Safe Thanksgiving Travel

It is the one day of the entire year in the United States where everyone gets on the open road. Americans will travel far to get to loved ones for their traditional Thanksgiving meal. Everyone can attest to the stress of traveling over the holidays, especially if you happen to be traveling with children.

Believe it or not, but this Thanksgiving can be a wonderfully relaxing event given you plan it properly. A recent poll stated that on Thanksgiving, most people will travel by car, most will have at least a one hour drive, and a quarter of the travelers will travel more than 200 miles to get to their destination.

With all these vehicles on the road at one time, it is no wonder traveling on Thanksgiving can be very stressful. Most people are not able to travel until either Wednesday or Thursday.

If possible try to take an extra day from work and leave on Tuesday. Not only will this get you to your family's home early but you will be able to avoid the crowded highways. Also, now that you have arrived at your family's home earlier, if you wanted to you could leave on Friday and again avoid the traffic of returning holiday drivers.

The poll also revealed that most Thanksgiving Day travelers are commuting to their final holiday destination between 9 AM and noon. Therefore, if you can either leave earlier or much later, you will most likely decrease your chance of traffic jam stress. Since it seems that most travelers will be traveling by car, why not try a different mode of travel over Thanksgiving?

Trains and airplanes could easily get you to your destination on time and without stress, if planned properly. Use a low cost airline like Jet Blue and with the cost of gasoline today, you might just end up saving time and money.

With air and train travel you must plan adequately ahead. Make sure you bring something to snack on and drink, most airlines do not offer these services anymore. Make sure that you give yourself plenty of time before your scheduled departure, two hours is typically recommended. Remember, this is supposed to be less stressful, so planning ahead and being on time will ensure this.

Make sure you plan for the kids. No one, in air, train, bus or car wants to hear a bunch of whining from complaining children. Bring something for them to do, to keep them occupied. Buy a portable DVD player and let them watch their favorite shows. No matter what mode of travel you decide on, remember less stress is the key, so plan ahead, leave ahead, buckle up and travel safe!