Comfortable Holiday Travel: Not an oxymoron, honest!
by Liz Hamill
November 2010 — The Thanksgiving through New Year’s winter holiday travel season is a time to visit friends and family, escape icy weather for a vacation in tropical climes, or escape tropical climes to enjoy a white Christmas. Whatever the reason, people celebrate the winter holidays by leaving home in droves. And all too often, it can seem like all those droves are passing through the airport or driving the highway at the same moment you’re making your own trip. Add a major blizzard, a cranky toddler and a forgotten suitcase full of gifts, and you’ve got a grand recipe for a holiday travel disaster.
While it’s not possible to guarantee a perfect holiday vacation — poorly-timed blizzards blow when they blow — a few decisive acts can make your wintertime trek less stressful and lots more fun.
• Don’t travel on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, the Sunday after Thanksgiving, December 23, 26, and 27, or January 2 and 3. These days not only have the biggest, surliest crowds at every major airport, they’ve also got the gnarliest traffic jams on the interstates.
Instead, take advantage of off-peak travel days. When you fly out first thing Thanksgiving morning, the roads and airports will be nearly empty. And a nighttime turkey feast will taste fabulous after airline food for lunch!
• Stay where you’ll be the most relaxed and comfortable for the duration of your trip. This may not be on your in-laws’ fold-out sofa or in your sister’s house with her three kids, two large dogs and five loud parakeets.
© Guy Sagi | Dreamstime.com
It can be delicate to decline an offer of hospitality from a family member. But family holiday gatherings are famous for strife, hurt feelings and knock-down, drag-out fights. And right in the midst of the war zone is a lousy place to be forced to stay.
A hotel room to retreat to may be the best gift you can possibly give yourself!
If the cost of a hotel room is prohibitive — but you’ll have a much merrier Christmas if you don’t stay in your stepmother’s spare room — get creative with your hunt for lodgings. Because so many people travel over the holidays, housing swaps can be especially viable. Check out home exchange websites to see if another family might like to switch houses with you for the holidays.
• Mail the gifts you’re giving, even though you’re headed to the same destination. With ever-increasing baggage fees, plus the holiday airport crowds, it’s easier and cheaper to box up all the presents and ship them rather than schlep them through the airport and pay for the privilege of checking them onto the plane.
• If you’re traveling by air, pack for maximum in-flight comfort. Carry a neck pillow, earplugs, a sleep mask, noise-canceling headphones, an iPod, a Kindle — whatever you need to make yourself as content as possible. If you take medications of any kind, be sure to pack them in your carry-on — that way you won’t lose them, and you’ve got access to any meds you might need if your flight is delayed. Finally, consider packing yourself a meal so as to avoid the so-called food that the airlines now charge extra for.
© Painlesss | Dreamstime.com
• Road trippers, do the same thing the fliers do. That is, pack the items that will bring you the most comfort, enjoyment, and stress reduction into a small bag. Set that bag by your feet in the car where you can reach it easily. Help your kids pack their own “fun and comfort” bags too. The “shotgun” passenger can help the driver out with food and drink, music and navigation.
Plan an extra hour or two for each day of your drive, even if you don’t think you’ll need it. That way, unexpected traffic won’t cause so much stress, bathroom breaks will be a breeze, and there might even be time to turn off at an unexpectedly cool-looking holiday attraction!
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