Welcome to part two of our “15 Holiday Travel Tips” series! We’ll still follow this part 2.
So how are you going to keep your sanity and stay out of trouble and bad situations during your holiday travels? Well, here are the first 7 of 15 tried-and-true tips that will help you avoid the worst and most common travel pitfalls:
1. Get some sleep
Before you leave, you’ll probably be tempted to stay up late packing and making sure everything’s in order. But if you’re sleep deprived the next day, you’ll be cranky. If you’re cranky, chances are you’ll find everything about traveling irritating. So get a good night’s sleep.
2. Do What You Can Now
Do as much as you can before you leave. Do one final check on your airline reservations the night before you leave, and again before you walk out the door that day. If you can, print out your boarding pass and even print a luggage tag for your checked baggage. It could save you time and money.
3. Get There Early
It doesn’t matter if you’re traveling by train, plane, or automobile – get an early start. You’ll probably want to get there two hours early for domestic flights, or three hours early for international
4. Watch Your Weight
No, not your body weight. A lot of airlines have begun introducing fees for checked bags, especially if they’re overweight or oversized. Make sure you check your airline’s guidelines before you even start packing. Leave what you can behind.
5. Dress for Speed
Since 9/11, all airport security checkpoints require the removal of your shoes, coat, big belt buckles, and pretty much anything else you can easily remove. Laptops even have to be taken out of the cases. Carrying any liquids aboard? You’ll want to read up on the 3-1 regulations.
6. Take It if You Can Get It
The TSA’s great Black Diamond Self-Select program, which is now in place at over 50 airports, lets you pick a security lane that matches your travel style and/or expertise: expert, casual or family. Each line is significantly different. If you don’t like being rushed, head for the family lanes.
7. Know What You Can and Can’t Take
Even though the rules have been in place for years now, travelers still end up giving up tons and tons (and tons) of items that are prohibited to take past airport security checkpoints. Whether you’re a novice, expert or anyone else, you should still take a moment before every flight to read up on the TSA’s long and detailed list of what is permitted and prohibited as part of carry-on items. Got some knitting needles for grandma? Take ‘em aboard. A pool cue for your brother? Don’t even try.
That’s all for today’s tips. Join us for the next post, where we will feature the rest of our 15 holiday travel tips.
I think all travelers are quite aware of the importance of arriving early at the airport. However, many travelers often overlook one aspect that can bring a lot of headache and cost them a lot of time before actually entering the terminal building: airport parking.