6 Tips For Happier, Healthier Holiday Travels

If you are planning to do any traveling during the holiday season, you might want to consider what you need to do to make your travels safe and enjoyable. There are some things you can do to accomplish this often-difficult task. With that in mind, please read over the following six tips for happier, healthier holiday travels. The goal behind traveling safer and healthier is to prepare for the inevitable problems areas that often happen with little notice. There are also way to make traveling with children a more comfortable experience. You need to be prepared for all of the common trouble spots that can make traveling such a grueling experience. Let's look at those tips now: 1. Carry snacks and water with you. It is a good idea to take sandwiches, snacks, and even reusable water bottle with you when you go on flight. It is way to provide you (and maybe your kids) something good without spending so much on in-flight food. 2. Don't leave without hand sanitizer. Now, with many worried about the threat of H1N1 the need for precautions like sanitizers during travel makes more sense. Be sure that you use it whenever you or your children cough or use the restroom during the flight. The goal is to keep exposure to bacteria. In addition to this obvious tip, you should remember the proper procedure to keep germs from spreading when you cough. Use a tissue or the crook of your elbow. Also, be sure you aren't sharing drinks or food. 3. Take medications with you just in case. As with the previous tip, there is something to be said about being prepared. If someone gets sick, you should probably bring along one of the common OTC medicines such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen. You may be able to stop a problem or at least control it before it become worse. 4. Make provisions for unaccompanied minors. When you as a parent must send a child on a flight as an unaccompanied minor, you should have clear plan to make sure they stay safe. It should account for any of the obvious problems that can arise with an airline flight. First, be sure the child knows their final destination. There is always the possibility that someone may be put on the wrong flight. Next, for older kids, it might be good to designate a cell phone that they can take with them that has all the important contact numbers. 5. Limit yourself to a carry-on bag. If you limit your luggage to the carry-o bag you have with you then you will save on not only the fees that many airlines are now charging, but also valuable time at the terminal. When you do not have to check baggage, you can move from one end of the terminal to the gate, in far less time. Anything else you want to take can be shipped ahead. 6. Plan your travel schedule. For instance, if you go on the Monday prior to Thanksgiving or that morning, you can save on air rates—sometimes by hundreds of dollars. The same is true of Christmas. The reason for this difference lies in the airline surcharges are generally applied during the busiest travel days, such as the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and Sunday, November 29. The previous tips are just a few to smooth out your travel plans. The point is to have some sort of plan so you have happier, healthier holiday travels. Mary E. Ward blogs about how to become a phlebotomy technician.