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Travel | Just in Time: Holiday Travel Tips from Andrea Feczko

Posted on: December 16th, 2017 by Taryn Jeffries No Comments

Are you planning on traveling this holiday season? Whether you are sticking close to home, heading across the country to a snowy backdrop or headed to crystal clear waters and sandy beaches, travel expert Andrea Feczko, the host of ABC’s weekend series Vacation Creation and the creator of How 2 Travelers, has some seriously helpful holiday travel tips. Her tips are (almost) guaranteed to help you not only survive holiday travel, but even enjoy the journey!

8 Holiday Travel Tips from Andrea Feczko

Just in Time_ Holiday Travel Tips from Andrea Feczko Speed Up Airport Travel

If you’re worried about delays or cancellations, it’s best to book an early morning flight. The general rule of thumb is that every hour through the day equals a minute of delay. Delays usually peak around 6 pm to 9 pm at 20 minutes. That’s because flights tend to “reset” overnight.

TSA Precheck

TSA Precheck is the way to go for simplified, fast, easy travel. Remember, back in the day – as in way, way back in the day – when long security lines were not a complete stress inducer? Well, that’s what TSA Precheck is like. Without having to take off shoes or tear apart your luggage to sort out liquids and electronics, it rarely takes more than 15 minutes to get through security. Plus, it’s a great value. If you get TSA Precheck directly (you can also get it through Global Entry), its $85 for five years. If you’re talking time versus money, the amount of time you save with TSA Precheck is worth way more than a measly $17 per year.

Agent Per Line Ratio

When you get to security, make a lap around the area before you commit to the line. Take an extra minute to see what’s going on in the lines ahead and how many agents are on location. Taking that extra time might seem time consuming, but if you get behind the wrong line, it can change your time experience in the security area! You should pick the line closest to the TSA pre-check security line. Why? Because if the TSA line gets quiet, then the agent will pull people over from your line, so that you can get these through security fast. Your time will go quicker with two agents per line.

Customs and Passports

Most people usually take the first line and they won’t take the extra steps to look quicker lines a few feet away so you can move ahead faster. If you pick a wrong line, it can take hours to go through the custom declaration line. Again, keep in mind the agent per line radio again. The fast line will have the most agents attached to it.

Screening for Carry on Luggage

The rules are opposite here. In order to go through screening quickly, you want less agents for screenings. The best situation is one line per agent manning the machine. If you see two people behind the machine, chances are one of those agents are in training, so that process will take longer. Definitely look for one agent per line.

Travel on the Holiday

This sounds counter intuitive, but it’s the truth. See, everyone is rushing to get home FOR the holiday – and it doesn’t matter which one- but if you travel ON the holiday, you will usually find it to be a very great experience. First of all, people are all generally in a really good mood. Second, it’s usually not that crowded. Third, you’ll get a bigger bang for your buck.

Travel Destinations Over the Holidays

Call me a Bah Humbug, but I do everything I can to NOT travel over the holidays. It’s the Most Wonderful Time Of The Year- except for anywhere related to transportation. It’s by far the most expensive time to travel, the most crowded, and a time of year when weather can ruin the holiday spirit. For the amount of money it costs to go home for four days, I can go to Bali for a week. I’m not exaggerating one bit. I’d actually save money in Bali. And that’s why I chose to stay home during the holidays. Many people have the misconception that traveling is expensive, and it is if you never take your vacation days and only travel when everyone else also has off work. So, I do the opposite. I stay home and get a lot of work done. And by work, yes, I mean work that allows me to keep a roof over my head, but also “work” as in all the errands I’ve been meaning to do, all the laundry, all the work outs, etc. It’s a time for me to get my life situated and give myself some space, so that I’m ringing in the New Year in a centered, healthy way. Oh, it also gives me time to plan a vacation another time of the year that will be a huge bang for my buck.

Off-Season

With that said, the winter is the off season for many locations. If there’s a place you’ve been wanting to go to that doesn’t have a ski resort and isn’t particularly warm, well, this is the time to go. My suggestion is to create a list of all the places you’ve wanted to go and then start searching different dates.

You can catch Andrea Feczko’s travels and more of her holiday travel tips on YouTube and Instagram.

About the Author - Taryn Jeffries

Editor and Chief Eating Officer of PhoenixBites, 2017 Food Writer of the Year (Arizona Culinary Hall of Fame) Taryn grew up in a small town in Illinois with a doting Grandmother who taught her the way around a kitchen and that food is representative of love. Her current quest is to find the love in local dishes and the chefs behind them. In addition to running all things PhoenixBites, Taryn is also a freelance writer, sharing her insight on the best dishes and where to get them each and every month.

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