Holiday and journey planning

Our pinch point journey planning tool will help you avoid the busiest times on our roads by using historical data to show delay times observed at known pinch points around the state, during the same period in previous years.

It is very difficult to precisely predict traffic delays. As such, the journey planning tool should act as a guide only to help you plan your journey. 

Live Traffic NSW is the go-to app for commuters and holiday travellers seeking information about potential delays they might face on their trip.

The app and website provide real-time information about incidents and disruptions on the network. The Live Traffic app also gives customers the ability to receive notifications to their phone, alerting them about incidents and disruptions on their chosen route and time period.

Customers can choose to ‘follow’ individual incidents to receive notifications when the incident is updated or has ended.

By receiving notifications, road users can ‘set and forget’ and won’t have the hassle of constantly checking the app or site and means they can make the best decisions for their trip at the earliest opportunity. Learn more about the features by visiting the Live Traffic NSW.

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Whether you’re in the mood to bring in the new year with a bang, or get along to an annual celebration of music, culture or sport we can help you plan your trip to events in Sydney or across regional NSW. 

New Year’s Eve fireworks

There will are multiple New Year’s Eve firework and community events across the state, with large displays occurring in Newcastle, Sydney, Parramatta, Gosford and Wollongong. We recommend utilising public and active transport where possible to these events, especially to the Sydney New Year’s Eve fireworks.

Sporting events

The United Cup will see the top international men's and women's tennis stars join forces in an electrifying mixed-team competition in Sydney, while the renowned Ashes series will also get underway in Sydney for the Pink Test. On the water don’t miss the annual Sydney Hobart Yacht Race from Boxing Day.

Elvis Festival

The iconic Parkes Elvis Festival is a celebration of Elvis Presley's life and music held annually in Parkes, NSW, to coincide with the birthday of The King in January.

Make sure you plan your trip to ensure you don’t get all shook up.

Multiple temporary lane closures and ramp closures will be in place in both directions on the Warringah Freeway from 26 December to 25 January due to upgrade works. Expect queuing and delays on the freeway at times similar to normal morning peak periods. Learn more about the planned traffic changes and plan ahead to avoid delays.

The Great Western Highway through the Blue Mountains can experience significant congestion during long weekends, school holidays and other special events. As during previous busy travel periods, Transport for NSW will work to help manage this congestion to minimise your travel delays and keep everyone safe on their journey through the mountains.

Learn more about how we manage congestion through the Blue Mountains.

The Princes Highway from Nowra to Ulladulla can experience significant delays in peak periods. Visit the Princes Highway holiday congestion page to learn more about key Princes Highway pinch points and how to plan your journey to the beautiful NSW South Coast.

The Hume Highway is one of Australia’s major highways, linking Sydney and Melbourne. Currently there is a number of roadworks on sections of the highway between Sydney and Albury. We make every effort to minimise impacts to motorists, however, due to the nature of our work there can be unavoidable delays.

Visit the Hume Highway traffic impact page to learn more about current works and cumulative delays. 

The M1 Pacific Motorway at Beresfield and the Pacific Highway at Hexham are linked via John Renshaw Drive and the New England Highway, forming a key north-south travel route. Hexham is one of four known pinch points people travelling from Sydney to Queensland.

Significant improvements have been made on the M1 Pacific Motorway and New England Highway since last summer, with noticeable changes in traffic flow.

Speed limits remain reduced over the holiday period, even when work is paused. This is for your safety, as conditions may include; narrow lane merges and altered traffic configurations.

Visit the Newcastle and surrounds traffic impact page to learn more about current works and cumulative delays.

• Live Traffic NSW: For the latest traffic information, download the Live Traffic NSW app or visit the website.
• Victoria traffic: Find information about road conditions for customers travelling into Victoria.
• Queensland traffic: Get information about road conditions for customers travelling into Queensland.
• Centre for Road Safety website: Get some helpful tips to avoid driving tired and other safe driving information.
• Latest public health orders at NSW Health
• NRMA website: For car maintenance tips and advice.
• NRMA Sloway: Are you taking your caravan on holidays and not in a hurry? NRMA has some tips for those customers looking to take their time to get to their destination.
• Rest areas in NSW: Use this interactive map to show you where you can safely stop, revive and survive.
• Electric vehicle charging map: Use this interactive map to help you plan your journey if you are travelling in an electric vehicle.
• NSW TrainLink bookings: Get to your destination on one of our regional trains or coaches.
• NSW SES: Get updates in the event of wet weather.
• Great Western Highway traffic congestion management
• Travelling on the Princes Highway
• Driving in the Snowy Mountains
• Sharing the road with trucks: See tips on how to be “truck aware” this summer holidays.