What’s the Worst Day to Travel During the Holidays?

Don’t travel on a Tuesday.

Tuesday is the busiest day for the roads and the airports, likely because people are trying to arrive by Christmas but don’t want to leave too early (especially if they are booking a hotel or feel as though they are imposing on family). Try to leave on Monday or even the weekend before Christmas if you want to make it easier on yourself. You can also leave on Wednesday instead of Tuesday — though that might be a bit tight timing.

Head back home on Sunday.

Rather than heading back home on Saturday, leave on Sunday — Saturday is much busier, likely because people want to head home and relax before work starts again. If you leave on Sunday (or even the following Monday), consider taking a long weekend to relax. Naturally, the longer you wait, the easier it will be to go home. You might even want to consider making a brief vacation of it; you could book a hotel in the area and relax for a little while. Remember, once you are at the airport and are encountering delays there, there’s very little else you can do besides wait.

Consider the path less traveled.

There are a few ways that you can avoid the worst of the rush. Consider going through smaller local airports rather than major airports, because these will have fewer delays and fewer issues. You can also consider going through back roads rather than the major roads, as these routes will likely be faster even though they are longer. Just let your driver know that you are interested in getting there the fastest possible way — even if it’s a little out of the way.

Traveling during a holiday week may sound difficult, but there are ways you can make it easier! Consider a limousine service rather than struggling through traffic on your own; it’ll make the entire experience far more pleasant.

Posted in: Holidays, travel tips