Top 4 Tips for Staying Sane While Travelling During the Holidays
Travelling under normal circumstances can be challenging. When you compound normal travel problems with the busiest time of year, it can get pretty wild. Prices go up, tolerance goes down, and sanity is in short supply.
But you don’t need to suffer needlessly, here are 4 tips for staying sane while travelling during the holidays:
If you don’t need to go, don’t
I’m not saying that you need to cancel your trip to attend Aunt Fanny’s festivities, but there’s something to be said for being flexible with your arrangements. The important thing about visiting family and friends at this time of year is to be with those closest to you.
If you’re running up your credit cards, sardining yourself onto a plane, and piling into your parents’ home already at the end of your tether, this doesn’t bode well for quality kumbaya times with the family.
Why not schedule some together time in November when everyone else is just gearing up their epic journey? Or practice Christmas Ukranian-style and have it on January 7th? Approach your people and see what they are open too, you might be pleasantly surprised.
You’ll have fewer crowds to fight, and a more pleasant experience.
Forget the deal-hunting and just book it
At this stage of the game, the prices are the prices. They are going to be higher than you want to pay. You might as well forgo all the stress and anxiety of trying to steal the best deal possible, just press the confirm button and get on with life. You’ll feel better because you’ve made the decision.
If you can, book something on an earlier flight. Convenience flyers are more likely to choose a leisurely mid-morning/early afternoon trip so the later it gets, the more crowded the airport. In addition, if one flight is a little late, that tends to have a domino effect for later flights. Fly out at 6am and sidestep the madness of a blinking “delayed” status on the departures board. It’s a trade-off, but one that makes travelling during the holidays a little more bearable.
Pack light for flight; post the gifts separately
As with the most things, the busier and more congested a service is, the more likely there will be mistakes. Post your packages a month early and pack a carry-on for the plane. You don’t want to be the guy trying to explain to his fiancée’s family that their presents are currently winging their way to Abu Dhabi because of an airline “mix-up”.
It might cost a little more up front but the peace of mind you’ll have by mailing out everyone’s gifts ahead of time will be worth it.
Purchase travel insurance
This is probably one of the most essential things for travelling during the holidays. Stuff happens. All the time. Buying a good travel insurance policy can help you deal with trip interruption (miss your connection), trip cancellation (there’s a storm), and all the health things that can crop up when your gallivanting around the world.
The last thing you want to worry about is having to pay for a hotel at the last minute or finding yourself at the hospital without a safety net to help you cover everything. Be prepared and you’ll be ready to take on the world.
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