Gotthard tunnel queues in the summer holidays
July and August are when the queues at the Gotthard are longer and more frequent than at any other time of year. Southbound, the weekends in July are the worst, when the school holidays begin in Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands. In August the queue moves to the south portal. Your best bet is to travel between Monday and Thursday, early in the morning or late in the evening.
Why summer is the peak
The tunnel’s capacity is fixed: no more than 1,000 passenger car units per hour in each direction are let in, and a lorry counts as three. In summer, more vehicles arrive day after day than can get through. According to the Touring Club Switzerland (TCS), the start of the holidays in Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands causes a queue in front of the north portal every day in July.
For summer 2025, the Swiss Federal Roads Office (FEDRO) expected long queues on the Gotthard and San Bernardino routes from early July to mid-September, mainly from Friday to Sunday. In good weather, traffic increases even further across Switzerland at weekends.
Summer 2026 showed how long the queues can get: on the weekend of 17 to 19 July, according to the German motoring club ADAC, the queue in front of the tunnel was more than 20 kilometres long and the wait was over three hours. According to ADAC, the TCS congestion calendar for 2026 counted almost every day from July up to the second weekend in August among the worst southbound travel days.
Summer 2026: what the traffic reports show
Stauportal.ch has recorded the FEDRO traffic reports since 26 July 2026. Southbound, the longest queue was 12 km at Göschenen on Monday 27 July, about two hours of waiting. In August the queues built up mainly northbound: on 15 of August’s 31 days, drivers waited at least an hour at Airolo, longest on Friday 7 August, with 11 km. Almost all waiting times of 30 minutes or more fell between 11:00 and 19:00, and there were hardly any before 9:00.
| Summer and autumn 2026 | Southbound (at Göschenen) | Northbound (at Airolo) |
|---|---|---|
| Longest queue | 12 km, about 2 h waiting time, Monday 27 July 2026 | 11 km, about 1 h 50 min waiting time, Friday 7 August 2026 |
| Days with at least 60 min waiting time | 15 of 98 | 25 of 98 |
| of which in August | 6 of 31 | 15 of 31 |
| Longest average waiting time on | Saturday, Monday, Friday | Friday, Sunday, Saturday |
| Share of hours with at least 30 min waiting time between 11:00 and 19:00 | 81% | 84% |
| Share of hours with at least 30 min waiting time before 9:00 | 5% | 2% |
When do the 2027 summer holidays start?
The holidays start in stages, from the end of June to the beginning of August. These are the 2027 dates for some of the large regions in Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands:
| Region | Summer holidays 2027 |
|---|---|
| Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland | 28 June – 6 August |
| Bern (German-speaking part), Basel-Stadt, Basel-Landschaft, Lucerne | 3 July – 15 August |
| Netherlands North | 10 July – 22 August |
| Netherlands Central | 17 July – 29 August |
| City of Zurich | 19 July – 21 August |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | 19 July – 31 August |
| Netherlands South | 24 July – 5 September |
| Baden-Württemberg | 29 July – 11 September |
| Bavaria | 2 August – 13 September |
Other cantons and municipalities have their own dates. An overview of all cantons is published by the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education (EDK). Driving from the UK? School summer holidays in most of the UK begin in late July, by which time many German and Dutch regions are already on holiday.
The critical southbound weekends
The holiday calendars point to six getaway weekends in 2027, each bringing a new wave of holidaymakers heading south. On 26 and 27 June, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland set off. Bern, Basel and Lucerne follow from 2 to 4 July, and the northern Netherlands from 9 to 11 July.
From 16 to 18 July, the holidays begin at the same time in the city of Zurich (the last school day is Friday 16 July), in North Rhine-Westphalia and in the central Netherlands. The southern Netherlands follow from 23 to 25 July, and Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria from 30 July to 1 August.
The days in between are not quiet either: for July 2026, the TCS expected a queue in front of the north portal every day, but the longest queues, with waits of several hours, at weekends. Our Gotthard tunnel southbound page shows how long the queue at Göschenen is right now.
Return journey: in August the queue is at the south portal
On the return journey in August, according to the TCS, the queues shift to the south portal at Airolo. For 2025, FEDRO expected busy northbound traffic from mid-July to mid-September. In the TCS congestion calendar for 2025, every northbound day from 1 to 17 August was rated as at least heavy traffic, most of them as very heavy traffic with a wait of more than an hour and a half.
The big return weekends in 2027 are 7 and 8 August (Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland), 14 and 15 August (Bern, Basel, Lucerne), 21 and 22 August (city of Zurich, northern Netherlands) and 28 and 29 August (central Netherlands, shortly before the holidays end in North Rhine-Westphalia). They are followed in September by 4 and 5 September (southern Netherlands) and the weekend of 11 to 13 September (Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria).
The TCS advises driving back between Monday and Thursday throughout August and setting off early in the morning or late in the evening. The current queue at Airolo is on our Gotthard tunnel northbound page.
Tips for your summer trip
Use the pass wisely. In summer the Gotthard Pass is open and an alternative when the queue is long, although it usually takes longer. ADAC does not recommend it if you are towing a caravan. Coming from the south, you can reach the pass from Airolo via the special “CUPRA” lane without leaving the motorway. The lane is opened on set days once the queue reaches a certain length.
The A13 is no secret shortcut. The San Bernardino route is the main alternative, but according to the TCS it gets congested too when traffic is heavy. For travellers from western Switzerland, the TCS suggests the Great St Bernard. Which detour pays off, and when, is covered on our Avoiding the Gotthard page.
Check before driving at night. Setting off late only helps while the tunnel is open. In August 2026, for example, FEDRO closed it on twelve weeknights from 11 pm to 5 am for maintenance. For the current dates, see Gotthard closures.
Live situation before you set off
The live traffic situation shows how much time you would lose right now in each direction, updated every 5 minutes from FEDRO’s traffic reports. For the busy travel days outside summer, from the autumn holidays to Whitsun, see the Gotthard traffic forecast.
Summer holiday traffic: frequently asked questions
Which summer weekends are busiest at the Gotthard tunnel?
Southbound, the getaway weekends in 2027 are 26–27 June, 2–4 July, 9–11 July, 16–18 July, 23–25 July and 30 July – 1 August, each time as the holidays begin in more regions of Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands. Northbound, the big return weekends are 7–8, 14–15, 21–22 and 28–29 August, followed by 4–5 September and 11–13 September.
How long is the wait at the Gotthard tunnel in summer?
On the weekend of 17 to 19 July 2026, according to the German motoring club ADAC, the queue in front of the tunnel was more than 20 kilometres long and the wait was over three hours. On the way back, the TCS congestion calendar for 2025 rated every northbound day from 1 to 17 August as at least heavy traffic, most of them as very heavy traffic with a wait of more than an hour and a half.
What is the best time to drive through the Gotthard in summer?
Between Monday and Thursday, early in the morning or late in the evening. For July 2026 the TCS expected a queue in front of the north portal every day, but the longest waits at weekends. Driving at night only helps while the tunnel is open: in August 2026, for example, it was closed for maintenance on twelve weeknights from 11 pm to 5 am.
Can you take a caravan over the Gotthard Pass?
The German motoring club ADAC does not recommend the Gotthard Pass if you are towing a caravan. Without a caravan, the pass is open in summer and an alternative when the queue is long, although it usually takes longer than the tunnel.
Information provided without guarantee. Official information from FEDRO and the cantonal police always takes precedence.