I refuse to participate in domestic travel over the Thanksgiving holiday. Everything is a nightmare. Tickets for a two-hour flight cost more than tickets to Europe typically cost. Tickets to everything are too expensive. And you pay all that money to sit on a crowded plane or train, inevitably delayed by weather because some unpredictable wintry mix will pop up somewhere in the United States, prompting cascading delays.
But is the Thanksgiving holiday sad without traveling to see family and gather?
It depends, but I did not feel too sad watching the sunrise at the Taj Mahal on Thanksgiving Day in 2018 before enjoying a perfect brunch at the Oberoi Amarvillas Agra. While the glamorous hotel was out of our price range at the time, brunch was relatively affordable. I still remember the delicious orange hot chocolate they served, and the kind waitstaff loaded us up with enough to-go pastries to feed us lunch as we toured the other historic sites of Agra. Not exactly a traditional Thanksgiving, but certainly memorable.
We travel a lot, but we make sure to maximize comfort while doing so because terrible travel schedules can ruin the entire feel of a trip. This typically requires some advanced planning and avoidance of some key popular times.
Avoid the Worst Travel Days
The most obvious way to avoid this travel chaos is to avoid the worst travel days of the year. The Sunday after Thanksgiving is ranked as the absolute worst, it being a Sunday and the end of the Thanksgiving holiday period. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving is also not great, nor are the days immediately before Christmas Eve or after Christmas. The poor travel days around July 4 are also fairly predictable each year. The worst travel days of the year are not a surprise, so avoid them if you can.
Travel Differently
We are flying on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving this year, in what seems to go against our rules of avoiding the bad travel days. However, we are flying to the Philippines. Contrary to what you may think, the Philippines is not the most popular Thanksgiving holiday destination for Americans. The trip is affordable (probably more so than some cross-country Thanksgiving flights, even though we cross the country and then an ocean!), and we get to extend our “Thanksgiving holiday” over two weeks.
This trip is likely affordable because we miss Thanksgiving Day altogether. By taking off late in the day on Wednesday, we land in the Philippines early Friday morning, only experiencing Thursday, November 23, 2023 on a plane. I will happily trade November 23 for my planned recovery and relaxation day on Friday, November 24, enjoying the pool at the Hilton Manila in the sunshine.
In general, if you are willing to travel on a holiday, even if your trip starts or ends on what would normally be considered a terrible travel day, your trip will be more affordable. Your planes and trains will have fewer passengers than when you travel to get somewhere in time for a holiday. This is even true for domestic travel.
Additionally, flipping when people typically participate in domestic and international travel is a great strategy to enjoy emptier flights and better travel accommodations. It can also improve your entire trip, your opinion of a location, and the memories you make.
Flip Domestic and International Travel Timing
The first time I went to Paris, I did not like the city. It was packed with tourists, and there were wait times for everything. Seeing the Mona Lisa at the back of a crowded room is not particularly enjoyable. I visited in July, fighting Bastille Day crowds, and found that summer in Paris was not for me.
Fast forward more than a decade, I decided to give Paris another try. This time, I went for a long weekend in February. I learned that I love Paris in the winter. I usually do not like anywhere in the winter, but wandering an empty Louvre on a winter Friday, seeing the city of lights without a crowd at the top of the Arc de Triomphe, sampling some of the best hot chocolates in the world, and enjoying my ideal dinner at Canard & Champagne proved to completely rewrite my opinion of Paris from one of my least favorite summer cities to my favorite winter city.
Traveling outside of peak travel times can completely change your experiences in a positive manner. However, many individuals do not have the flexibility to avoid peak travel times altogether. If this describes you because you have limited leave and have kids in school, consider flipping when you travel internationally and domestically. Most families where the parents have limited leave and the children attend school will visit family over the Thanksgiving and/or Christmas holidays and take a family vacation in the summer. If they choose to go abroad, this trip will happen in the summer.
What if, instead, you went to Paris for Thanksgiving? Thanksgiving is not a holiday in Paris, so your flight to Paris may actually cost less than a flight across the United States the week of Thanksgiving. Then, what if you went to visit your relatives in July, avoiding hotel costs during the peak travel months? Both sound more affordable and more enjoyable. You still have the opportunity to see the world and visit your family. You just flip when you do each kind of travel.
Choose Your Days of the Week Wisely
If you have a bit more flexibility in your leave schedule, travel on the days of the week when others do not choose to travel. This usually means Tuesday or Wednesday (except for that pre-Thanksgiving Wednesday!), and you will find cheaper transportation options or less traffic on these days of the week. We just took the train back to DC on a Wednesday last week because it is more relaxed and less expensive than taking it back on a day closer to a weekend.
Wednesdays are my favorite day of the week to travel. Tuesdays are also great. Airport lounges are emptier, flights are emptier, and hotel check-ins are easier. If you have the flexibility of unlimited leave or are self-employed, arriving back on a Wednesday (or Thursday, depending on whether time zones are in your favor!) and taking the Thursday and Friday off after your return adds an extra luxury to a vacation by permitting an adjustment period before you dive back into your typical obligations.
Extend Your Trip
We travel domestically for Christmas because my Dad’s birthday is on Christmas. We also usually leave the weekend before the weekend closest to Christmas to avoid the trafficky days immediately preceding Christmas. This makes the trip much more enjoyable. We also stay until nearly New Year’s Eve to avoid the traffic following Christmas. Since we both have the flexibility to telework, we can extend our travel, work as many days as we choose during this period, and return home at the time that best suits us. Plus, we get to spend more time with my parents—a win-win all around!
If you have flexible work arrangements when it comes to location, use them to maximize the enjoyment of your travel. I can only work within the United States, but this still provides a degree of flexibility when visiting family or going on domestic trips.
Drive Early
Traffic is the worst. Nothing will set your trip off to a poor start like sitting in hours of traffic. The best way to avoid traffic is to wake up earlier than others are willing to wake up, even if you do not enjoy waking up early.
Driving early works so well that you can usually travel on the absolute worst driving days without issue. Last year, we drove from Connecticut to Washington, DC on New Year’s Eve without hitting traffic. If you are not from the East Coast, traveling from Connecticut to Washington, DC on New Year’s Eve would typically be the worst path, as you pass by New York City while far too many people filter into Times Square. However, if you wake up at 6 a.m. and stop by Starbucks to bribe yourself with your beverage of choice to complete the drive, you will arrive in Washington, DC by lunchtime without experiencing Times Square traffic.
This trick also works for anyone who drives to a beach in the summer. Get on the road and across whatever bridges or choke points you need to cross before others do. Even if you cannot access your vacation rental until the afternoon, pick a fun brunch destination or wear your beach gear in the car so you can roll right out onto the beach when you arrive! You can avoid traffic and get an extra beach day.
Most folks associate an early drive with stress and negativity, leading them to avoid the early drive when it comes to embarking on a vacation. Alternatively, think of it as a way to start your vacation sooner, potentially even getting a bonus day. On the return trip, it can give you that extra adjustment time that makes returning to your regular schedule much easier.
Keep Traveling
Whatever constraints you encounter, find a way to travel that works for you. While we all value travel differently and allocate different amounts of money towards it, participating in at least minimal travel to visit friends and family provides us with the memories that brighten our entire lives. See your loved ones, and maybe see the world too.
Not all of these travel strategies will work for your situation unless you have a lot of flexibility in your employment. We can enjoy all of them since Patrick is an entrepreneur and I have unlimited leave. However, even if only some work with your current reality, take what you can and find what works best for you. If you have even better holiday travel tips, please share! We love maximizing our travel time to see our friends, family, and the world.
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