BAHAMIAN ESCAPES
Christmas Away From Home
What You Should Know...
by Theandra Thompson
My family is spread across the United States as well as The Bahamas, as is the case with many other families around the world. But I always look forward to that particular time of year when we can all get together.
This usually requires travel for some or most of the group. But whether you are spending the holidays with family or friends, remember Christmas isn’t about where you are or what you get. It’s not the end of the world if you aren’t home because you can carry the spirit of Christmas with you anywhere.
No matter where I am, I always have some Junkanoo music on hand in case I get homesick. But the key is not to focus on what you are missing out on, and just enjoy the company, good food and the opportunity to make new memories somewhere different.
If you have to travel for the holidays, not taking the time to plan ahead can prove to be extremely expensive and/or inconvenient. I’m sure you don’t wait until the day of to buy Christmas presents (at least I hope most of you don’t). If you do, you know that waiting to buy gifts can also be expensive because you are left to choose between the items no one else wanted.
When purchasing airline, train or bus tickets, and even cars last minute, particularly during the holidays, use the same concept.
Based on booking data from the last three years, Travelocity says that fliers should book their Christmas vacation by November 12th to get the best deals. According to Travelocity's Vice President and General Manager for Transportation, Vacation Packages and Cruises, Simon Bramley, “Airlines have been very disciplined over the last several years about not adding new seats into the market.”
This he says has allowed airlines to be able to increase the fares pretty consistently going back two or three years.
During Christmas time, international travel, domestic travel, hotels and even gas are more expensive because of the influx of travel.
Thankfully, all is not lost if you have haven’t booked your ticket before the 13th there are a lot of ways to still get a good deal.
• If booking late, book during the last three weeks: Airline travel is expected to drop during the last three weeks before Christmas, just before rising again.
• Be flexible: If you can travel on December 23-25, as opposed to the rush times of the previous week, you can potentially save a little more. Even if you don’t have to travel on Christmas at all, consider going to see your family right after the holidays when prices in travel always take a dip.
• Consider the dates you return home: The Sunday or Monday after Christmas are days that everyone would prefer to travel; therefore it will be a bit more expensive to head out on these days.
• Consider bundling: Booking a package deal, such as airline and hotel together, can get you a discounted rate.
• Search cheaper flights at secondary airports: Most of the time flights are less expensive out of a non-major airport. If you can travel through a smaller airport location, the money you save may outweigh the slight inconvenience, if any at all.
• If driving, full up a week ahead: Gas even seems to increase during the week of Christmas. If at all possible, full up your car and/or gas can a week early so that you are prepared for your trip at a lower cost.
One last thing to consider when preparing for travel is the gifts! Send all your presents to your final destination ahead of you so you can save on extra baggage, but also avoid the additional stress. It is one less thing to worry about and leaves a lot more time to really enjoy the trip and make your memories.
All the shopping, decorating, cooking and planning can seem exhausting and it makes you almost consider saving every penny and every minute and just not doing Christmas this year. But is that really in the spirit of the season?
There are so many things to see and experience outside of your hometown.
Everyone everywhere puts their own spin on Christmas traditions. Take some time to explore wherever you end up, but during all of it, don’t forget to enjoy the festivities and remember Christmas can be Christmas anywhere as long as you focus on what’s important to you and your family and friends.