Christmas is a time for gift-giving, feasting on great food and if you are a digital nomad, travelling. Whether you are rushing to get home to spend some time with your loved ones and open all the presents or if you are gifting yourself with a trip to a new destination, you need to first tackle the gauntlet that is holiday travel. And while it can be fairly stressful, it doesn’t have to be.
Below are some Christmas travel tips from a nomadic team that will help you survive the holiday:
1. Book your trip early
Flight and accommodation get insanely expensive during the holiday season. Set up price alerts for your planned trips and book them earlier than usual (think six months in advance) to avoid having to drop extra cash.
A couple of sites/apps that can come in handy are:
- Kayak: A crowd favorite, this site searches tons and tons of websites to find the best fares. It also shows prices in any currency.
- Skyscanner: If you’re set on a country but not a city, this site gives you plenty of options for flights to any city in the country. This is good for indecisive folks out there!
- Google Flights: If you’re looking for simplicity, this is the choice for you. It’s an easy to use, no-frills tool that provides an extensive list of flights to any destination.
- Hopper – This one tells you the best time to book a ticket. It predicts when a flight would increase/decrease price.
- Jetradar: This app is my personal favorite mostly because of it’s stunning UI. And it takes away the supposed hassle booking a trip brings.
These apps aggregate the best flights for you from multiple airlines. Take advantage of them, so you can get the best deal possible.
2. Ship gifts
Have presents to give to your loved ones? Make sure to send them before you leave to save you unnecessary stress and valuable luggage space. Be sure to check last posting dates with your mail carrier so that your gift reaches its destination before the holiday is over.
And if you do decide to forgo posting them out, make sure to check customs regulations so that you don’t try and bring something on the plane that will end up getting confiscated leaving you to panic shop at the duty-free and asking, “Does that come gift-wrapped???”
3. Check in online, check in early
Airlines tend to overbook flights, more so during the holidays. It can, unfortunately, mean that there is a chance you get bumped from a flight. Try checking in as early as possible to secure your spot. Do it online (most airlines let you do this), so that you can skip long lines at the check-in counter.
4. Travel early or late in the day
If you can do red eye flights, go for it. Airports are less congested during early mornings and late nights, basically when most people are asleep. During the holidays, summon up the strength to be superhuman and book awkward flight times. Ironically, by doing this, you will have a less awkward and more seamless airport experience.
5. Arrange meeting schedules around travel time
When you’re a digital nomad, you should have mastered, or at least be on your way to mastering time zones. Make it a point to arrange your meetings around your travel time, as you won’t have a chance to think about them when you’re on your layover, or while you’re relaxing on the plane. You don’t want to try taking a call while you’re 40,000 feet up in the air, do you?
6. Treat yo self
(Image Source: Giphy)
Not everyone goes home to see family and friends at Christmas. In fact, sometimes it is nice to take a break and get away from the usual hullabaloo that can sometimes be the holiday season. But just because you are not going full-Christmas-mode, doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy some of its benefits.
One of the benefits of being a digital nomad is that you are not bound by location. So why not gift yourself with a trip to a new destination? Take a summer holiday in Brazil or Bali?
7. Take a break
It’s the holidays, learn how to take a break! It’s hard to draw the line between work and play when you’re a digital nomad. You’ve been working so hard the whole year, and you need to cut yourself some slack. You know you deserve it! Close your laptop, turn off your phone data and unwind. Even for just a few hours.
(Image Source: Giphy)
Travelling doesn’t have to be stressful during Christmas time. Sure, it can potentially be chaotic, but if you play your cards right, you can feel like it’s the most magical time of the year.
From all of us at Melewi, we hope you have a happy Christmas! And if you have any additional travel tips to add to our list, please share them with us in the comments or tweet them to us (@melewi).
