Holiday Travel Tips To Keep You Sane

If you’ve ever traveled during the holiday season, you know how stressful and frustrating it can be.  The American Association of Travel Agents (ASTA) has compiled some helpful tips to help you arrive at your travel destination full of happiness and cheer.

  • Book Well In Advance – Don’t think you are going to get a last minute deal when it comes to traveling during the peak holiday seasons.  Your best bet is to book your air tickets, hotels and rental cars well in advance as they all sell out quickly for holiday travel.
  • Pack Wisely – Yes, you may have packages for grandma and fruitcakes for auntie, but recognize that many airlines will impose strict carry on baggage allowances during this time because of the high number of people traveling.  Consider shipping your gifts ahead of time and only bring necessary items on the plane.  If you do bring your presents, never wrap them as airport security will make you unwrap them to access all items.  Instead, bring collapsible gift bags and folded tissue making it quick and easy for you to wrap them when you arrive.
  • Don’t Forget To Make Your House Look Lived In – There would be nothing worse than arriving back home after a lovely holiday trip to discover that your house was broken into.  Be sure to secure all doors and windows, use your burglar alarm if you have one and have a neighbor shovel your walk and collect your mail.  Another good idea is to have several lamps on timers to make it look like someone is home.
  • Avoid Peak Travel Days – If you want to arrive on time, your best bet is to give yourself plenty of time to arrive at your destination.  Consider traveling on off peak days.  Peak days are those immediately before and immediately after the actual holidays.  A good rule of thumb is to at a minimum book your flights for two days before and after Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years.
  • Arrange Transportation To The Airport – Instead of using the parking at the airport, which can be at max capacity during busy times, ask a friend to drive you or take a shuttle or taxi. 
  • Beware – Flights Can Be Overbooked – The dreaded sentence you definitely don’t want to hear is ‘I’m sorry, the flight is overbooked, we don’t have a seat for you’.  To avoid hearing that sentence, get an advanced seat assignment and arrive at the airport well in advance of your flight departure time.  ASTA suggests arriving 2 hours in advance for domestic flights, and three hours in advance for international flights.
  • Keep A Positive Attitude – Remember, delays happen and it’s not the fault of the person working the check in counter.  Be prepared mentally for setbacks.  If you’ve left yourself plenty of time, then these setbacks won’t cause you stress because you know you’ll still arrive to your destination in time to enjoy all the festivities.  Bring snacks, water, music, an inflatable pillow, a good book, and a deck of cards to ward off boredom during long flight delays!

Just remember these tips from the travel experts at ASTA and you and your family can travel safely and arrive at your holiday travel destination with a smile on your face!

Posted by on 12/03 at 01:58 PM

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