Spring Break Travel Tips

Now that mid-March has arrived, many people start planning their spring break adventures. Whether you are traveling as a family or going on a college type spring break trip there are many things that must be remembered to ensure your vacation goes off smoothly and without incident. Below you will find a series of simple tips to prevent vacation headaches and nightmares.
Confirm Your Reservations
There are a lot of things to do in preparing to travel; however, ensuring you have transportation to your destination and ensuring you have lodging once you arrive is crucial. Whether you are driving or flying, it is important to confirm your transportation. About flying, the week prior you must confirm that your plane has not been changed or cancelled. Furthermore, the night before and the day of departure, it is important to ensure your flight remains on time and that there are no delays. The process of ensuring travel time is easier when driving then flying but it does required some checking before you depart as well. Is there construction or any major accidents on your travel path? Ensuring the roads are open and there are no detours will help ensure a safe and hassle-free drive. Finally it is important to confirm your lodging. Hotels are no longer the only option when traveling. Airbnb has emerged as a new trend of lodging when on vacation. It does not matter where you are staying, confirming the reservation and knowing the ideal check in times prior to leaving can only help ensure your vacation is as peaceful and stress free as you would like.
Packing Appropriately
There is only so much room in a suitcase, carry on size bag, or trunk of a car. How do you make sure you fit everything you are going to need? The first step is figuring out what you need to have for your destination. If you are going south to Florida, it is key to remember a swim suit, sun glasses, and a hat to protect you from the sun. If you are going north for a ski trip, winter accessories such as gloves, socks, and a warm coat are a must. A great habit to have is making a list and checking things off as you pack. This list should be more detailed than just the clothing articles you will need. Cell phones, charging cables, headphones, and other media devices make travel time feel less overwhelming. In addition, forgetting your phone, for example, can cause serious problems staying in touch with family and friends. Furthermore, in the smart phone era, forgetting your phone or charging cable can really impact your plans. Many people use their phones to load airplane boarding passes or to confirm schedules and reservations. Forgetting the phone or its charging cable can lead to some unpleasant hiccups once you arrive at your destination.
Being Prepared for Security and Tolls
Airport security has some strict rules and being prepared for it will help make the travel experience as painless as possible. There are restrictions on the size of bottles you are allow to take on the plane and restrictions on what type of accessories you can take as well. Pocket knives and large bottles of cosmetics are no longer allowed on carryon bags. Most airlines charge fees for checking bags which has caused many travelers to fly with just a carryon bag. When packing these bags, make sure you don’t have any type of sharp objects or large bottle liquids. Attempting to carry one of these items will result in the item having to be removed prior to leaving the security check point. When in doubt, if you have a question whether something is allowed, check with the TSA website prior to traveling, the site will list the items that can and cannot be put in a carryon bag. Finally, if you are not traveling via airplane, it is important to see what toll roads you might be driving on. Having an easy pass is ideal to make the toll process simple; however, not everyone has one. If you do not, make sure you know how much money you will need to pay the tolls. Paying in cash is the quickest way to get through toll plazas so ensuring you have enough cash will help make your drive go quicker.
Being Prepared
When traveling everyone hopes for the best weather; however, that is not something you can control. This fact is the main reason why packing for the unexpected is important. For example, if you are traveling to Florida it is worthwhile to bring a lightweight coat or some sort of sweatshirt or sweater. The weather in Florida is typically warm but if the temperature drops due to a storm, it is important to be prepared. You can always buy a jacket if the weather gets cooler than expected but if you pack one just in case, you can save some time and money. In addition, you never know what might happen on vacation so it is a good idea to have an extra days worth of clothing. A plane could get delayed or other things could happen that delays your trip home and it is good to have an emergency pair of clean clothes just in case.
Have a Schedule
When on vacation there can be a lot to do and not necessarily enough time to get everything done. The best way to maximize the destination and attractions you want to visit is to have a set schedule. This allows you to not waste travel time by driving back and forth and enables you to schedule visits to places near each other on the same day. In addition, having a set plan allows you to make restaurant reservations and allows you to pre-purchase tickets to attractions. The weeks prior to the should be used to decide what attractions and venues you want to visit and make the appropriate schedule to ensure you get the most out of your vacation.
Vacations are a great way to have fun and relax at the same time. However, going on vacation takes some work as well. By ensuring you have everything planned and packed appropriately can ensure you make the most of your vacation time.
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