18 Winter Travel Tips for Flights and Road Trips

A successful winter trip relies above all on good management of weather conditions. In winter, most travelers hope to get to and from their destination with minimal hassle and maximum enjoyment – ​​and, more importantly, always arrive safe and sound, regardless of the type of snow, ice, sleet or freezing rain you may encounter. . To that end, here are some winter travel tips and tactics to help you avoid spending the season stuck in airports or on the side of the roads.

Winter Travel Tips for Flying

Always fly straight

The worst winter travel problems often occur at connecting airports. If your first outbound flight is canceled and you end up flying home from your local airport, it's not too bad; if you're stuck in your vacation hotel hoping to catch a flight home, it's a little worse. But when you're stuck in a connecting airport in Texas, calling hotels and praying for a place to stay, you're in what I'd call a worst-case scenario.

For this reason, you should fly non-stop as much as possible. To find nonstop flights, do all your initial flight searches with the “Nonstop Flights Only” button checked on your preferred booking engine. If you also use search options like “Show nearby airports” and “My dates are flexible”, you'll have a very good idea of ​​the best way to get from point A to point B without any points C for connection.

Beware of layover times

If you absolutely must fly with a connectioncarefully monitor your layover times. If a weather delay causes you to miss your connection, you might be out of luck; the airline is not necessarily obligated to find you a seat on the next flight and often cannot logistically do so if flights are full or unavailable. If your connection time is very tight and your flight is late, notify a flight attendant who may be able to make arrangements to hold your next flight, or at least get you off your first flight quickly.

Watch out for bad weather

Check the weather in your connecting cities as well as your departure and destination airports. You'll want to know what the weather is like at the departure and arrival airports (especially if we're traveling on vacation), but for the same reasons stated above, you'll want to know what's happening at your connecting airport as well. If the weather looks threatening, contact your airline to see if they can reroute you; it may be in his best interest to do so and save you a lot of trouble. Your chances of taking another flight will be greatly improved if you have already done some research yourself to determine which alternative flights might work best. Do not rely on a gate agent to know or look up other airlines' schedules.

Connect via a warm weather destination

Try to book your connection through a southern city where the weather shouldn't be a problem. There are no guarantees here, as northern airports tend to be better equipped to deal with winter conditions, and a snowstorm can close almost entirely an airport that most often suffers from too much sun. However, your chances are better in places where there is rarely ice or snow.

Book an early morning flight

Choose a morning flight. For two reasons: first, you are much less likely to have your flight affected by problems at other airports. Second, if your flight is canceled or significantly delayed, your alternative flight options are significantly increased, improving your chances of catching another flight by the end of the day.

Route via small airports

Consider an alternative airports. Very often the problem is not just the weather, but also the overall volume of passengers and flights. In places like Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and Houston, second-tier airports aren't too far from the city and are connected to the transportation network.

Prepare in advance for airport security

Get a head start on security. Before you even get in line, put all your gear and spares in a pocket in your carry-on bag. With so many valuable items thrown into plastic bins all day, it's inevitable that items will be forgotten, dropped, damaged, broken or even stolen. If you take 15 seconds to put everything away, you'll save twice the time on either side of the security gate and won't risk losing your cell phones, wallets, keys and other essentials. Find more Airport security tips in our guide to TSA frequently asked questions.

Save the gift wrapping for your destination

The annual rule of vacation travel: Don't wrap presents—security will have to tear them up. Since TSA searches checked baggage as well as carry-on baggage, this applies to all your baggage; not just what you take with you on the plane. Consider shipping your gifts in advance or wrapping them once you arrive at your destination. OUR complete guide to stealing with gifts will help you solve any holiday packing problem.

Avoid peak dates

Finally, avoid peak dates as much as possible, especially holiday weekends. Finding the ideal (and not doing the ideal) dates to book holiday flights in our practical guide.

Winter Travel Tips for Driving

Stock an emergency kit

Pack extra clothing and emergency items in your vehicle; these will come in handy if you break down in cold weather. Assemble a basic kit including a pair of glovesweatherproof pants and/or coat, perhaps an old pair of boots, a blanket, jumper cablesA flashlight with some extra batteries and a windshield scraper (and maybe a de-icer), and you should be fine. You can also throw a few nutritional bars inside too; things that won't spoil, are packed with calories, and can bail you out in a pinch.

Prepare your vehicle for winter conditions

Make sure your car is checked to be ready for winter conditions. In particular, you or a mechanic should inspect your tires before the first major winter storm.

Prioritize visibility

Once your vehicle is inspected and equipped, follow this advice I heard a while ago from a Montana snowplow operator: “See and be seen.” Keep your headlights and taillights clean, especially in stormy weather. Keep windows clean and make sure defrosters are working properly. If snow has accumulated on your vehicle overnight or after a break from driving, remove it so that it does not blow away and obscure your windows.

Drive slowly

To slow down. The U.S. Department of Transportation recommends slowing down by about 50 percent in bad weather. Also leave extra space between you and the car in front of you in case of slippery roads.

Beware of icy conditions

Remember that not all road sections are created equal. For example, many recently constructed small bridges and overpasses have been designed to blend into the environment, with little or no change in elevation. However, these bridges are still susceptible to freezing much more quickly than ordinary asphalt bridges. Be aware and anticipate these short stretches of road when temperatures approach or drop below freezing. If you don't know the ropes of driving on icy surfaces, here's how to drive on black ice.

Ignore cruise control

Some features of modern automobiles may actually not be very useful in poor conditions. In some SUVs and four-wheel drive vehicles, for example, you may have better traction when the vehicle is moving, but four-wheel drive won't help you stop any faster. Also avoid cruise control; your cruise control can accelerate when you least want it, such as when driving over an icy bridge.

Keep cat litter handy

Some security experts recommend putting a cat litter bag in the trunk, both to add ballast to provide better traction and to place it under the wheels if you need to get out of a slippery spot.

Stay safe if you get stuck

If you are stranded and must stay in your car, you can run the engine to warm up, but make sure the exhaust pipe is not clogged with snow or mud. If you prefer not to leave the engine running all the time, close the windows to keep the heat in and run the car for 10 minutes every hour, opening a front window when you do so.

Park indoors when possible

If you're parking at your hotel or near attractions in bad weather, opt for a spot in a parking garage when it's available.