The holiday season is upon us, a time to celebrate with friends, family and loved ones. For many, this time of year involves quite a bit of traveling, whether flying abroad or driving locally, so we’ve put together some of our ‘top tips’ for traveling safely (and efficiently!) during the holidays:

Timing is everything. If you can, plan your travel for early in the week or Thanksgiving Day itself, and remember that return travel is at its height the Sunday after Thanksgiving. If you can adjust your travel days, it will pay off in less stress and time stuck in traffic.

Only away for a few days? Consider packing as light as possible. This will be easier to manage, and help you to avoid the time consuming and expensive process of checking-in bags. To help lighten your load, you may want to ship heavier items like presents, to your destination ahead of time.

 

Remember, the ‘hour before’ rule for domestic and ‘two hours’ for international doesn’t always work during the holidays, as things like airport parking can be especially time consuming during the festive season. Planning to travel to the airport by taxi? Don’t wait until the morning to try to get one, make the booking well in advance.

If you plan to travel by car during the holidays, then preparation is key to ensure a safe trip. Always check that your vehicle is in good condition before you hit the road and pack an emergency kit of first aid supplies and food. Check the weather forecast too, if there’s likely to be stormy weather along your journey, it’ll give you the opportunity to plan alternative routes ahead of time.