It’s almost Thanksgiving and that means everyone is going to be traveling.
For me, Travel and Thanksgiving go together like mashed potatoes and gravy. I can only remember a few Thanksgivings that I have not traveled for. When I was a kid, it was a 10-hour drive from my house in North Carolina to my grandparent’s house in Mississippi. And we did it every year. Now that I’ve moved across the country and am trying to be an adult (?!), I love using the extra long weekend as an excuse to travel. This year my husband and I are heading to Italy!
Here are my favorite tips on how to outsmart the traveling masses.
- Travel during off-times. Thanksgiving is a hard time to travel because most people all have the same days off and try to cram a trip in during the same time frame. Save yourself from a traffic nightmare by taking an extra day off or heading home a day early. You can even travel on Thanksgiving day itself, I know it sounds crazy but the roads are usually empty and you’ll get places super fast.
- Get everywhere early. Lines are going to be long, TSA will be a nightmare, everything will take longer at Thanksgiving.
- Make a packing list and check it twice! You don’t want to get caught at the airport without your passport or with a dead phone and no charger! For inspiration, check out our post of favorite things to travel with.
- Pack snacks. You don’t want to be caught in the middle of nowhere on the road with only fast food as a choice or stuck on an extra long layover with only expensive airport food choices to pick from.
- Plan your media & pack extra things to watch, read and listen to. You never know when you’ll be stuck in traffic or have a delay. Looking for something new? Check out our podcast recommendations.
- Print things (directions, confirmations, boarding passes)! I know it sounds crazy when we live in an era of cell phones, but you never know when you’ll end up without service on the road or in a foreign country where your phone doesn’t work and you and no idea what train to take.
- Travel with a buddy! I love the idea of solo trips but traveling at the holidays is already hard enough, go with a friend who you love chatting with to help pass the time.
If you are traveling by car, check out my tips for long commutes.
Does anyone else have tips for holiday travel?
Great tips! Especially printing everything off beforehand! Even though you can use electronic boarding passes now, there’s just no telling when you may not be able to rely on your phone at the airport. There’s been many times where my phone doesn’t work out of the country or can’t even connect to WiFi when I’m in the country because there are so many people on it. Nice post!