Hello, everybody. It's the holidays as you can tell from my ugly sweater,
and we are going to help you learn how to survive holiday travel.
Delays, cancellations, lost bags,
crowds, and not to mention family,
the holidays can be extremely stressful.
We're going to give you some tips to help you, keep you cool while traveling.
Number 1: avoid peak travel.
Peak travel is right before or right after Christmas and New Years.
Now we know that a lot of people
do not have very flexible schedules.
Some of you are going to have to travel on those days,
but if you have any way to travel on any other days, do that.
Websites like Momondo help you find the cheapest dates
for traveling and the lowest traffic.
Even if you already have your plane tickets bought,
just think about getting to the airport.
Everything will take longer,
so don't call your Uber at rush hour.
In general, give yourself more time than you think.
Everything takes longer during the holidays.
Next up: order your gifts to the
destination that you're going.
Super Pro Hack.. if you buy it on Amazon or any online store,
you can get them shipped to wherever you're celebrating the holidays
and then wrap them when you get there.
Just make sure that your parents or whoever you're going to visit during the holidays
doesn't open the gift before you get there.
Number 3: pack only carry-on.
I repeat pack only carry-on.
By packing carry-on only, you will be able to avoid checking bags,
which honestly during the holidays can be a total nightmare.
The last thing you need for the holidays is spending it without your clothes.
Next up: wear your heavy clothing.
If you're going to a snowy destination,
save space and packing so that you can fit your clothes and carry-on
by wearing your heavy outerwear and your big clunky boots.
If you want more tips on how to pack for winter travel, click this video here.
Super important ...streamline everything for security.
Security lines get crazy during the holidays
so you can prepare by taking your liquids and putting them in a bag,
so it's ready to go.
Undo your shoes or your boots in line to save time.
My favorite hack for winter travel: take everything out of your pockets and just put them in your
jacket pockets while you're waiting in line
so you just unzip your jacket, put it on
the little tray, and walk right through security.
You do not want to be the person who's got their bag open,
slowing up the line for everybody else.
That is one way to get the grinch's wrath.
Next up: bring an extra bag.
You're going to celebrate the holidays, and chances are you will come back with gifts and presents.
So make sure you have room for those by bringing an extra bag,
like a small, collapsible one that doesn't take up any space in your bag or your carry-on.
Jingle Bells.
All right next up: bring a book.
There will inevitably be delays, so you
might as well bring something to read
and if you have Netflix and an iPad,
this new feature that allows you to
download episodes to watch offline.
Extremely useful.
Have a Plan B.
Now you could get travel insurance so if your flight gets cancelled, you have a fallback plan.
But generally having a little bit of an idea of what you're going to do if your Plan A does not go as planned is a good call.
Pro tip: if your flight does get cancelled while you're waiting in line at the help desk
physically, call the help desk on your phone.
Oftentimes, you can get through on the phone
faster than you can while your're waiting in line.
Stay updated. Apps like Flight Aware or Gate Guru will give you notifications
if there's been any changes to your flight, departure time,
delays, or cancellations.
But it's also just a good idea to hang around the gate because they do make announcements over the PA system there.
So if you're bingeing Westworld on your iPad, make sure you have your headphones off.
Don't start the binge until you're actually on the airplane because you might miss that a very important announcement.
All right last up: stay polite.
The holidays are stressful for everyone, especially airplane staff
who are just getting yelled at by everyone who thinks customers come first.
Honestly, people are super rude during the holidays, and the gate agents are just getting the brunt of it.
So be polite. Have a smile. If your flight does get cancelled, make sure you give a call to the help center.
If you do make a formal complaint, chances are you may get extra airline miles or a flight voucher.
It's about the holidays; it's about love.
It's about sharing time with family, so stay positive.
Right guys. If you enjoyed that video, you know what to do:
give it a thumbs- up, share it with your friends, and
subscribe to Vagabrothers. If you want more travel tips,
there's a whole playlist in the end card right after this .
So in the meantime, stay curious, keep exploring, and
we'll see you guys after the holidays on the road.
Peace.