Traveling during the holidays generally enhances the forces that make travel miserable while minimizing what makes it joyful. Airports are packed, delays are rampant, and prices are astronomical. While the best tip I have is to avoid holiday travel altogether, I also know that is not logical for most. Below are a few suggestions to make your holiday travel more enjoyable and less stressful.

Travel on the Actual Holiday

Not the day before or the day after, but literally try traveling on Thanksgiving or Christmas Day, as I assure you the airport will be empty. Is there a good reason you can’t have your Christmas meal at lunchtime and board a 10pm flight to Rio? Matt and I have done it and it was wonderful. If Thanksgiving dinner starts at 4pm, why not take a 7:00am flight that morning? Be sure to be very friendly to the airport/airline workers. Traveling on the actual holiday removes cost and crowd issues for holiday travel.

Avoid Sundays

The Sunday after Thanksgiving is known to be one of the busiest travel days of the year. Save some money and stress and think about returning on Saturday or even Monday. Everyone travels on a Sunday!

Hide in the Lounge

Crowded airports are a wonderful use-case for the lounge. Remember many lounges offer day passes and several credit cards provide access. Consider how expensive a few drinks and entrees at an airport restaurant are. However, the lounges will also be crowded, but at least the booze and food are free.

Long Layovers

The Hubs will be delayed and backed up. How about a two our O’Hare connection instead of 30 minutes!

Leave the Kids Home

Everyone will be happier 😊. In all seriousness though, traveling during the holidays is madness and kids will just make it more miserable. Make the folks come to you if they are expecting to see the grandchildren as they are retired and can fly back on an off-peak day. If the grandparents can no longer travel, maybe celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving with them instead or pick a random weekend and make turkey then.

Go to the Airport Early

Arrive at the airport 2.5 hours in advance. Why worry about lines?

Get Clear

TSA Pre-Check works too, but you need to sign up for that well in advance. Clear (if your airport has it) can be had literally same day.

Stay Home

If you must travel during peak times and cannot abide by my suggestions above, maybe stay home? Remember a stress-free staycation is much better and superior to an expensive vacation

Don’t Check Bags

This one should be obvious, but you would be surprised. Unless you are going to a remote location, anything you need can easily be purchased. Bags are much more likely to go missing during the holidays plus just more lines you have to deal with. Skip it all, bring a carry on and worst case do laundry!

Make Sure You Save Time for Yourself

Whenever Matt and I travel to visit family, we always plan alone time. There is a lot of pressure to spend every waken moment with you families, but let’s be honest, that is no fun. Make sure you have time for yourself and your partner. Matt and I are off to Calgary next week to visit family and while we are very excited to see everyone, we have a date night planned to the Calgary Tower.

What are some of your tips for making holiday travel more bearable?

Bon Voyage,

Andrew