The holidays are upon us yet again. As beautiful a time of year as this may be, it is also one of the most hectic in terms of travel. Everybody is busy trying to get home or to their holiday destination for Christmas.
If you are caught in the melee, there are a few holiday
travel tips that could help makes things that much smoother. Here are 10 useful
tips for Christmas travel in Africa:
1. Shop Around for Better Deals
During every Christmas period, it’s easy to get frantic and
worry that you may not find any available flights to your preferred
destination. Yes, this concern is warranted since most flights are often fully
booked well in advance.
That, however, doesn’t mean that all are fully booked, and
simply booking the first available flight you come across might be
short-sighted and expensive. The best way to go about this is to shop around
using a reliable platform that will give you a host of options. Not only are
you more likely to find more available flights this way but you are also more
likely to find good holiday travel deals as well.
2. Avoid Tight Connections
Remember, almost everyone is trying to get somewhere during
this period and connection flights are going to be just as problematic as ever.
What’s even worse, the airport is going to be full of frustrated people who are
in just as much a hurry as you are so tempers might be flaring from time to
time. To make your life easier when it comes to connecting flights:
- Try
not to force tight connections.
- Book
non-stop flights whenever possible.
- Avoid
booking flights on separate airlines as much as possible.
3. Arrive Early at the Airport
Most local flights advise you to arrive at least an hour
before your departure time while most international flights require you to be
at the airport at least 2 hours in advance. While these timelines are usually
practical, they deal with ideal conditions. You know, when people aren’t as
rowdy, as numerous, and as frustrated by holiday plans.
During the Christmas period, it’s best to arrive for your
flights even earlier. Say for example you booked a flight from Nairobi to Lamu
for the holidays. There is a good chance that this flight is fully booked and
so are the next five. If you miss it because you were stuck in traffic, you
might not be able to go to Lamu until after New Year’s.
Leave for the airport at least 3 hours before your flight is
due to depart. This gives you a good allowance for other delays such as rain,
traffic jams, and airport security checks.
4. Take as Many Shortcuts as Possible
Today, most airlines allow you to check-in online. This
allows you to print your boarding pass save you so much time when you get to
the airport. The other option is to ship all the presents you bought directly
to your destination as opposed to carrying them with you to the airport. This
way you won’t have to waste ten or twenty more minutes during the security
check or risk your luggage getting lost during this frantic period.
5. Book the Early Morning Flight
Here is a dirty secret you might not know about air travel:
early morning flights are almost always on schedule. This is because most
people tend to avoid them and the staff have enough time to prepare for it
during the night. What this means is that, not only will it most likely be
still available but you won’t have to muscle your way through a jam-packed
airport to get to it.
Another excellent reason to book the early morning flight is
that should you happen to miss it or need to have it rescheduled, the staff are
better positioned to put you on other flights during the day as opposed to
pushing you further into next week.
6. Stay as Calm as Possible
That flight attendant or any other airport employee has
considerable power over how your day will go – don’t give them a reason to
wield it to your detriment. However, this fear shouldn’t be your guiding light.
Just think of it this way, these are people who have families and friends just
like you. They would also probably love to be home for Christmas but can’t
because they have to work. Imagine the kind of frustration they feel because of
that and be kinder with your words and actions.
7. Consider Booking Business Class Tickets
You might be wondering why in the name of everything that’s
sane and good would you want to do this considering the fact that you are
probably trying to save money since the holidays are so expensive? The logic
behind it is simple: most business travelers are also taking a break from
travel to be with their families. This means that fewer business tickets are
sold over the Christmas period and as such, these seats are almost always
available and at a discounted price.
Most economy travelers don’t even bother to check the
availability of these seats because they assume they will be too expensive.
Yes, they won’t be as affordable as economy class seats but think about it this
way, economy class airfares have already gone up anyway due to demand so they
aren’t as affordable as they usually are anyway. Why not pay just a little bit
more, get that available seat, and enjoy the good life in business class?
Holiday travel can be as frustrating as it can be impossible
thanks to lack of flight availability. This, however, doesn’t have to be your
life year in and year out. With these tips, you can plan better and make your
life much easier during this Christmas holiday.
Do you have any other useful tips for Christmas travel in Africa? Share them with us in the comment section below.