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10 Ideas for Surviving Holiday Travel

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It is that time of year again whenever you need to pack up all of the presents and somehow make it to the in-laws' house in 1 piece after being strip-searched at the airport and losing your luggage. Holiday travel is, in a word, no-fun, right? Well, not all of us need to be Ben Stiller from Meet the Parents. Obviously, you can find unavoidable circumstances and some aspects of travel, like lines at the airport and poor traffic, just can't be helped. What could be helped, though, is your plan for the way to survive it all.

Here are our top 10 suggestions for surviving holiday travel in 2010.

Flying

*Book as far in advance as possible. Flights book out quite speedily during the holidays.

*Call the airline to confirm your reservation about a week just before. This will give you time to argue with them if some thing has gone wrong, and also to check on your seat assignment.

*Follow packing guidelines. Put your little toiletries into a plastic baggie before you leave the home, and carry it in an easily-accessed pouch of your carry-on bag.

*Wear comfortable clothes and shoes which are effortless to get on and off. Skip the belt, tie and formal-wear.

*Expect lines. Bring a book, magazine or computer to keep you occupied in busy airports. Keep in mind to breathe.

*Allow about two or three hours much more than you believe you require. It's far better to be sitting in an airport for a couple hours than it's to be late and miss your flight and be stressed about lines and crowds.

*Don't pre-wrap your Christmas gifts. Even if they're in your checked luggage, they may be torn open by the security staff, so it's greatest to wrap after you arrive, or ship your gifts by post.

*Fly on off days, like Tuesdays, and in case you can, fly on the actual day of the holiday when the airports are virtually empty and lines are minimal.

Driving

*Drive out early or on the day of, instead of a few days prior to when roads will probably be crowded and traffid will probably be bad.

*Stop for gas well prior to you have to. The last thing you want is to run out of gas on your method to Christmas dinner.

*Ensure that you prepare blankets along with warm clothes, a flashlight, a spare tire plus some snacks. You never know when you'll hit terrible weather and be caught up while travelling.

*If you are renting a car, be sure to book it well in advance, as rental cars book out quickly. Make sure you plan your flights or arrival time early inside the morning, as rental vehicle companies tend to over-book and, in the event you arrive late, you may be stranded or forced to upgrade to a far more costly car.

*Make sure you might have satellite radio, CDs or audio books to keep you entertained.

*If you do get stuck in a visitors jam, attempt to take deep breaths and consider something else, as opposed to obtaining upset, which won't change the traffic and will only ruin your Christmas.

*Carry a standard paper road atlas, in addition to a satellite navigation system, since they are sometimes wrong. Make sure you plan your route via the paper atlas in advance, so you do not need to do significantly checking on the road.

And, most importantly..

Keep in mind the spirit of Christmas. It really is so simple to get caught up within the presents and also the visitors and the hassles of holiday cheaper flight that you ruin your own Christmas. This is a time that we should appreciate our family and friends and be thankful what we have, rather than focusing on the (reasonably speaking, trifle) hassles of travel at this time of year!

Happy Holidays
from
Lets Fly Cheaper