As the holiday season swings into full force, many of you are beginning to count down the days to your winter holiday and much-needed vacation. Whether you’re heading home to see family, taking the family for a sunny cruise to the Bahamas or going for a romantic getaway to Aspen, you won’t want to miss out on these tips to keep the stress-levels down when you’re travelling this winter holiday season.
TripAtlas.com, the World’s Largest Online Travel Resource, is bringing you insider-tips on Stress-Free Holiday Travel to get you through this Christmas and New Year’s travel season. Find out about the best/worst dates to travel this 2008/2009 winter holiday season, how you can avoid long lineups at the airport, how to save money, and get some great travel deals, and how to avoid long (and dreadfully painful) flight delays.
The Inside Scoop on Holiday Travel and How to Fight Airport Stress this Winter
Book early for Christmas and New Years holidays.
At any other time of the year, it’s not a bad idea to wait for last-minute deals. However, for Christmas, New Year’s and major holidays, booking early is the rule to follow. Prices will get more expensive and fewer options will be available the later you wait to book. In the end, it will cost you not only in higher costs, but also comfort and accommodations.
Worst times/dates to avoid this winter holiday season.
Here’s the inside scoop. Based on this year’s calendar, avoid travelling the weekend of December 19 to 21, 2008—the Friday before Christmas is always one of the busiest days. Similarly, avoid travelling the weekend of December 26 to 28, 2008 since you’ll be brushing elbows with the New Years holiday crowd.
January 2 to 4, 2009 will be the busiest travel weekend of the year hands down, since everyone will be returning home from holidays. Try to book your return for the Monday or Tuesday after to save yourself from rushing and to avoid cranky kids and crankier parents.
Best times to travel this holiday season and how you can save money.
Travelers avoid airports on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve. So, if you can handle spending a few hours in the airport on these days, they’re the least busy days of the season and you’ll likely get a great deal. Generally, it’s a better idea to travel a few weeks before or after the holiday rush. Thanksgiving until one week before Christmas and anytime after New Year’s are the best times to travel: hotel prices and flights are cheaper and you won’t have to fight the lineups. Also, if you book flights earlier on during the day, the less likely you are to get stuck in long lines and have a delayed flight.
Check-in online, print your boarding passes, and check for delays before leaving home.
No matter whether you booked your flight online or not, you can still check-in online. You’ll be asked for some kind of combination of your name, flight number, booking number or credit card number. Most airlines allow passengers to check-in online twenty-four hours before the scheduled flight departure time. Once you check-in online, you can choose your seat and print your boarding pass from home. While you’re at the computer, be sure to check for any flight delays or weather warnings so that you can decide about changing flights, leaving later or heading straight to the airport as scheduled. Don’t forget your passport!
Once you arrive at the airport, you can go straight to the security gate with your home-printed boarding passes, unless you have bags or suitcases to check-in. Some airlines offer online check-in kiosks that have shorter lines since they’re used exclusively for checking bags.
Get to the airport early to avoid lines, delays and getting bumped.
While I have always thought that my father’s tradition of arriving at the airport three to four hours ahead of a scheduled flight (domestic or international!) was a little extreme, holiday season is an exception.
Getting to the airport early is one of the best ways you can avoid long lineups, risk being late for your flight, or getting bumped from an overbooked flight. For international flights, it’s recommended that you arrive two hours prior to departure—try arriving two and a half to three hours ahead. For domestic flights, it’s recommended that you arrive one and a half hours or ninety minutes prior to departure—try arriving two hours before, instead.
Remember that besides check-in lines, there’s also a security check lineup that you have to go through. Make sure you have all your identification and documents ready so that you can get through the lines faster.
Packing doesn’t have to be stressful or cause problems at the airport!
Packing is part of travelling but it can be a painful and stressful experience if you don’t do it right.
Generally, the rule I like to go by is: “Pack only what you can carry.” That is, pack light and only what is necessary rather than for “what if” situations. Choose clothes that you can mix and match and bring multipurpose items (shoes, skirts) for both casual and dressy occasions. Better yet, if you bring quarters and detergent to do your laundry and you’ll save a ton of space on additional clothing.
Always bring a change of clothes and toiletries in your carry-on—basically, whatever you may need to survive one to two days without your checked bag. Make sure your liquids and gels are 100 ml (3.4 oz) or less per item and that they all fit in a re-sealable zip lock bag no larger than one litre (one quart). Items like baby formula, baby food, milk, water, and juice are allowed for passengers with infants from zero to twenty-four months travelling with them. If you have prescription drugs, be sure that the bottle is clearly marked with your name.
Bringing gifts in your luggage on your holidays?
When you’re travelling for the holidays, you’re likely to bring gifts with you or bring some back. It’s better to keep expensive and fragile items with you in your carry-on or if needed, carry it by hand. For gifts that you store in your check-in suitcase, be sure that they’re carefully stowed away and won’t break. Don’t gift wrap your gifts, as items in both your check-in and carry-on should be easily identified and accessible by security.
Be sure to check the List of Permitted and Non-Permitted Items on the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority website to ensure that your gift can be transported across the border, for both your check-in bag and carry-on bag.
Steer clear from connecting flights and snowy destinations.
Try to book a direct flight. The fewer flight connections, the better, since more connections equals more possibility of complications, delays and wait-time.
If you’re absolutely required to make a connection to get to your destination, then try to avoid snowy or winter destinations, as weather is generally the biggest factor when it comes to delayed flights.
Choose your destination wisely.
For every high-season destination, there’s a low-season destination. Paris is just as beautiful during Christmas-time as it is during the summer—and it’s a little less crowded in December and January than it is from June to August.
If you’re looking for quiet, then an all-inclusive resort may not be the best option for your winter vacation since they’re often overrun and packed to the rim with tourists during Christmas and New Years. Consider picking a less busy or a low-season destination and you’ll not only save money, but you won’t have to fight for pool chairs.
Be flexible and have fun.
The key to not getting stressed-out when you’re travelling, running into last-minute problems, flight delays and other issues—is to be as flexible as possible. Your flight is delayed for another two hours? Find a comfortable restaurant and have a nice meal or a drink, pick up a magazine or newspaper, or try to catch a few zzz’s. Just make sure you have an alarm!