Great Ways to Beat Holiday Travel Stress!
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The day before Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel days of the year. People find themselves flying back and forth across the country to visit family and friends. While traveling during the holidays gives you the chance to see loved ones that you may only see a few times a year, those trips can also leave you feeling frustrated and stressed. Whether you plan to fly, drive your own car or take a bus or train, you can use some of the methods that other travelers use to beat their stress.
Book Early
Flights, rental cars and even bus tickets can sell out weeks before the holidays. If you’re lucky enough to find a ticket closer to the holidays, you can expect to pay big buckets for that ticket. Those waiting until the last minute may even find that the price of those tickets doubles or even triples. Travel expert Lindsey Stone recommends that you make your travel arrangements months before you plan to leave. Once you have those arrangements in place, you can relax and spend more time looking forward to your trip and less time worrying about that trip.
Bring Supporting Documentation
No matter where your holiday trips take you, you absolutely must bring supporting documentation. Never assume that the tickets you print off on your home printer are the only things you need. You typically need to show proof of your identity with a state ID or a driver’s license. Before leaving, check your ID to ensure that it’s still valid. If the identification that you bring is out of date by even one day, many companies won’t let you fly, rent a car or board a train or bus. If your plan to visit friends or family out of the country, you may need to bring visa information and proof of your vaccinations.
Plan for Downtime
You never know when the weather might wreak havoc on your holiday travel plans. While the sky looks bright and clear when you leave the house, it might rain down snow and ice by the time you reach the airport. You also have to consider the weather conditions found in your destination. If the other area is in the middle of a bad storm, the airline may cancel or postpone your flight. There are only so many times that you can wander around the airport and check out the shops and restaurants before you want to scream. When you plan for potential downtime, you’ll have plenty of things to keep you occupied, including books and games on your tablet, travel games for the kids and even some snacks.
Have a Backup Plan
As much as you look forward to being around loved ones, it’s important that you have a backup plan. What will you do if the airline cancels your flight and cannot reschedule it before the holidays? Do you know what you might do if the rental car gave away its last car before you picked up yours? A backup plan can be something as simple as keeping some food on hand in your home to make if you can’t reach your destination. The more that you plan for the inevitable, the less stressed you’ll feel if your plans change at the last minute.
