Thanksgiving should be a family holiday, meant for the luxury of relaxing around a leisurely meal with friends and loved ones. But often getting to that Thanksgiving table can be stressful. Thanksgiving has become North America’s busiest travel holiday. Travel, (especially with kids in tow), can be extremely stressful. But if you plan your Thanksgiving trip well, however, it can be a calm and relatively relaxing holiday vacation. So if you are planning on traveling this holiday season here are some Thanksgiving travel tips-
• Traveling by car-Studies show that most people who travel by car for Thanksgiving, have more than an hour’s drive ahead of them. And twenty five percent of travelers have road trips that exceed 200 miles. This makes for some messy roads during the Thanksgiving weekend. The busiest Thanksgiving travel days are Wednesday and Thursday. If your schedule allows, try to leave by Tuesday. It may feel early, but nothing dampers the fun of a family holiday more than hours stuck in close quarters, as the highway that is crowded with cars at a near standstill stretches out interminably before you. And since you have arrived earlier than usual you may then be able to avoid traffic jams post-Thanksgiving, by returning on Friday. Friday is the best day to return home for those traveling by car. It is also important to keep in mind that the time of day with most cars on the road appears to be between nine in the morning and noon. So keep in mind then, that either leaving very early, or in the afternoon, should also cut done a bit on your time spent sitting in traffic during Thanksgiving week.
• Traveling by train or plane-While it may not make sense you may be surprised to learn that it may reduce your stress to take a train or fly. This is due to the fact that studies show that most people travel by car to their Thanksgiving destinations. While you may think it is too expensive to fly during the holidays due to the holidays being major airline’s blackout days for using frequent flier miles, Thanksgiving can also be a good excuse to try that low-cost airline you’ve been eying.
It is important to keep in mind that budget flying really means very little in terms of on-flight amenities. Just remember to leave yourself plenty of time (two hours are recommended) before takeoff. The calm luxury of let-someone-else-do-the-driving air travel can be easily ruined by a mad dash to your terminal with luggage and children in tow. To help streamline your travel you may want to consider shipping your bags to your destination. With today’s airline baggage fees it may be cheaper (and more reliable) to send your bags ahead and it will certainly streamline the check-in process for you at the airport.
• Traveling with children-Finally, nothing takes the luxury out of travel, be it by plane, train, or automobile, faster than complaining children. A few airlines have TV sets built into each passenger’s seat, but if you’re using an airline that doesn’t or are going by train or driving, consider investing in a portable DVD player. So for some smoother travel buckle them in, turn on their DVD players, and have a happy trip to your happy Thanksgiving. Also plan ahead for food. Young children (and some older ones) are picky eaters. While there are restrictions for air travel be sure to have a bag filled with snacks and comfort food that are familiar to your kids. This helps eliminate the crying (yours) and begging (them)and high prices for on the road food. And above all it helps to remember that traveling is not the easiest thing to do-invest in a set of earplugs and remember the getting there won’t last forever!
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