It Doesn’t Have to be Chaotic: 11 Tips to Make Your Holiday Travel Peaceful

The holidays are my favorite time of the year. I love family time, holiday festivities, music, and downtime from the day-to-day scheduled routines. It’s the time of year when families and friends enjoy one another’s company, dine around the table, share memories, create new ones, laugh together, and share the holiday joy.

Yet, if you need to travel during holidays to visit your family or friends, you’re likely to encounter some travel chaos. It doesn’t have to be this way though.

Here are some tips to make the best out of your holiday travel and minimize the chaos as much as possible.

1. Plan Ahead

This sounds simple enough, but failure to plan can lead to holiday travel chaos. Everyone is booking flights and taking road trips to visit family or friends. Some people want to vacation simply for the sake of vacationing during the holidays, and they can experience the chaos of holiday travel too.

It’s best to decide where you want to go for the holidays, when, for how long, and where you plan to stay while on holiday travel. Check flight rates, book your flights as early as possible, and book airport parking.

Look into flights and accommodations on the outskirts of the big cities. You may be able to fly into a smaller airport for a lesser cost or stay in a hotel nearby and save some money. Sign up for alerts to stay aware of potential price drops or special days to fly that are less costly.

Map out routes for driving to your destination. Determine which route makes more sense, and prepare for the potential for wintery weather conditions. How long will it take you to fly or drive to your destination? What alternative route can you take should the weather affect your initial route?

2. Budget

Every trip comes with a price tag and holiday travel is no different. Whether flying or driving, you need to budget what you can afford and what you’re willing to spend.

With holiday rates and the potential for wintery weather conditions, consider all options to create a realistic budget that works for you. Do what makes you most comfortable, and determine if you can afford the trip, as planned.

3. Be Flexible

Flexibility allows you to create a travel plan that fits your desires on how you envision spending your holidays. It alleviates the added stress of “must-do” dates to fly or drive and potentially saves money on flights and accommodations.

One major benefit many overlook during vacation is the ability to relax more. You can enjoy the moments with those you care for with ease and peace of mind.

4. Travel and Events on Off-Peak Days

During the holidays flights, rental cars, accommodations, and special events are more expensive. It’s best to try and book your flights and reservations for a rental car and accommodations on off-peak days.

The closer to the holiday, the more expensive your flights, rental car, and accommodations will be. For special events, try to book on a weekday rather than on the weekend. Many times, the weekend event rates are a much higher cost than during the week.

5. Travel Insurance

I’m not typically a huge fan of travel insurance unless it’s around the holidays. Things can become so unpredictable. Flights could be canceled due to unprecedented weather such as snowstorms, ice storms, rain, and even power outages.

It depends on where you’re flying or traveling from, where your connecting flights are, and your destination. If you were to get ill before your flight or a family emergency arose, this is when travel insurance can protect your financial purchases for holiday travel.

6. Leave Early

Whether you’re flying or driving for your holiday vacation, leave earlier than you normally would plan.

If you’re flying, arrive at the airport earlier than usual. This will help you find parking easier and avoid or minimize your wait time in the lines for check-in and baggage.

If you’re driving, plan to leave earlier than most people would. This could mean leaving 1-2 days earlier than most or leaving earlier in the morning the day of. My recommendation would be to leave a few days prior to the majority.

7. Auto Preparation

Nothing could be worse than getting ready to head out on your road trip and something happens to your car. It’s best to have an inspection before travel. I will get a full check-up and make sure my tires are good to go for the winter season.

Make sure your heating system is working properly too. You never know if you’ll get stuck in traffic and how long you may be there. You’ll want a fully functioning, safe car for your holiday travel.

Be sure to have a full gas tank before leaving and know where to pull over to refuel. Carry extra blankets and towels in your car along with a first aid kit. These are just a few safety preparations I highly recommend for a long drive.

8. Pack Light

I’m guilty of this, but pack light! There’s no need to bring a full suitcase with clothing for every day. Over half of what you pack most likely won’t be worn anyway.

It’s common for people to overpack, and then you’re waiting in line to check baggage, or your car is full to the rim with unnecessary suitcases and bags. Pack just a carry-on.

Do yourself a favor and avoid the chaos of waiting in the lines at the airport to check baggage. You can easily pick up anything additional you might need on the way or once you arrive at your destination.

9. Comfort Over Finely Dressed

It’s the holiday season, and all the beautiful dresses and attire are ready to be worn. Save yourself some discomfort, and dress for comfort.

Whether flying or driving, my most common attire is a hoody, sweatpants, and tennis shoes. The nice outfit gets put in the suitcase for later wear.

The last thing you want is to be delayed at an airport or stuck in traffic dressed to the nines with nowhere to go! Always choose comfort over the finely dressed!

10. In-Route Activities

Be sure to bring yourself a book or journal, download some mental stimulation apps to your phone, coloring books for the kids, or small travel games. It’s always nice to have something to preoccupy your mind.

If you’re traveling with small children, this can be a lifesaver to a parent’s peace of mind. Nothing can be more stressful for parents than being stuck at an airport with a layover and young children with nothing to entertain them. The time will feel like it’s slowly crawling.

The goal is to minimize the holiday travel chaos. Bring in-route activities for everyone in tow!

11. Practice Gratitude

Find the gratitude in the journey. You are blessed to be able to travel. Whether flying or driving, spend quality time with your loved ones during the holidays and be grateful for your life and those in it.

Reflect on the meaning behind the holiday season. Practice being kind to others while traveling. Airports and roads can cause major anxiety to some. Creating a more chaotic atmosphere won’t help.

Remind yourself everyone is there to travel to those they love as well. Share a smile.