Let’s be honest: Traveling during the holiday season is the mother of chaos. Coming from someone who studies abroad, there’s nothing worse than being eager to return on the holidays, but your holiday travel anxiety is holding you back. During the holiday season, everyone has plans, whether they want to go back home or discover winter travel destinations. Don’t forget to check these essential things to do before your travel too.
So if you’re planning to travel for the holidays, you should start planning now what flights to book, rental cars, and accommodation. Planning last minute will make your trip much more stressful, especially if you’re not a frequent traveler, not to mention that you’ll miss out on the best deals and flights without a hundred connections.
We have compiled these holiday travel tips to make your holiday more about celebrating, and less about stress. Let’s go.
1. Try to avoid peak travel days if possible
It’s not always possible to book off-peak travel days because of obligations, but if possible, consider booking on days you’ll not find the entire country in the airport. To beat the crowds, click on “flexible dates” to find the best deals when searching for flights.
The Sunday after Thanksgiving and one day before Christmas Eve are usually the busiest travel days, so avoid at all costs if possible. The best time to travel is earlier in the week if you don’t have to travel on holiday. It’s also a good idea to travel on Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve, it’s a bit tight and doesn’t give you much time to relax before the celebrations, but you’re less likely to see big crowds on these days.
2. Go to the airport way earlier
Holiday flights mean Dad airport mode is ON, and I have no shame in that. Sometimes there can be unusual surprises and long queues, so at least when you encounter a surprise you’ll feel relaxed because there’s time.
There’s nothing more stressful than having to count minutes before you miss your flight. I remember multiple times when I caught my flight just a few minutes before, and a lesson was learned–I don’t want my nervous system to go through this again. Especially in the holiday season, it’s not guaranteed that you’ll catch the next flight.
3. Choose direct flights if possible
If there’s an option that you can fly directly, don’t think twice. If there’s a huge price difference or no available flights (which is why it’s best to book earlier), then book flights with enough transit time and check weather conditions in these areas for possible flight delays.
4. Traveling with gifts
There are two main concerns when traveling with gifts: they might raise a red flag and you’ll go through a hassle unwrapping them in the airport, and the checked bag could get lost. Losing a checked bag is horrible, but what is even more horrible is losing a checked bag filled with gifts for your family and loved ones. To avoid going through this, pack your gifts in your carry-on bag, unwrapped.
If your wrapped gifts raise any suspicions, you’ll have to unwrap all of them. To proactively avoid this, know the rules about flying with holiday items by carefully reading this “What Can I Bring?” guide by TSA. If you want to completely take this off your shoulders, send them by post, give gift cards, or have Amazon deliver them to the destination.
5. If you’re going on a road trip, make sure that your car is prepared
When it’s cold, it’s more likely that things can go wrong with your car. Sometimes, it’s even more stressful than going on a flight. Not only do you have to think about surprise weather fluctuations, but your car stops when it’s least expected to. That’s why it’s crucial to get a tune-up before hitting the road.
6. Use your membership reward points
Holiday travel time is the best time to cash in all that hard work put into gathering points, whether for accommodation, flights, or giving yourself an upgrade (hello business class lounge!). Beat the crowd by researching well and booking as soon as you’re sure of where you’re going. Everyone is trying the same strategy as you are, so the only thing you can do is be proactive.
7. Be phone ready
There’s nothing more stressful than your battery dying before reaching your final destination. Even if you have your charger, there’s no guarantee you’ll find a place or time to charge during holiday travel times. So, make sure that your phone and power bank are fully charged.
8. Print out travel documents
It seems old-school, but print out all your necessary travel documents with you–visas, tickets, itineraries, hotel bookings, etc. It always makes me feel more relaxed knowing that I have a digital and physical copy of everything I need. Even better if you write down the contacts of emergency numbers on a paper to keep with you.
9. Check alternate airports
It might be cheaper to travel from not-so-popular airports to the same destination. So, make sure that you check prices in all surrounding airports to get the best prices. Not only with flights but with rental cars and transfers as well.
10. Plan backup plans if things go wrong
Traveling by car and there’s a road blockage? No problem, you have an alternative route planned. Flight changes? You have bought travel insurance. You can check in with credit card providers because it might be already included in your purchase. You want to thoroughly read the flight’s cancelation policies and cover everything from cancelation to lost baggage.
If things go entirely wrong: a flight gets canceled and there isn’t another one, have a plan B by checking the trains, or how long the drive is. It’s better to take the first flights in the morning so there are other ones after in case it gets canceled.
11. Be ready to face the stress, and turn it into a fun journey instead
Stress is not fun when you’re not well-prepared. But when you’re ready to face it, things are much easier. With enough preparations and alternatives, you’ll become much more relaxed and ready to enjoy the holidays instead of feeling like it’s the most overwhelming time of the year.