Papamoa Beach and Whakatane are among two of the top beachside towns where AA road service officers were called to help stranded motorists.

A total of 30 calls to the Papamoa Beach area were received during the Christmas and New Year break, while a total of 42 calls came in from the Whakatane area.

AA Roadservice's national manager John Healy says callouts from popular coastal spots soar during the summer holiday period as people head to the beach.

'Nearly 60 per cent of callouts to beach locations over the last two weeks have been for flat batteries, difficulties with starting, or keys locked in cars.

'Our service officers and contractors have accessed a number of locked vehicles to retrieve car keys that have inadvertently been left in the boot, after people have dropped the keys inside while they're unloading bags, or getting beach gear and picnic baskets out.”

John says because they're relaxed and in holiday mode, people quite often make mistakes they wouldn't normally make.

AA Roadservice officer Larry Harbott says congestion heading north of Auckland City was the worst he's seen in his 36 years as a service officer, which has made it more challenging to reach some beach locations.

'At times it's been difficult to access Shakespear Regional Park and Wenderholm Regional Park because of the queues of cars lined up to get in. People are certainly making the most of this good summer weather by heading to the beach.”

Larry reminds motorists if there is an animal or child locked in a vehicle, they do not need to be an AA Member to phone for help.

Top 20 coastal locations for AA callouts (21 Dec 2013 - 6 Jan 2014)

- Mission Bay (56)

- Paraparaumu Beach (43)

- Bucklands Beach (42)

- Whakatane (42)

- Thames (38)

- Red Beach (38)

- Whitianga (35)

- Tairua (34)

- Raglan (34)

- Papamoa Beach (30)

- Mangawhai Heads (24)

- Snells Beach (22)

- Pauanui (22)

- Hahei (21)

- Paihia (21)

- Piha (20)

- Waikanae Beach (20)

- Coromandel (19)

- Lake Tekapo (18)

- Russell (17)