Ten Thanksgiving Travel Tips

Thanksgiving is a widely traveled holiday as families travel to spend an extended holiday together. In my own family, we have a tradition of gathering in Santa Barbara, Ca with family members coming from both inside and outside of the state. As I explore the topic of budget friendly Thanksgiving travel tips, I'm thinking of them.

Flying Tips
When your time for travel is limited or you are traveling a great distance as is the case with many of my family members, you have no choice but to fly. Here are a few general tips:

1. Start looking early. Holiday flights and deals fill up quickly.
2. Take advantage of the many online cheap ticket sites including those such as Bookingbuddy.com which allow you to compare the ticket prices of multiple ticket sites. Beware though that the prices are constantly changing and you might need to act fast. I once missed a fantastic deal for a roundtrip ticket from Tokyo to Manila during the Christmas holidays for under $300 (normally a $900 ticket) while waiting a few hours for company approval for my holiday plans-the ticket was non-refundable or I would have grabbed it. Fortunately, I was still able to find a good deal (under $500) with some heavy duty searching, loads of persistence and finally accepting to return to Tokyo on New Year's Day.
3. Avoid flying in and out on the Wednesday before and the Sunday after Thanksgiving. If possible, take a day off before or after the holiday.
4. Consider flying on Thanksgiving Day. Like my New Year's Day example above, many times tickets are reduced if you fly the day of the holiday.

I did a trial test of tips #3 and 4 on the Expedia website www.expedia.com (which I accessed October 4, 2009) for roundtrip airfare between Boston and Santa Barbara. It revealed significant savings by changing the departing and return dates:

Departure - Return = Price Before Taxes
Wednesday - Sunday = $1102
Tuesday - Sunday = $863
Thursday (Thanksgiving) - Sunday = $748
Wednesday - Saturday = $618
Tuesday - Monday = $448
Wednesday - Monday = $508
Thursday (Thanksgiving) - Monday = $383

5. Try nearby airports. In the previous example, I chose to research the fares with my Boston cousins in mind. Since they have a sister living in the Los Angeles area who also will be attending the Thanksgiving gathering in Santa Barbara, they could easily fly to Los Angeles and catch a ride to Santa Barbara. You can see the significant decrease in fare as a result of switching the destination airport from Santa Barbara to LAX (Los Angeles):

Departure - Return = Price Before Taxes
Wednesday - Sunday = $593
Tuesday - Sunday = $493
Thursday (Thanksgiving) - Sunday = $458
Wednesday - Saturday = $453
Tuesday - Monday = $322
Wednesday - Monday = $398
Thursday (Thanksgiving) - Monday = $298

Note: The cheapest fare incorporates tips #3, 4 and 5.

Driving Tips
If you have the time and the distance is not too great, you can save money by driving to your destination rather than flying. I will use my parents as an example. They drive to Santa Barbara every year. If they were to fly to Santa Barbara, it would cost them $180 each if they depart Sacramento on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving or $201 if they leave on Wednesday and return on Monday. Using their Chevy Tahoe, this trip would cost them about $85. Using my former Prius, it would cost half of that.

Still not sure whether to fly or drive? Travelmath.com can help you decide. I used this handy site to calculate the costs of driving roundtrip from Sacramento to Santa Barbara. Click here to see how much your trip would cost.

For the most accurate estimate, fill in the fuel economy of your car and the price of gas in your area. I didn't know the price of gas in Sacramento so I used the default price which was $3.076 (which I believe is the state default price). Maybe my parents could leave us a comment with the actual price of gas in Sacramento these days.

#6 As illustrated in my example of the Tahoe versus the Prius , the fuel economy of your vehicle makes a big difference. So leave the gas guzzler at home unless of course, you have no choice. A small sacrifice in comfort and space may well result in a big savings.

#7 Just as you would when flying avoid driving the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday after. The stop and go traffic greatly reduces your fuel economy.

#8 Don't speed. Fuel economy decreases at higher speeds. If you are traveling on the highway during non-peak travel times, you may be able to use your cruise control to maintain a consistent speed which will also result in better fuel economy.

#9 Avoid buying food or drinks at the gas station. Pack a cooler with lunch, snacks and drinks if you will be traveling for the day.

#10 Don't overload your car. Pack light and less. If your car is weighted down, it won't drive as efficiently.

Safe travels and Happy Thanksgiving--however, you may reach your destination.

Sources:

Expedia.< www.expedia.com> Accessed on October 4, 2009.

Open Travel Info. "How to Save Money on Gas-29 Tips". < http://www.opentravelinfo.com/travel-guide/uncategorized/how-to-save-money-on-gas-29-tips.html> Accessed on October 5, 2009.