Travel Holidays is one of my favorite things to do. Whether it’s just a long weekend away or a planned vacation, I absolutely love traveling and seeing other parts of the world. This time of the year is my favorite. Traveling during the holidays is a great experience for anyone. It is unique in that you get to see sites and sounds that you don’t get to see any other time of the year. But travel during the holidays can also be very expensive. I have decided to set up a guide for traveling during the holidays to give you some resources on how to get the most out of your trip without having to spend a fortune.

Locating the Best Airfare

Locating the best airfare can be tough this time of year. As the demand for airfare goes up, so do the prices. Listed below are a few tips on getting the cheapest airfare possible.

1. Plan your trip ahead of time – You may want to go ahead and plan your trip now. As the holiday season gets closer the prices will only go up. If possible, try to purchase the tickets for your flight about 15-20 days in advance. Never buy a ticket within 7 days of the departure unless it’s an emergency because the prices tend to sky rocket.

2. Try to depart during the week – If at all possible, book your flight sometime in the middle of the week. Normally the weekend departures have a much higher demand than your mid week flights so you will find better prices if you can leave on say a Tuesday or Wednesday.

3. Think about late flights or red eys – I have taken a few red eyes during my travels and have been on a few flights that are pretty close to empty. Airlines usually offer much cheaper airfares for you to take a flight later in the day or at night. They need to fill these flights!!

4. Compare round trip to one way – Sometimes it is actually less expensive to book one way than to do the prefered round trip fare. Booking your flight one way gives you the flexibility once at your holiday destination to decide when you want to fly back home. I prefer the round trip tickets but have found in the past that it is better for me to go one way.

5. Use the internet – I always book my flights on the internet and I almost never book it through the airline. You can find many great deals online with many travel agents such as travelocity or orbitz. Research “cheap airline tickets” and see what you find.

By J M G

Executive summary article travel By Miranda Xavier

family travel

Everyone needs time out sometimes, however, family holidays can often be more stressful than staying at home. A holiday should not be a relocation of the stress’s of home. Even the most chilled of parents can be left at their wits end if they have just had a disastrous flight with a small child. Wishing that you had stayed at home will not help, and nor will spending the holiday dreading the return journey. Some families seem to find traveling easier than others. Here are my top tips to becoming one of those chilled, in control parents.

You can’t be too organized, the more organized you are the better. If you start to get stress then you will either end up yapping at your kids or they will pick up on it and end up behaving badly. Get yourself a good organizer bag and pack carefully, you should be able to access anything you need quickly and easily.

snack food

Choosing your snack food, It is important to pack the correct food for a journey. Hungry children are always hard work ,so make sure that you have a protein snack such as cold sausages. You will also need something which is bulking such as crackers – they travel well and no matter how many you eat of them you can’t make yourself sick. Finally you will need some treats, it is a good idea to choose a treat which will last a little while such as a lolly pop.

How to entertain the kids, it is easy to take a favorite toy to keep a child happy, but if you loose it or it gets damaged you are in for a nightmare. A simple solution is to buy a toy and give it to them on the journey. An extra trick is to wrap it up and then say that they will get a little present on the plane if they are good in the airport. Remember not to choose a present with lots of parts as bits can roll under seats and get lost.

If you consider that your holiday starts when you get up on the morning of travel and try to be in the holiday mood you will probably find the day easier. If you see the journey as tedious then the children will also do so and they will not make the same sort of effort to enjoy it.

I suggest you check out my other Air Travel Tips For Flying With Children, Air Travel Tips 101, and  air Travel – Long Haul Flight Tips for the Disabled.