Holidays 2010: Top Travel Planning Tips

Every year during the holidays, people all over the world travel to be with family and friends, the 2010 holidays are no exception. You may fly, take a train or bus or drive, but getting together with the ones you love during the holidays often involves travel. It can be a very stressful time of year to travel. Here are a few tips to help you plan for that travel. It can make your holidays a much calmer time.

Air Travel

The very first thing to do is to plan ahead and book your flight early. If you book with an airline like Southwest you don't need to worry about prices going lower, if they do you can get a credit for that amount. Historically speaking, there is little chance that the prices will go down so this is one thing that is almost a given. The most important thing is to guarantee that you have a seat on a flight.

If you are going to be leaving from an airport where snow is possible, book the first flight out in the morning. The first flights are the most likely to actually get off and the crowd at the airport is lower. Try to choose a flight which has come from the south. Sometimes it isn't that fact that you are having snow where you are but rather the place the airplane is coming from. Look for flight which arrive late at night and spend the night in your airport. This takes a little more work but it is something that can make the difference between spending the holidays in an airport or at your chosen destination.

Don't travel on Christmas Eve day. If you don't have much time off and it is a short flight consider actually traveling on Christmas Day which is a quieter day. The best time to flight is several days in advance and then waiting to come back several days after or go several days early and fly back home on Christmas Day.

Try to get a direct flight, the more stops you have the better chance you will have bad weather at one of the stops. Getting half way to your destination is worse than not getting off the ground at all.

Travel light. Have your gifts shipped ahead of you and travel with carry on only. The planes will be crowded; tempers will be short and the less you personally have to deal with the better. If you are traveling in the US, you don't have to worry about carrying a lot of toiletries; they are available at drugstores and Wal-Mart's across the country. Carrying one bag or backpack is the way to go.

When it comes to train and bus travel, book your seats early as well. Also keep your baggage as light as possible. Carry water and snacks in your backpack and be prepared to entertain yourself.

If you are driving to your holiday destination, the first thing to do is to make sure your car is in top shape and that you have a good spare tire, a can of fix a flat and an emergency kit in the trunk including a gallon or two of water. If you are in the north carry so extra blankets as well. Have a snack bag, cells phone well charged, GPS if needed and be sure you cell phone is set so that it can emits a signal. Almost every year someone goes missing on a holiday trip and with the locator on that police can track the location of the cellphone.

If you are driving, leave as early as possible. Traffic is heavy during the holiday and expect a lot of traffic. Have a planned route and be sure that someone knows your exact route plan.

Traveling during the holidays can be stressful but if you follow these tips you will make it as safe and stress free as possible. Just be sure to bring your patience and sense of humor with you, it may be in high demand.