Holiday Travel
Many people tend to shy away from traveling over the holidays because they worry about overcrowded airports or highways and higher rates for resorts or transportation. Our family, however, does just the opposite! Those major holidays are when we do most of our big adventures. Anytime school is closed (I have two daughters in 3rd grade, and I’m a teacher), that is our chance to travel--and we make the most of it!
For the last several years, we have enjoyed traveling during Christmas breaks. When my girls were 3 years old, we started traveling from our home in North Carolina down to the Florida Keys for Christmas break. We have visited aquariums, gone deep sea fishing, kayaked through the mangroves, and relaxed under palm trees as we waited for Santa’s arrival. (Yes, we make sure Santa still makes his way to us for those special deliveries ;)
Now, I realize a lot of people may say we are breaking tradition by not being home for Christmas, but I don’t see it that way. We are making our own family tradition that is full of adventure and time together our kiddos will always remember. Don’t worry, we make sure to celebrate in some of the traditional ways wherever we are. We always have a Christmas tree of some sort, leave out cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve, and wake up way too early on Christmas morning to open presents!
This year, we are actually traveling for Thanksgiving AND Christmas. We will be doing our annual trip to Florida in December of course. For Thanksgiving, we are traveling to Puerto Rico with my husband’s family from Michigan. We have several exciting adventures planned, and we will get to experience them all with extended family that we rarely get to see. To me, that is definitely something to be thankful for! (Stay tuned for more on that trip later :)
Holidays for me are about spending time with the ones you love, whether that be at home or off on an adventure somewhere. If you think you might want to give our family tradition a try and travel over the holidays, here are some tips to consider:
Be flexible with dates if you can!
If you have alternate airports nearby, compare pricing to find the best deal for your destination.
Take the earliest flights as you are less likely to experience delays.
Consider applying for TSA Precheck or Global Entry to save time getting through long airport security lines.
Book early. Planning for something several months away doesn’t always feel like a priority, but it can definitely help you get some great deals and prime dates during the holiday travel season!
Keep up to date on travel requirements to your specific destination as those have been changing quite often recently.
Consider shipping holiday gifts directly to your destination ahead of time instead of bringing them in your luggage.
Be patient if things don’t go exactly as planned. Relax and enjoy the journey!
Whether you are celebrating the upcoming holidays snuggled in cozy at home or out traveling the world, all of us here at Travel Advisors Unlimited wish you a safe, happy holiday season!
-Billie
