The school Christmas holidays are a magical time of year filled with celebration, fun and often a lot of travel. When it comes to travelling during the long-awaited school holidays, you want to thrive and not just survive in what can be a busy and sometimes stressful time. By planning ahead, staying flexible and embracing the festive spirit of your chosen destination, you’ll ensure a joyful and stress-free holiday season.
Whether your upcoming school Christmas holidays involve a sun-soaked beach break, city escape or exciting overseas journey, we’ve got you covered with our top travel tips these school holidays.
Plan ahead
Any trip requires some planning, but when it comes to the school Christmas holidays it’s even more important. Ahead of the holiday, consider what attractions and activities you want to do and try to pre-book tickets. Not only does this planning and preparation reduce any last-minute stress, but it also means you get the best options and prices. Booking tickets online often entitles you to great discounts and savings, which helps to ease some of the cost of travel during school holidays. If your holiday involves travelling through Brisbane Airport, you can pre-book your Airtrain tickets online for exclusive offers and discounts.
Budget wisely
Often the biggest costs involved when travelling during the school Christmas holidays are the airfares and accommodation. While prices during school holidays are always more expensive than other times of year, it’s important to set a realistic budget and stick to it. When budgeting for school holiday travel, think beyond the big costs – seemingly smaller items like local transport and meals can quickly add up. If in doubt, it’s always safer to overestimate or round up expected costs – that way, you can ensure your holiday stays within budget and possibly have some extra money to spend at the end of the holiday!
Travel off-peak
To avoid the holiday rush, travel off-peak. Where possible, schedule your holiday departure and return for mid-week days. If you’re flying to your holiday destination, try to avoid travelling on weekends or a public holiday when the airports are more crowded.
Be flexible and allow for extra time
Even the most meticulous plans can be subject to unexpected events. Throughout your school holiday travel, stay flexible and adaptable to changes in your itinerary. To help ensure a positive attitude even when facing unexpected delays, allow for plenty of extra travel time. For international flights, make sure you arrive at the airport as soon as check-in opens three hours before the flight. For domestic flights, try to arrive more than one hour in advance of the flight – even if you’re not checking in luggage.
Embrace the Christmas spirit
In all the madness of school holiday travel, it can be easy to forget what it’s really all about – celebrating Christmas with loved ones. Before you travel, do some research to find out about local Christmas holiday events and activities at your destination. Once you’ve made it to your destination, it’s time to immerse yourself in the holiday cheer and experience Christmas alongside the locals and making lasting memories.
Travelling these school holidays with Airtrain
With an increase of travellers and people on holiday comes increased traffic and wait times. If you’re travelling through Brisbane Airport these school Christmas holidays, Airtrain can help you bypass unexpected delays to help ensure you get to your destination in time.
Airtrain runs express from the Brisbane Airport and stops at Fortitude Valley, Central, Roma Street and South Brisbane stations. From there, you can continue on to the Gold Coast, and access buses or trams from Helensvale station.
For holidays in Brisbane and the Gold Coast, you can easily get around with a go card – just touch on at your station of departure and touch off when you arrive at your destination. The go card is accepted on all Translink transport throughout Greater Brisbane, Ipswich, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast.
Translink’s Smart Ticketing system offers more ways to pay, for a more convenient journey. Smart Ticketing allows you to pay with your Visa, Mastercard and American Express debit and credit cards at any South East Queensland train station, including Brisbane Domestic and International Airports.
