AAA predicts record car travel this Thanksgiving holiday period with over 71.7 million drivers expected to hit the road. So with car travel on the rise for the holidays mixed with more drivers in an EV this year (third quarter sales reported in October show more than 346,000 EVs sold in the U.S., an 11% increase from 2023), road safety is top of mind.

To be prepared (or prepare a loved one) here are nice-to-have items along with car safety basics and advice. Better safe than sorry.

Bring Your Own Charging Equipment

If you’re in an EV, be self-sufficient and don’t rely on charging stations or hotel and other parking lots to have the right equipment.

• Adapters: Make sure you have adapters (Tesla owners can pick up an adapter for the road for when a Supercharger isn’t available, while non-Tesla drivers should look into getting a NACS adapter to be able to use Tesla Superchargers).
• Level 1 Charging: Keep a Level 1 charging cable in your EV so that in a pinch you can plug into the outlet at grandma’s garage for a slow, but eventual charge.

Make Sure Your Lights Are Bright

While checking all your lighting inside and outside the car before putting in 400 miles, consider extra light kits in case of an emergency. Automotive product supplier Nilight offers different types of light kits to prep and have on hand for your next roadtrip:

• Hazard lights: Ranging from $20 to $60, different kits can help with visibility to other drivers and for emergency crews to spot you beyond the hazards already blinking.
• Spot Flood LED Light Pods: When things get hairy, these bright lights can light up a dark area even as the temperature drops.

Prepare For Inclement Weather

Thanksgiving and the winter holidays line up with wintertime driving, which can include anything from rain, sleet, wind to full-on snow storms. Many EVs have different drive modes, like Snow Mode on the Kia EV6, so make sure you switch to any snow or ice settings available.

• Rain guards: Deflect rain, snow and other debris from your windows and keep inside a dry space.
• Snow products: Chains, snow socks, whatever you need to be able to drive through snow, have on hand and make sure work with your vehicle—before you set out.
• Battery blanket: If going to frigid temperatures consider a battery blanket to warm the battery pack, but most EVs have heaters that turn on in negative temps so you can charge without damaging the battery.
• Snow/ice brush and scraper: Don’t let visibility be an issue on the windshield, windows, mirrors and lights with overnight temperature drops or a sudden snow dump.

Check Your Tires

It can be helpful to have a spare when a flat tire happens, and during holiday travel tire preparedness can help you reach the destination.

• Tire inflator air compressor: For the truly prepared, re-inflate tires on your own. This device takes 2 minutes to inflate car tires to your desired pressure. Perfect for when the check tire pressure light turns on in the middle of nowhere.
• Winter tires: Look into winter tires specifically for EVs. EVs wear out faster because of the heavy battery weight and that speedy torque. Michelin has a guide about selecting winter tires specifically for an EV.

Use High-Tech Safety Features

The sensor systems in most entry-level EVs like the Chevy Bolt EV or Nissan Leaf are already robust with warnings about blind spots, forward and rear collisions, automatic emergency braking and more.

For an additional layer of protection, consider adding a device upfront.

• Dash cams: With night vision, location tracking, voice guidance and high-res footage, a dash camera can be helpful after an incident with recordings and info for authorities and insurance.
• Crash sensors: Often included in a dash cam, the crash sensor detects when something is off and can contact emergency crews for you. Some use your phone with an app that measures the built-in accelerometer for a perceived crash.

Go Low-Tech To Stay Safe

Just because you’re in an EV with the latest connected car technology and built-in sensors doesn’t mean you can forgo basic safety equipment. Make sure a first aid kit and roadside safety products are tucked into the trunk. Luckily an EV means you don’t have to worry about jumper cables or a portable battery pack.

• First aid kit: This works for car camping as well and is good to keep around all the time. Make sure everything is stocked before the trip.

As travellers prepare for the upcoming holiday travel season, they may be anticipating the worst. With air travel guaranteed to become busier, delayed and cancelled flights may be expected.

Thankfully, the travel experts at Bounce have compiled their top tips to help you deal with flight delays and ensure your airport experience is less stressful. Cody Candee, CEO and Founder of Bounce comments:

Monitor your flight

It is more important than ever to carefully monitor your journey, with both delays and cancellations becoming more frequent in recent years. Before heading to the airport, consider downloading your airline’s app to your mobile phone so that you can closely monitor the status of your flight. You can also sign up for text updates and alerts if your flight is going to be delayed or cancelled. As soon as you hear of flight delays or cancellations be sure to contact the airline’s customer service team directly, they will be able to assist you with what to do next.

Source alternative flights & refunds

For flights covered by UK law, your airline must let you choose between a refund or an alternative flight if yours is cancelled. These options must be provided regardless of how far in advance the cancellation was made. If you still want to travel, your airline must find you an alternative flight. Similarly, if your flight is cancelled, your airline must provide vouchers for you to purchase food and drink. And, if you require accommodation, they may book a hotel and arrange transportation for you.

Check for compensation

If your flight is cancelled you may be entitled to compensation, however, compensation can depend upon the cause of cancellation. For circumstances which fall to the fault of the airline, you have compensation rights under UK law. Disruptions such as extreme weather, airport or air traffic control employee strikes or other extraordinary circumstances are not eligible for compensation. Take the time to double-check your rights as a passenger before submitting a claim.

Purchase travel insurance

For all trips, both long and short-haul, you should consider purchasing travel insurance that covers both flight delays and cancellations. Although your airline is required to look after you after a specific delay duration in some countries, most travel insurance packages offer additional coverage for travel uncertainty.

Consider Taking Hand Luggage

Lost luggage has become an increasingly common issue in airports over the past few months, and the last thing you want following a flight delay or cancellation is for your luggage to go missing too! For those who don’t want to risk their luggage getting lost in baggage operations, carrying hand luggage only may be your best bet. However, be sure to check the airline’s regulations on what you can carry in your hand luggage, including liquid restrictions.

If you can fit it all into your carry-on, you’ll avoid checked bag fees and other inconveniences.

Carry-on only travel might sound intimidating at first glance, but there are a number of benefits to traveling without checked luggage. Just think: You can save on airline baggage fees, skip the baggage claim and enjoy a more stress-free flying experience.

Here’s how to travel with only carry-on luggage, plus more advice on ways to avoid checking bags.

Carry-on only travel tips

1. Bring both a carry-on bag and a personal item, when allowed

The number of bags you can carry onboard and the size and weight allowed vary. Factors typically depend on the airline you’re flying, the class of service you’re in (including if you’re flying a more-restrictive basic economy fare) and whether you have an airline credit card or elite status.

Check your airline’s website to see the carry-on policy for your flight. There’s a good chance you can bring both a carry-on bag and a personal item like a bookbag, laptop or purse that fits under the seat in front you. If that’s the case, bring both items and pack both with everything you’ll need for your trip.

2. Buy needed items at your destination

If you’re going on a long trip or you typically overpack, it may seem impossible to fit everything you need into carry-on luggage. And you may be right. One trick is to rely on the fact that almost everywhere you go will have stores — buy items you need while you’re on the trip itself.

Shopping at your destination is particularly helpful for goods that you won’t need to bring back with you, like sunscreen, shaving cream and shampoo.

That tip somewhat mirrors the 10-$10 rule, which is a packing strategy where — if you can acquire the item upon arrival in less than 10 minutes for less than $10 — you should just buy it there.

If you don’t feel like heading to a shop when you land, check with your hotel to see if they offer any of these items for free or if you can purchase them from the hotel itself.

3. Wear your bulkiest shoes on the plane

Maximize the space in your carry-on bag by wearing your bulkiest shoes on your flight. This leaves more room in your carry-on for clothes, toiletries and other necessities.

If you prefer not to fly while wearing boots or heavy shoes, wear them onto the plane and bring warm socks, slippers or flip-flops to swap into before takeoff or mid-flight.

4. Look for accommodations with laundry services

Rather than pack fresh clothes for each day you’ll be gone, look for accommodations that come with laundry facilities, like an Airbnb or a hotel that offers laundry services to guests. This way, even if you’ll be gone for few weeks, you can get away with packing enough clothes for just four or five days.

5. Roll your clothes

A great way to save space in your carry-on luggage is to roll your clothes instead of folding them. This might not work for bulky items like heavy sweaters or jackets, but it’s great for packing underwear, T-shirts, pajamas and shorts.

Know which items are only allowed to fly in carry-on

And then there are the items that can only travel in carry-on anyway. Yes, certain relatively-common objects are actually not allowed to even go in checked luggage.

In contrast from the TSA carry-on restrictions that require objects like pocket knives and liquids more than 3.4 ounces to remain in checked luggage if you must fly with them, the Federal Aviation Administration has rules stating that certain items are prohibited from flying in checked luggage.

Common items that the FAA prohibits in checked baggage include:

• Lithium batteries.
• Electronic cigarettes.
• Cordless curling irons that contain a gas cartridge or that are butane fueled.
• Fuel cells containing flammable gases or water-reactive material.
• Matches.
• Certain medical device that contain radioactive materials such as heart pacemakers

Among the most notable of those items not to overlook? Lithium batteries. Whether you’re traveling with a drone, flying with a mobility scooter or even flying with certain laptops, you might unknowingly have a lithium battery with you. Lithium batteries may seem harmless but can pose threats including explosions when exposed to extreme temperature or pressure conditions.

Check with the FAA, but the items in the bulleted list above can generally fly in carry-on baggage, just not checked baggage.

Ditch the giant suitcase/h2>

Carry-on only travel frees you from the hassle and expense of lugging big suitcases, but it takes planning. Check your airline website to learn baggage allowances, try to find accommodations with laundry facilities or services, then pack only what you need as tightly and efficiently as possible.

With these tips in mind, you’ll be more likely to successfully evade unnecessary airline bag fees.

Ahead of the busy holiday travel season, travel advisors share tips to help navigate busy airports and hotels. Plus, a new poll reveals the busiest travel days during the 2024 holiday season.

The most wonderful time of year can also be the busiest and most stressful, especially if you plan to travel for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Whether you’re traveling internationally to European Christmas markets or flying within the United States to visit with family or friends, the following holiday travel tips from travel agents can help make your trips go smoothly.

Ahead, a look at the busiest days to travel during the holiday 2024 season, plus travel agents share their favorite, lesser-known holiday travel tips to help alleviate some of the stress that comes with flying during those hectic stretches in November and December.

What Are The Busiest Holiday Travel Days in 2024?

If the busy summer travel season was any indicator, airports could be braced for a banner year this holiday season—the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) says summer 2024 was the busiest on record.

The busiest date to travel during the 2024 holiday season will be Dec. 23, according to a new survey conducted by Talker Research on behalf of IHG Hotels & Resorts. New Year’s Eve (Dec. 31) will be the most common travel day on the trip home, according to the survey that polled 2,000 Americans who are planning holiday travel.

Thanksgiving 2024 falls on Thursday, Nov. 28. The day before Thanksgiving (Nov. 27) as well as Nov. 30 are the most popular 2024 travel days surrounding Turkey Day, according to the Talker Research poll.

Top Holiday Travel Tips For 2024, According To Travel Experts

You probably know some of the golden rules of traveling during the holiday: Arrive at the airport with plenty of extra time to get through security and enroll in TSA PreCheck to help you get through security more quickly.

Most airlines recommend arriving at the airport two hours before a domestic flight and three hours before an international flight. But some airports get extra busy, especially during the holidays, and recommend shifting to two hours before your boarding time for a domestic flight and three hours before boarding for an international flight.

Here’s some lesser-known travel tips and tricks that will help holiday travel go smoothly, according to travel agents and experts.

1. Pre-Book Airport Lounges

Whether it’s a long layover or delayed flight, an airport lounge can be your sanctuary from holiday crowds but they often command waits during peak travel times, points out Athena Livadas, founder of Páme Travel. When airports are busy, and delays are rolling in, the lounges fill up quickly, prompting long lines to get in and waitlists that may extend past your boarding time.

However, some lounges allow you to make reservations a day in advance, Livadas says. If you have Priority Pass with your travel credit card, download the app ahead of time and check to see if your airport’s lounge takes reservations, and snagging one if so.

2. Reserve A Spot In The Security Line

A growing number of airports now have programs that allow you to reserve a spot ahead of time in security lines. This is a separate program from PreCheck and borrows the fastpass idea from the amusement park world, allowing travelers to book their time slot in the security line. The program rules vary by airport, so check out the details of which security line the reserve program is offered in and how far in advance you can book your security slot.

The following U.S. airports have options for reserving spots in TSA security lines in advance:

• Denver International Airport (DEN)
• George Bush Intercontinental/Houston Airport (IAH)
• John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York (JFK)
• Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
• Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP)
• New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
• Orlando International Airport (MCO)
• Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
• Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)

3. Use Digital Hotel Keys For Faster Check-In

Many hotel chain programs, like Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy, offer digital key options through their apps, allowing you to skip the front desk and head straight to your room, says Livadas. This faster check-in is convenient for late arrivals or for avoiding busy lobbies during peak holiday times.

4. Download Mobile Passport Control

Global Entry can save you time in busy customs lines and come in handy if you have a tight connection. But if you don’t already have Global Entry, and can’t get in for an interview before your holiday travel, you’ve got another option.

Download Mobile Passport Control (MPC), a free app accepted at many U.S. airports for expedited customs processing. It’s ideal for last-minute travelers, as there’s no need for a pre-approval interview, Livadas says.

5. Check In On Rental Car Prices

Reserve your rental car as soon as you decide on flights or an itinerary, recommends Ben Armstrong, CEO of Famvia Travel. But check the price of the same rental the week of your trip to see if you can get a better deal by canceling and rebooking.

“Rental car agencies use dynamic pricing and any sudden cancellations by others may help you get a better price on a new reservation,” Armstrong says.

6. Take The First Flight Of The Day Out

Yes, you’ll have to set your alarm extra early (or maybe even stay up late), but opting for the first flight of the day, especially during the busy holiday travel season, has its perks.

Morning flights are less likely to face delays or cancellations, says Carolyn Weppler, senior vice president with Goway, a travel company that creates personalized itineraries.

If your early-morning departure does hit a snag, you’ll have a shot to get on one of the flights scheduled for later in the day. However, Weppler also recommends booking a “buffer day” to help make sure you arrive to your destination in time for any important holiday celebrations.

7. Don’t Wrap Your Gifts Ahead Of Time

Travel experts are fans of carrying on bags, especially during the busy holiday travel season. That way, you don’t have to wait at baggage claim or worry about your bags getting lost.

If you’re planning to carry-on, though, don’t pack wrapped gifts, Weppler suggests. While wrapped gifts are allowed through TSA, an agent may unwrap those presents if they trigger the need for additional screening. It’s less likely that gifts in checked bags will be unwrapped, but it’s still a possibility.

8. Ask For Hotel Room Decorations

Many hotels go all out during the holiday season. If you’re traveling with kids, Weppler recommends connecting with the hotel’s concierge ahead of your travels to help make the holidays more memorable by arranging for gifts to be delivered by Santa, having an in-room menorah set up or displaying a Christmas tree. These types of requests can be met depending on the hotel and availability, she says.

9. Book Your Rideshare In Advance

Consider reserving your ride share in advance, especially if traveling during a holiday like Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, Armstrong recommends. That way, if a driver accepts the reserved ride and cancels or falls through, you will have priority on getting a car to you. There could be less people out driving on the holidays, so this may help you lock in a better price in advance.

10. Make Sure Your Passport Meets Requirements

You probably already checked to make sure that your passport isn’t expired. But some countries have additional rules, like requiring two consecutive pages to be empty, says Jonathan Alder, a luxury travel advisor and founder of Jonathan’s Travels. Also, make sure that your expiration date is more than six months out from your return as that’s a requirement for many countries. You can check with the U.S. State Department to see which countries have the six-month passport rule.