Travel Tips for Thanksgiving: Long-Distance Car Trips

When it comes to travel, the Thanksgiving holiday is the busiest. Most Americans have a four-day weekend, and many use this as an opportunity to spend time with their friends and family. If you plan on traveling during Thanksgiving, you probably want it to be as hassle-free as possible. Here are some travel tips for anyone driving their car to Grandma's house for the holiday.

When to Go

The majority of Thanksgiving travelers leave for their destinations on Wednesday or Thursday. Most people work on Wednesday, and, if they have quite a distance to travel, will leave after work. Some may get off work early, and those with a long distance to travel might even take the whole day off. From Wednesday morning on, the roads will get increasingly crowded, until later on in the day Thursday, when families are likely to be sharing their Thanksgiving meal together. If you want to avoid the crowds, take Wednesday off and leave on Tuesday evening or Tuesday afternoon.

When you plan your departure time for the Thanksgiving holiday, think about the major cities that you'll be traveling through. Try to time your route so that you're not driving through a major city during rush hour. Even better, try to avoid large cities entirely. Many cities have alternate freeway routes that skirt around the city, and often are less crowded. These can still have plenty of traffic on them during rush hour, so try to time your driving time for the middle of the day or late in the evening.

Many people who visit their families on Thanksgiving either leave for home on Thursday night, or stay for the weekend and return on Saturday or Sunday. If you want to avoid traffic on your return trip, the best time to leave is Friday. The cities probably won't have much rush-hour traffic, but be aware that shoppers will be taking advantage of Black Friday sales, so you may want to avoid driving through the cities on Friday morning, when the early-bird shoppers will be out and about trying to snatch up bargains.

Keeping the Kids Occupied

"Are we there yet?" seems to be the kids' theme song on long car rides. Keep them busy by bringing along something for them to do. If your car is equipped with a DVD player in the back, bring along a few movies for them to watch. If your car doesn't have a DVD player, you might want to invest in a portable DVD player. You could have them watch Thanksgiving-related videos like A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. If you shop around, you might be able to find one for a little over $50. You also might want to have your kids bring their favorite books, stuffed animals and toys. Your children might also enjoy auto bingo or games like I Spy.

Thanksgiving travel doesn't have to be too much of a hassle. Leave early, avoid rush hour and give the kids something to do, and you'll arrive at your destination without getting crabby.

Source: http://luxuryresorttravel.suite101.com/article.cfm/thanksgiving_travel_tips