5 Travel Tips to Simplify the Holiday Season

If you know anything about us here at MomsGoodEats, it’s that we love to travel and we travel A LOT. For pleasure or work, we spend a lot of time away from home. So, if there is one thing we have learned over the years, it is how to simplify things to make travel more of a pleasure and less of a hassle, especially during busy times of the year like the holidays.

Over time, our experience has also taught us to turn to trusted resources to get what we need done and save a little money along the way. This way, we have a little something extra to spend later on more important things, like more travel!

Disclosure:  I am participating in a Holiday campaign for AARP Services, Inc. I am receiving a fee for posting; however, the opinions expressed in this post are my own.  I am in no way affiliated with AARP Services Inc. and do not earn a commission or percent of sales. I only blog about brands and services I trust.

THIS SWEEPSTAKES HAS CLOSED…AARP is giving away $500 American Express Gift Cards for the holidays and the next drawing is December 16th! Think of all the amazing ways you could spend $500. Just something else wonderful from AARP! Click here to enter.

So, let’s look at five travel tips we use to make our travel planning and life on the road simple and fun. Because who doesn’t love spending less time on planning and taking care of business and more time on amazing adventures.

5 Travel Tips to Simplify the Holiday Season

TRAVEL ORGANIZATION

Organization is a priority when it comes to any travel. Hitting the road or open skies multiple times a month means staying organized and reaching out for help from experts wherever we can. Here are three things we do before we leave home.

• First, we make our plans with the help of a trusted travel expert like those found at the AARP Travel Center. We also love that Liberty Travel offers AARP Members exclusive savings on Liberty Travel Vacations.
• The next thing we do is make sure our phone plan is up to par with where we are traveling and that we have all the accessories we need. Using our AARP membership, we can save 10% at AT&T on service and 15% on eligible accessories.
• And no travel plan is complete without our transportation arranged. We like using Park Ride Fly USA and especially the 12% discount on airport parking reservations and then all

Just remember to always start in the AARP Travel Center, because travel is so much easier when you are organized before you go!

TRUSTED TRAVEL PARTNERS

The second way we keep it simple when we travel is to turn to our trusted travel partners for flights, rental cars, and accommodations. Sometimes keeping things simple means using the brands we know and love. There is comfort in traveling with partners we already know and know we can depend on.

When we fly, we especially love British Airways and sitting upstairs in business class. When you have AARP Member benefits like getting up to $200 off on flights, how can you not love it. Once we arrive at our destination, Budget is our rental car company choice. Besides the exclusive rental car benefits we get as AARP members such as savings of up to 30% off base rates, if you join Budget’s Fastbreak program, you can get expedited pick up and return, which means no waiting in lines. And as for hotels and resorts, when we need to feel at home we turn to Hilton and save 5% off our room with AARP!

SHIPPING ON THE ROAD

The next thing to consider both before and after travel while on the road is shipping. Who likes to cart all that luggage to the airport and then worry if it’s going to arrive at your destination. This is especially true when we are carrying gear for fly fishing or triathlons. So, we turn to UPS to get our luggage where we are going.

Then, there is the issue of what we buy when we are away and having to lug it home. Whether it is a case of wine, souvenirs, gifts, or local goodies, we love to find a local UPS Store to ship it home. As an AARP Member, we get 5% off shipping & 15% off other services. When traveling for work, we also used the printing services at a local UPS store.

GIFT GIVING ON THE ROAD

The holidays bring a new challenge when on the road – gift giving. This year, I was out of the country for two weeks in the beginning of December and leave again a week before the holidays. That has not left much time for shopping, which means finding the time and staying organized for gift giving has been especially hard. I have forgotten people, needed additional gifts, and needed creative gifts.

Luckily, gift giving can be done on-line and that makes travel before and during the holidays much easier. As a bonus, what is really nice is that many times we end up needing a little house warming gift and AARP Member partners have saved us here, too.

Photo credit Harry & David.

Here are a few of our favorite go-to brands for gift giving on the road.

• 1-800-Baskets.com – 20% off gorgeous gift baskets
• 1-800-Flowers – 20% off beautiful bouquets
• Cheryl’s – 20% off cookies & treats
• Harry & David – Save 20% on Harry & David gifts

TAKING CARE OF OURSELVES

Finally, we need to remember to take care of ourselves when we travel. Staying fit and eating healthy are vital, but so is taking the time to enjoy doing nothing and relaxing. All of us here at MomsGoodEats love a good spa vacation. Not only does a spa day relax us, but it gives us energy for our next adventure. We know we’re going to take advantage this holiday season of the AARP Member benefit for 10% off Spa & Wellness Gift Card by Spa Week gift cards to use on ourselves!

So, we hope these travel tips help to simplify your holiday season and give you more time to spend with family and friends, which is what the holidays are all about.

Please check this page for full details on offers for AARP Members.

THIS SWEEPSTAKES HAS CLOSED…And don’t forget to enter the AARP $500 American Express Gift Card giveaway! Click here to enter.

Dana Zucker

I am a home cook that does things my way. In my kitchen, I make breakfast, pack lunches, prepare snacks, and cook dinner. During the week, we eat real food that is homemade, organic, and local. On the weekends we do explore more of our local restaurants. I bake my own bread, juice fresh oranges every other day, and make my own kombucha and other weekly favorites.