Because Thanksgiving is one of the busiest times to be traveling in America, it’s important to make yourself aware of just what travel nightmares you could be facing over this long weekend. So if you’re determined to travel to be with your friends, family, or other loved ones while celebrating all the things you’re thankful for in your life, here are three tips that should make your Thanksgiving travels go over as smoothly as they possibly can on this crazy few days of nationwide transportation.
Make Your Travel Plans Early
While it might be too late for this piece of advice to really help you out this year, the best thing you can do to save money and reduce the stress that inevitably comes along with traveling during the holidays is to make your plans early. According to Rick Seaney, a contributor to USA Today, September is usually when you can see prices for flights and car rentals start to increase on a daily basis. While the prices usually only jump a dollar or two each day at the beginning, once you get into October, you can see price jumps as high as $5.00 each day you get closer to Thanksgiving. So if you’re hoping to not spend too much on travel costs, try to nail down your plans as early as you can and make reservations quickly.
Be Prepared For Long Lines At The Airport
Once you’re ready to embark on your Thanksgiving travels, it’s vital that you prepare yourself to be meeting everyone else at the airport who’s planning to travel over the holiday weekend. According to Kelsey Matthews, a contributor to SkyScanner.com, make sure you’re giving yourself enough time to get through much longer security lines at the airport. Additionally, try to pack so that you can easily get through security, even if your bad gets pulled for additional screening. TSA is just trying to keep everyone safe, so just make sure you’re prepared to wait in line and hurry through when it’s your turn.
Plan For How To Avoid Traffic
Even if you’re not going to be going to the airport over Thanksgiving, you could still run into some transportation troubles if you’re going to be driving near any big cities that usually have traffic problems. According to Justin Sablich, a contributor to the New York Times, try to plan out how to best avoid traffic, which usually means waking up early or staying up late when the number of people on the road is smaller. If you’re able to avoid rush hours or can keep from hitting congested areas during busy traffic times, your road trip should go over much smoother.
If you have plans to travel over Thanksgiving, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you keep your cool and reach your destination safely.
