Helpful Preparation Tips for Year End Travel

According to the AAA newsroom more people will be travelling this year, at year end, compared to last year. This is what they say:

“…AAA projects 98.6 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more from home during the year-end holiday season, an increase of four percent from the 94.8 million people who traveled last year. This upward trend marks the highest forecast growth rate for the year-end holiday season since 2009 and the highest travel volume for the holiday period on record. (AAA data dates back to 2001.) The year-end holiday period is defined as Tuesday, December 23 to Sunday, January 4…”

That’s a lot of people that will be travelling if you or someone you know will be travelling 50 or more miles from home then take a look at these preparation tips for travel.

Preparation Tips for Year End Travel

As people are getting ready to travel sometimes they’re so busy they may forget things they need. We have compiled a list of reminders to help you out.

• Prepare a list – write down all of the things you will need for travel and preparations that you need to take care of before you leave. Some of these things may include: pets, plants, mail, documentation and more.
• Pets – depending on how long you will be gone and the type of pet you have, you may need to make arrangements for a sitter or a kennel in Birmingham, AL (if you’re not bringing your pet with you)
• Plants – do you need someone to water your plants while you’re away? If you do, have you made arrangements? If not, then find out who can help you out.
• Mail – the U.S. Postal Service says:

“…If you’re going away for a while, take advantage of our Request Hold Mail service. We’ll keep your mail safely at your local Post Office™ until you return. Schedule the service up to 30 days in advance, or by 2AM CST (Mon-Sat) on the start date. Each address can have one Hold Mail scheduled at a time. All mail will be held, rather than an individual\’s mail…” Place your mail on hold here.

• Documentation – if you’ll be travelling by driving or flying somewhere then you will want to bring the appropriate documentation in order to ensure a smooth travel.

What you may need when driving and flying

• Driving – if you will be driving make sure you have the following –
• Your driver’s license. If there are additional drivers travelling with you remind them to bring theirs.
• Vehicle registration papers
• Insurance documentation (if required)
• Flight – If you will be travelling by airplane you will want to make sure you have the following:
• A list of what is approved for carry-on and checked baggage. You can check what’s prohibited here and to download a brochure to carry with you of allowed and prohibited items check here.
• Itinerary – you will need to know which gate your departure is and the time you need to be there. In addition, if your flight is long you will want to know if food will be served (if it’s not going to be then you may want to bring food that the TSA allows or eat before your flight)
• Tickets – you don’t want to arrive and find out that you don’t have your tickets.
• Passports/Visa – if you’re flying to a different country (even if it’s only across the border) you will need the appropriate documentation. Get more information here about the documentation you may need when travelling abroad.

The U.S. Passports and International Travel site says:

“…recommend postponing travel to a country because of widespread civil unrest, dangerous conditions, terrorist activity or, in some cases, because the U.S. has no diplomatic relations with the country and may have great difficulty in assisting U.S. citizens in distress. Travel Alerts disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats or other relatively short-term or transnational conditions that could pose significant risks to you and affect your travel plans. U.S. embassies and consulates send out security or emergency messages to alert U.S. citizens to fast-breaking events, such as demonstrations, coups, approaching storms, and crime…”

Travel Preparations Closing Remarks

We hope you have a safe and enjoyable holiday season. Don’t forget to follow the preparation tips to ensure a smoother travel. Share any tips with us, in the comments below, that we may not have mentioned or that you have found helpful.