Fun Christmas Travel Plans

While Christmas Day is usually a time when families come together, it is also the best day to take advantage of the empty roads. While most are opening presents, preparing Christmas dinner and watching football, you could be heading to one of many locations that remain open on Christmas. One such place is Disney World, which is open nearly year round. Plus, given the warm climate in which the Magic Kingdom dwells, going on Christmas is no problem at all.

Even though many will have the same idea as you, the crowds on Christmas are far more thin than any other time of the year. I went on December 26th of 2004 and the place was absolutely jam packed, while I heard the prior day was near empty. If the pomp and circumstance surrounding Christmas does not appeal to you or your family, then consider making a trip to Disneyworld, as Mickey, Pluto and the rest of the gang will be out in full force to help make the special holiday a memorable one.

Other fun – and affordable – ideas for Christmas entertainment that don’t rely solely on eating and drinking so much you pass out in front of the TV watching the Washington Redskins lose is going to see a movie. Many films open on Christmas Day, and the season is generally a good time to experience many of the new movies shooting for an Oscar push at the end of the year. One such movie is The Road, which is set to be released this Thanksgiving, albeit in a limited number of theaters.

In the end, spending time with your family is the route most people take, but these and other holiday entertainment ideas can be implemented as a family. Whatever you choose to do, however, so long as you’re happy and surrounded by those you love, no Christmas can be a bad Christmas. For other holiday travel ideas, go here!

The World’s Best New Year’s Eve Parties

New Year’s Eve is everybody’s and every cities excuse for a party. It is the ringing in of a new year with social gatherings spanning the transition of the year until midnight to welcome New Year’s Day. This holiday requires no specific race, religion, nationality, or gender for celebration. In fact, cities all over the world celebrate this holiday in unison. Here are some great New Year’s Eve parties around the world.

In Bangkok, the capital of Thailand you will be greeted by a 52 foot high Greeting Ball Tower that signals the arrival of midnight. Here, over 500,000 people gather to count down and watch the fireworks as the clock strikes midnight. Earlier in the day there are a plethora of concerts, beer, folk music, and parades.

Heading west to Berlin, Germany where huge parties are commonplace, Germans claim to have the largest New Year’s party in the world. About one million people gather, freezing temperature and all, in a 1.25 mile corridor between the Victory Column and the Brandenburg Gate. Throughout the night you can enjoy colorful laser shows, music, and fireworks. Germans also have an atypical tradition of pulling practical jokes on one another. And if the cold gets too cold for you, can duck into one of many party tents set up filled with warm heat, benches, brats and lot and lots of beer.

Further west we come to New Orleans who always does New Year’s the good old southern way. Twisting New York’s ball drop, New Orleans’s lit up gumbo pot drops from the Jax Brewery at midnight. The ringing in of midnight is not the end of the celebration at this point though, instead, its fall promptsa nightlong bar crawl through the French Quarter.

If you’re look for somewhere tropical warm to celebrate this holiday, head on over to Rio de Janeiro where the 2.5 mile stretch of Copacabana Beach hosts more than two million part goers decked out in all white. The locals make offerings of red roses and white gladioli to the goddess of the waters right before a whirl wind of dancing, fireworks, and music.

These are just four of the major celebrations happening on New Year’s Eve all over the world. Many other cities such as, Tokyo, New York City, Las Vegas, Reykjavik, Sydney, Hong Kong and Edinburgh also have a special spin on the holiday. So if you’re looking for a great party to ring in the New Year check out one of these cities.

For more information on any of the cities listed as well as on other cities throwing huge New Year’s Celebrations click here.

How Your Airline is Wishing You a Happy Holiday This Season

Hard economic times are abound this year and with the unemployment rate going up many people might be seeing a scarcer holiday season. Cutting back the number of gifts may be one answer, but if you’re really looking to save money, skip the airplane ride home to visit your family.

Flying now a day is not like it was a mere decade ago, prices have risen dramatically and patrons are now being charged for everything imaginable. There is now a charge for convenience, seat selection, number of bags, weight of bags, and in flight snacks as well as many more things that many think should be an amenity to flying. While prices are incredibly high on any given day recent studies have found that airlines such as American, Delta, Northwest, United, Continental and US Airways are significantly increasing their surcharges for the looming holiday season. This shocking fact has many people disgruntled; and many have gone as far as to say that the industry has lost all respect for their customers.

Experts estimate that there will be approximately 80,000 fewer seats to major destination this year than in previous years. Because of the drop in the number of seats available people will be vying to get onto a flight and thus ticket prices will be higher. Surcharges will also be upped by $10-$20 per charge for this new holiday convenience fee.

Instead of hopping on a plane this season look at other feasible modes of transportation to get to where you are headed. Consider driving or taking a train. Each of these two options can turn out to be considerably less than the cost of flying now and can also elongate your holiday vacation. You can turn your trip into a road trip and visit many tourist attractions on the way to your destination. Taking a train is also an almost forgotten from of transportation that will take you back decades to a more simple time. So say adieu to your airline this season and hop on the road to another wonderful holiday season.

For more information on flying this holiday season, click here.

How to Avoid the Crowds If You Are Traveling During the Holiday Season

Many times holidays are the only time when a busy family can squeeze in some vacation time. Unfortunately, because many people are in the same situation, what we get are overcrowded airports, highways, restaurants and tourist attractions. Long lines and waiting times can cause a lot of grief regardless if you are on vacation or not, yet many people think they are unavoidable during the holiday season. This is untrue! There are some very simple tips that you can follow in order to avoid the hoards of people on your vacation.

When taking a flight to your vacation destination the first thing you should try to do is schedule it on a weekday instead of a Friday, Saturday or Sunday. If this is not possible, schedule your flight earlier rather than later. Not only does this allow you to skip out on the late morning, early afternoon airport crowds but they allow you to get to your destination early as well. This means that you will have almost an entire extra day to spend time relaxing.

Another thing to keep in mind when on vacation is if you are going to a restaurant try not to eat at a typical meal time. For instance, it is found that many people eat breakfast between nine and ten in the morning when on vacation, lunch between twelve and two and dinner between five and seven. Instead of eating at these typical times eat slightly before or after these busy meal times.

If you have to drive to get where you need to go, leave early! When on vacation many people feel the need to take their time and not rush to get anything done. While this does seem to make a relaxing vacation, it is even more relaxing to be sailing down a highway instead of playing red light green light with the car in front of you.

Another tip to keep in mind when traveling is if you are going to a tourist attraction, go the Sunday after a holiday. Sundays are usually a time when people travel back home in order to make it back to work or school on Monday, but if you can afford to get home Monday evening, do it! If everyone is traveling on Sunday that means no lines for you! This tip is especially useful if you are going somewhere like Disney Land where lines can be excruciating.

Vacations are almost always relaxing and memorable in the end, despite any road blocks you may come across, but following simple tips such as those above can eliminate those road blocks all together. Waiting less means more time with your loved ones and better memories for all of you!

For more great travel tips click here!,

Four Great Places to Spend Christmas

Spending time with family over Christmas always make for some very interesting stories, however, once in a while you need a break from that over bearing mother in law or huge invasive family. Don’t get me wrong, spending time with family during the holidays is the ultimate tradition but there are some great places around the United States that offer unique and enchanting Christmas experiences.

If you are looking for somewhere warm and tropical to escape to for this notoriously snowy holiday you should consider Orlando, Florida. Florida in December has great weather anywhere you go, but if you are looking for the ultimate Christmas experience park yourselves at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. At Christmas time this resort includes a four-story Christmas tree decorated with birdcages and mirrors and a dock overlooking the Magic Kingdom. During this season Epcot has a program called “Holidays Around the World” that shows how other cultures celebrate the holiday, they also have a nightly tree lighting ceremony and storytellers from different countries. Finally, Universal Studios hosts a Christmas parade including all of their famous characters.

Next, if you are looking for a little southern touch to be added to your Christmas holiday cruise on down to Nashville, Tennessee. Stay at the Gaylord Opryland hotel, a hotel with over 3,000 rooms that is decorated with nearly two million lights, a 40 foot Christmas tree, a 20 foot poinsettia tree, and a daily, medieval themed Yule log ceremony. If you’re looking for a traditional Christmas dinner head on over to the Wild Boar, who has creatively invented many meat orientated seasonal dishes. Nashville also hosts an annual ice sculpture exhibition called “ICE!” that has become home to the nativity scene, angels and a 17-ton polar bear!

One enchanting Christmas spot that may not come to mind immediately when you think of somewhere to spend the holiday is Las Vegas, Nevada. Book your stay at Caesars Palace were a whole dream world of artificial trees, snow, ice and reindeer are set up during the holiday season. Don’t forget to stroll on over to the Monte Carlo Las Vegas who has a number of trees set up in their lobby with some very interesting ornaments. The Springs Preserve also has a Winter Lights Festival that illuminates its gardens with half a millions of eco-friendly LED lights. Also, keep in mind every single buffet in Vegas will be open during the Christmas season with specialty holiday prices, but if money isn’t a problem there are a lot of sit down restaurants too, just remember to make a reservation!

Finally, if you are looking to spend your Christmas in one of the most enchanting holiday settings in the country head north to New York City. Whether it is skating on the rink at Rockefeller City, seeing the Rockettes at Radio City or scouring the city for the most amazing department store window displays you will never want to spend Christmas anywhere else. Even if the wind is blowing and the snow is falling all of New York is transformed into a winter wonderland. For the perfect Christmas meal head on over to BLT Market in the Ritz Carlton on Central Park for a three course meal at an unbeatable price of only $95.

Clearly there are many Christmas traditions around the country that are worth exploring, so if you are looking for a Christmas away from home this year, head to one of these four amazing holiday locations. Trust me, you will not be sorry.

For more great holiday travel ideas, click here!

How to Make Holiday Traveling Hassle Free

Traveling during the holidays is not something most people look forward to. The end result of seeing your family and loved ones is enough to prevent apathy from taking over and forcing you to spend a quiet Christmas Eve in the office, but that lingering threat of loneliness due to hectic holiday travel can be staved off through proper planning and knowing the dos and don’ts of traveling during the busiest times of the year.

The first thing that should be considered is transportation. If you are capable of driving home, this is a much cheaper alternative than flying and you certainly don’t have to deal with the hustle and bustle of the airport. The hassle of checking in bags, going through security and worst of all, the potential of flight delays due to inclement weather is of no concern if hitting the open road as opposed to the great blue sky. Of course, the luxury of being able to drive home is not afforded to everyone. Many people fly from out of state to visit family, so you should always remember a few key points to help make traversing through the airport and to the plane as simple as possible.

One of the worst aspects of traveling is the security check point. Not only do you have to take your shoes and belt off, but you have to remove any metal items you may have on your person, as well as separate certain items such as laptops. Of course, there is always one person who is unaware of the rules or simply chooses to ignore them, and as a result the line gets backed up, preventing it from moving smoothly and increasing your stress levels. When packing, pack all your carry-on items in layers to make it easier for security agents to see. Isolate all liquids (which must be less than 3 oz.) in a separate plastic baggie, as well as laptops and other electronic equipment. A simple rule to remember is that nothing should be loose: no loose change or items floating around in your pockets or baggage. Finally, always have your identification and boarding pass ready. By following these rules and the others outlined here, you can be in and out of the security line in no time.

Much of the stress that is associated with traveling during the holidays is due simply to poor planning. These guidelines go hand in hand with those found here and elsewhere around the web, and by following them you can rest assured that your trip home for the holidays will be as hassle free as possible.

For more great holiday advice, as we all tips and tricks on how to make this year as hassle free and as enjoyable as possible, click here!

How to Save Money Traveling During the Holidays

Traveling during the holidays is always a hassle. While off-season ticket prices are typically affordable, trying to find an elusive plane ticket home during the week of Thanksgiving or Christmas without breaking the bank is akin to search for the lost city of Atlantis. Your efforts often prove futile, and more often than not you’re stuck shelling out hundreds – sometimes close to a thousand – dollars for a round-trip plane ticket just to visit your friends and family during the holidays.

Much of the focus on travelling during the holidays is centered on how to save as much money as possible. Independent Traveler suggests travelling on the holiday itself, as many airlines slash ticket prices for those seeking to arrive fashionably late. Attempting to fly the day before the holiday in question is a cardinal sin and should be avoided at all costs, as this is the equivalent of Black Friday: everyone who procrastinated and had to work until the last minute will be filling the airports in a last ditch attempt to get home on time. Have you ever seen Planes, Trains and Automobiles?

This piece of advice should be used in conjunction with booking your flight as early as possible. Unless you’re incredibly flexible with your travel dates, you should try and book at least two months in advance to secure the cheapest possible flight. But don’t settle on the first flight you find. Browse around not only the discount ticket sites such as Hotwire or Expedia but the sites of the airlines themselves. Some lower-tier airlines such as Southwest and JetBlue tend to have holiday specials, but the travel dates are restricted.

Unfortunately, there are many things beyond our control that could negatively impact our travel plans this holiday season. Inclement weather, especially snow around Christmastime, long security lines and the ubiquitous threat of Murphy’s Law all cast a shadow over our hopefully hassle-free travels, but by taking the proper precautions and planning ahead you can decrease the risk of a stressful, bank-breaking holiday season. For more helpful holiday travel tips, visit here!