Thanksgiving Travel Tips

Thanksgiving is the busiest travel time of the year. It’s a wonderful, family-centric holiday, which requires many celebrators to trek home for food and football over Thanksgiving weekend. If you’re like many Americans, you may have travel plans this weekend. Here are a few Premier Timeshare Resale tips to help you keep holiday travel stress levels to a minimum.

For Flying

Many people choose to fly to their destination over the holidays. It’s fast and, if tickets are bought ahead of time, it can be an affordable way to travel long distances. For these and many more reasons, airports tend to be packed before and after Thanksgiving. On top of the basic travel troubles, weather can have a huge impact on your Thanksgiving travel time, so it’s important to be prepared for anything.

There are a couple of steps you can take before even arriving at the airport that can make your travel day run a bit smoother. First, download your airline’s app if you have a smartphone. These apps send alerts for delayed flights, allow for early check in, and can produce an electronic boarding pass to help you fly through security. If your airline doesn’t have an app, there are a number of general applications that work with airlines to provide the same information, such as GateGuru. If you don’t have a smartphone, print your boarding pass ahead of time and bring it with you.

Of course, it’s important to travel light and arrive early to ensure easy flying. Bring a couple extra bucks for a coffee or snack while waiting for your flight, in case it gets delayed. You don’t want to be stuck with a rumbling tummy.

Many small planes will accept checked luggage at the gate to make more room on the flight. You can call your airline to ask if they will be providing that service beforehand. This keeps you from having to lift a heavy suitcase over your head and holding up the boarding line, and priority boarding is often given to passengers who take advantage of this service.

For Driving

Traffic can be bad during Thanksgiving travel, especially if they weather is less than ideal. To prepare yourself for upcoming traffic jams, construction or weather conditions as you drive, learn the AM radio station for your area that reports traffic information and check in every once in a while as you go along.

It’s also important to prepare for emergencies, especially for those driving long distances or in bad weather. Have an emergency kit in your trunk with non-perishable snacks, water, a blanket, flashing light, jumper cables, and a number of other items. You can see the DMV’s recommended list for a car emergency kit here.

Another item to keep in your car is a phone charger. Besides providing rocking tunes for the drive, you’ll want to make sure you’re phone has power in case you need to make an emergency phone call. Chargers that plug into your car’s cigarette lighter can be found for cheap at Walmart. For cars that can’t use their lighter, portable chargers can also be found for little cost at most grocery or tech stores.

Take the Train

For those that don’t like flying, or are unable to drive, the train is a great alternative. It’s often cheaper than flying, has routes that go all over the country, won’t add miles to your car, and doesn’t have any of the hassles of boarding a plane and navigating a busy airport. Plus, trains offer plenty of time to relax before entering the sometimes tremulous waters of a family holiday. Amtrak is a great place to start when looking at trains for travel.

Use a Timeshare

There are many reasons a Thanksgiving timeshare might be a good fit for you and your family. If you travel to the same place every year and struggle to find accommodations, buying a timeshare could solve that problem. Or, if your family is widely spread out, a timeshare resale can provide a central location for the family to meet. Many timeshares have multiple bedrooms and a full kitchen, which make it easy to accommodate the whole family. Timeshare hotels have swimming pools, hot tubs, events and crafts for kids, and more accommodations that can make for a fun and relaxing holiday for everyone.