Despite the holidays being such a fun and jolly time of the year, we all know that traveling to and from your family’s and friend’s houses, can be a nightmare. There are, however, a few ways to relieve, or at least reduce your stress over traveling during this holiday season. My immediate family lives quite far from all of our extended family, thus we have learned a few things over the years.
1) Even though it’s a bit extra $, you should think about purchasing insurance when buying your airline tickets. It can be as little as $10 a person and covers emergencies and usually other very inconvenient unfortunate occurrences, like illnesses in the family. Even though you most likely would normally avoid this extra little fee, in the end it will save you much more!
2) Book your tickets in advance. most airlines over deals in advance (usually 90 days prior). This will also save you lots of money, especially if you’re traveling in a large group, like your family.
3)Think about different means of traveling, if there’s a possibility you can drive, you should think about making a road trip out of your traveling, instead of flying. Even though this may take longer, it will provide a lot of memories, most likely save you money, and allow you to bring more baggage and such (you won’t have to pay the baggage fees like you would on the airlines!). I know some of my most favorite memories of a child are those when we road tripped to my grandmothers, or cousins; it allows you to spend some quality time with your loved ones! One other bonus, you will get to avoid the LONG LINES and PAINFUL CROWDS at the airport!
4)–>If you are going to be traveling by car, you may want to think about renting a car (or maybe if you fly somewhere and need to rent a car, this is applicable, too). You should always purchase the insurance, once again it may not look admirable in the beginning but during the holidays there are a lot of crazy drivers out there, and insurance is a great thing to have. If anything it just gives you peace of mind!
5) The most important thing to remember is…ITS THE HOLIDAYS! It’s supposed to be a relaxing, enjoyable, fun time to spend with the people you care about…so stay calm and take in every moment of it!
