Travel Tips

Thanksgiving Travel: Links and Numbers You Need to Know

Locations in this article:  Paris, France

Turkey says Eat HamWith the Thanksgiving travel rush set to begin imminently, the experts here at PeterGreenberg.com have pooled our collective brainpower to come up with a list of resources to make your trip easier, safer and more comfortable.

If the first leg of your trip involves climbing into a cramped, narrow metal tube and being transported at 30,000 feet across the country, make sure to do your homework before you go.

Obviously, check with your airline before you even leave the house to make sure that your flight has not been canceled. Then take the next step and see whether your local airport is affected by regional or national air traffic delays by checking out www.flightstats.com. This site can also give you data about your particular flight such as its on-time performance and the average delay time.

The FAA also has a good Web site that shows which airports are experiencing delays, and it can even tell you how long the wait will be at the security checkpoint.

Paris metro signIf you’re driving to the airport and need to find cheap off-airport parking, go online and check AirportDiscountParking.com or AirportParkingReservations.com. These sites let you choose lots by price, location and other criteria such as valet, indoor/outdoor, etc. They offer hundreds of parking options at most major airports in the United States.

If you want to avoid traffic and venture onto public transit to get to the airport, check out AirportGroundDirectory.com. This Web site lists bus, train and subway options to and from hundreds of U.S. airports, including many that you probably didn’t know you could take public transit to!

If you’re planning to rent a car and drive to your destination instead of fly, you may want to make sure you request the safest model possible. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently released its 2009 top safety pick awards, among which were popular models such as the Honda Civic, the Subaru Impreza and the Toyota Corolla. And if you’re headed into the mountains, they’ve got safe SUVs and trucks, too.

To save a few bucks at the pump, go to GasBuddy.com. This site will find you the cheapest gas, no matter where you are in the U.S. You simply plug in a ZIP code and the search engine hunts through a network of more than 181 gas price information websites to tell you where gas cheapest in that neighborhood.

The IIHS also has an excellent selection of resources on state driving laws-click here for those. So if your Thanksgiving trip involves driving to another state, you may want to consider brushing up on the laws there before you leave.

Snowy treesNaturally, weather is a big concern for most travelers, whether you are driving, flying, taking the train or even riding a bike to your holiday dinner.

The National Weather Service offers hyper-local forecasts for every conceivable destination in the United States, from Hawaii to Maine to the U.S. Virgin Islands. Go to https://forecast.weather.gov/zipcity.php to plug in your zip code and get details on whether it will be a sit indoors-by-the-fire kind of trip, or a fun-in-the-sun holiday, or even a my-destination-airport-is-hopelessly-snowed-in “vacation.”

And lastly, if you just can’t seem to manage to get the turkey right, the folks at Butterball are standing by to help. The ever-popular helpers at the Butterball Turkey-Talk Line (1-800-BUTTERBALL) are there from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Central time, Monday through Friday. If you need a turkey help, they’re the helpline to do it. You can also visit Butterball online to see a list of frequently asked questions about preparing your Thanksgiving turkey.

Click here for more tips and information about Thanksgiving travel.

By Karen Elowitt for PeterGreenberg.com