsun Sunday, however, could be more relaxed. At the end of the long weekend, heavy return traffic is expected again.

According to Autobahn GmbH, the most affected routes are major long-distance corridors as well as roads toward the Alps and the coast. The A1, A7, and A24 are key connections toward the North and Baltic Seas. The A3, A5, A8, and A9 are among the most frequently used routes toward the Alps. The A2, Germany’s central east–west axis, is also expected to be heavily congested.

A small “silver lining”: According to Autobahn GmbH, Whitsun traffic may be slightly lower this year than in previous years due to higher fuel prices following the Iran war.