Holiday Travel Tips: Save Money and Skip The Lines
Traveling during the holidays can be a headache, costly, and you have to deal with heavy traffic. However, with a little planning and early preparation you can save money and reduce the stress and have a good time. Follow these top holiday travel tips to ensure you have a good time.
1. Travel Late In The Day
A lot of people think that by waking up earlier and hitting the road bright and early will save them from the mad holiday traffic. Guess what? Everyone else is thinking the same thing. You are better off letting everyone else leave and then traveling later in the day to avoid congestion on the roads and at airports. Don’t forget that the day before Thanksgiving is the busiest travel day of the year, so plan accordingly with these holiday travel tips.
2. Book Early and Save
Figure out early in the year where you are going to spend each holiday and book in advance. Generally the earlier in advance that you book the more money you will save. By booking in advance you can use the money you’ll save to get gifts for everyone.
3. Know Your Airports
Checking alternate airports during the busy holiday season can really pay off. If you do your homework and check with alternate airports you can save big on parking, rental cars, nearby hotels and more. The smaller airports have less traffic and that means fewer delays.
4. Prepare For The Children
Seeing your family during the holidays can be exciting, but not if you lose your sanity. Taking a long road trip with the kiddos? Plan fun family traveling oriented games. Make sure to bring extra batteries and/or battery chargers for the portable electronic devices. So right about now your saying you don’t have kids so no worry there. What about at your final trip destination? I’m sure there will be kids there right? You’ll either want to keep the kids entertained with some sort of games, or put on your earbuds and drown out the chaos. Either way be sure to prepare.
5. Don’t Wrap Gifts Ahead Of Time
It’s already painstaking enough trying to get through the TSA at airports. Why give them another reason to delay your trip. The last thing you want is to have them require you to unwrap your gift for inspection. Now you’ve been delayed at the airport and lost the time it took you to wrap the gift. Instead pack some gift bags and/or wrapping paper and wrap your gifts when you land at your destination. Alternatively you can purchase your gifts online and have them shipped to your destination cutting down on space and weight requirements for you luggage and the possibility of a TSA inspection.
I hope you found these holiday travel tips helpful. Overall remember to stay calm and smile. It is the holidays after all. Plan in advance, give yourself plenty of time, and relax and enjoy the holiday season. So what are you waiting for? Book your next trip now!
