If you have to travel this Christmas, there are ways to make it a lot less stressful. Travelling for the holidays can present a number of problems. Whether you are travelling close to home or you’re heading off abroad, here you’ll discover some great tips you can follow to avoid travel problems this Christmas.
Ensure You Have All of Your Documents
If you are jetting off abroad, you’re going to want to make sure you have all of your travel documents prepared. The last thing you want is to turn up at the airport, only to realize you can’t fly because you don’t have your documents.
A good tip here is to photocopy documents. Have a couple of copies spare just in case anything happens and you lose one of them.
Plan Way Ahead
Whichever way you’ll be travelling, it’s essential to plan ahead. Which route will you be taking and how long is it going to take you to get where you need to be? Accommodate for extra traffic as there are usually a lot more people on the roads during the Christmas period.
If you are driving, it’s also a good idea to have a back-up route option. That way, if there’s an accident or a change on the day, you’ll have another route to fall back on. This can really eliminate the stress if something does crop up and throw your original route into jeopardy.
You can also plan ahead for everything you’ll need to take with you. The more prepared you are, the easier your journey will be.
Avoid Peak Travel Times
An obvious tip that you’ll absolutely want to follow, is to avoid travelling during peak travel times. These include December 20th and 21st, along with Christmas Eve. And if you do have to travel on these days, it’s worth setting off early. The earlier you go, the less traffic there will be on the roads.
However, if you plan on travelling the day before Christmas or Christmas Eve, you might want to avoid ridiculously early flights and car journeys. This is because you’ll arrive feeling too tired to actually enjoy the day. So, aim to travel a few days earlier if you can so you can avoid the rush and set off earlier.
Pack Light
No matter how far you’re travelling, it’s important to pack light. If you’re flying, you’ll also need to make sure you’re familiar with what is and isn’t allowed in your luggage. Packing light will also help to ensure you don’t get hit with any unexpected extra-luggage fees.
Make a list of the things you absolutely need, then focus on packing as little as possible.
These are just some great tips you can follow to avoid travel problems at Christmas. Don’t forget that if you’re travelling with the kids, you’ll also want to provide plenty of snacks and entertainment depending upon how long the journey will be. If the kids get bored, it’s going to feel like a very long journey!
