Taking a trip for Thanksgiving?
Good luck. Holidays offer opportunities for getaways and draw families together, but getting there may not be all that much fun.Airports are crowded, highways are busy and if the weather turns lousy, the holiday turkey may be cold by the time you reach your destination.
With Thanksgiving just a few days away, and the Christmas holidays a month off, we're approaching some of the busiest travel periods of the year.
Thanksgiving is always the heaviest travel week of the year. A record 11.6 million passengers are expected to trot in and out of the nation's airports in the next few days, says the Air Transport Association, and another 25.5 million will be taking trips of 100 miles or more in their automobiles, predicts the American Automobile Association.
For most of those millions, the worst that will happen is having to spin their wheels at an airport or arrive at their destination a bit late. Nothing serious enough to spoil a holiday.
Still, 37 million is a lot of people on the go, and if you're one of them, your exasperation quotient could be put to a test.
You may not be able to find a decent parking space at the airport. Check-in lines will be long and slow, especially with the tightened security at the nation's airports. Flight delays may make you miss your connection.
On the road, you probably won't be able to pull off the Interstate and into a motel without an advance reservation. And if you do find a spur-of-the-moment vacancy, it may cost you more than you'd ordinarily pay.
If you visit a popular attraction like Walt Disney World, chances are you'll have to wait in long lines - and don't expect any special price deals.
Much the same scenario will occur during the Christmas holidays, only that busy travel period - and your stress factor - will stretch over two weeks rather than one.
All of which may sound rather forbidding, but don't be disheartened. It's worth repeating that most travelers get to their destinations pretty much on time, and holidays are such a special time that they're worth a little aggravation.
While air travel is gaining ground as the transport of choice for Thanksgiving, auto travel is still the leader by far. But holiday travel patterns are showing significant change.
Last year, the AAA estimated that 66 percent of the road travelers would stay overnight at the home of a relative or friend, while 22 percent would go to a hotel or motel. This year, the AAA says only 52 percent will stay at a home, while 32 percent are going for hotels/motels.
That means families are revising their holiday travel priorities.
"We're seeing more two-income families with children in school choosing to take a vacation rather than visit families (over Thanksgiving), because it's increasingly rare for them to get four or five days off together, and when they have that time they want to use it for fun and vacation," said the AAA's Tom Schroder.
Those decisions are reflected in the Thanksgiving destinations cited in the AAA projections, based on a national travel survey of 1,500 adults by the U.S. Travel Data Center. Estimated theme park visits have tripled this year, from 1 to 3 percent of the total. Trips to oceans or beaches are up a fifth to 12 percent of the total and mountain areas are up two-thirds to 10 percent, according to the AAA.
Air travel totals, meanwhile, will set a new record this week, the ATA said.
The heaviest day of travel will be Sunday after Thanksgiving, when the bulk of holiday travelers return home. On that day, the ATA expects 1,570,000 passengers to pass through the nation's airports. Monday, with 1,530,000 passengers, will be almost as busy.
Those days also will have the highest load factors, an indicator of how crowded airplanes will be. A measure of the percentage of airplane capacity filled by passengers, the load factors will be 76.9 percent for Sunday travel, 74.9 for Monday trips.
With such high numbers, some delays and more than a few frustrating experiences seem almost inevitable.
Despite that, however, there are steps you should take both before and after you get to your destination to minimize your chances of becoming a holiday travel casualty.
IF YOU'RE FLYING
- Make your reservations as far ahead as you can. The cheaper seats sell out quickly and there are fewer of them.
- If you're really flexible, keep alert for last-minute bargains. On several past holidays, the airlines have come up with a special low fare if you fly on the holiday itself and return the next day. If they decide to go ahead with these fares, they won't announce them until a couple days before the holiday.
- Beware of blackout dates. Your frequent flier miles probably aren't valid for transportation during holiday periods, or good only on certain days during those periods. Also, frequent-flier-award seats are limited and are booked well ahead of time.
- Before you leave home for the airport, make sure you have your ticket, and read it to be sure you have the correct time and date of your flight. Put the ticket where you won't forget it.
- Plan to get to the airport two hours before your flight. Traffic entering the airport may be backed up, causing delays. Check-in time will be longer because of the heavy passenger count, and the new security measures will also hold you up. Getting a boarding pass, if you don't already have one, also will eat up time.
- Make it easy on yourself. Have a friend drive you to the airport or use a taxi or airport shuttle. That way, you won't have to drive around looking for a parking space, and you'll be delivered right to curbside. If you do drive yourself, be warned that vans and trucks entering the airport are subject to search under the tighter security now in effect.
- Consider sending bulky Christmas gifts to their destination by mail or express service rather than taking them with you. When planes fly full or nearly full, space in overhead bins is limited. A second consideration: Security people may insist you open those prettily wrapped packages for inspection.
IF YOU'RE DRIVING
- Plan your route ahead of time. Call your final destination, whether a home or hotel, to get exact directions on how to reach there after you get to your destination city. You can easily get lost in an unfamiliar city.
- Make sure your car is in good condition. Nothing dampens a holiday as much as a vehicle breakdown far from home.
- Even if you don't ordinarily make motel reservations ahead of time, do so now, because the decent rooms are taken early.
- Drive carefully - and legally. Many state highway patrols put on special campaigns during holiday periods to catch speeders.
VISITING A THEME PARK
- Don't wait until the last minute to make reservations at hotels or motels either within or outside the theme park, because more and more holiday travelers are opting to visit theme parks or go on a cruise rather than visiting relatives.
- If your heart is set on staying in a theme park hotel and you haven't been able to get a reservation, you may be able to get in at the last minute after the park sorts out its cancellations. Call after 4 p.m. the day of arrival. At Disney, signs on the entrance road announce if rooms are available that day at Disney hotels.
- The week after Christmas is the busiest of the year for all theme parks. The week before is less crowded and more pleasant.
- Be alert for ticket discounts. Florida residents get substantial discounts several times a year,
- A little basic visit-strategy will make your stay more pleasant. Most visitors arrive at theme parks around 10 or 11 in the morning, so get there when the park opens and avoid the midday crunch. Similarly, many visitors return to their motels in late afternoon and stay there in the evening. Time your theme park visits for those hours and you'll find them less crowded.
- When you get to the theme park, check the signs at the entrance. Disney, Universal and Sea World all post signs giving the estimated waiting time at the most popular attractions.
- Don't follow the crowd. At Epcot, most visitors go first to the attractions nearest the entrance, then visit the further-out World Showcase later. Reverse the procedure by going to World Showcase first and you'll find the going easier.