Independence Day Travel Tips

During this week many of you will start your travel for the Independence Day weekend. Here are a few advanced tips ... just in time before you start your well-deserved break from work:

Schedule your travel days
If you can, try to travel during off-peak days. As can be easily guessed, tonight and tomorrow morning are  expected to be one of the busiest days in airports or at freeways.

Cheaper Gas Price
You can use the following sites for locating gas stations with cheaper price: GasBuddy.com or GasPriceWatch.com.

6 Basic Tips for Air Travel
(i) Do not forget to carry a current government-issued photo identification.
(ii) Medications taken on a regular basis should not be packed in checked bags.
(iii) Leave any gifts unwrapped so security can inspect them.
(iv) Remove all destination baggage tags from previous trips. Use new tags for each bag, inside and out, with the traveler's name and contact information.
(v) Allow plenty of time for checking in and for security screening at the airport. If traveling on the busiest days, plan for longer-than-usual security lines.
(vi) Do not forget to fully charge your cell phone and laptop.

Know what you can carry
It's worthwhile going through the website of the Transport Security Administration (TSA) and getting familiar with the new security procedure in order to avoid your frustrations after arriving at the airport. In particular, it's important to go through the list of prohibited items (click here) and make sure what you can and can't carry in your carry-ons. A few quick tips: (i) Leave any gifts unwrapped so security can inspect them. (ii) At the security checkpoint, place metallic objects (e.g., coins, keys, pens, cell phone, watch, camera) in carry-on baggage. Plan to carry small electronics and spare batteries with you. (iii) Pack liquids or gels in carry-on baggage in containers of three ounces or less. Place these in a one-quart zip-top bag. Only one zip-top bag is allowed per passenger, so what does not fit must be packed in checked luggage. Note that larger quantities of medications and baby formula can be carried onboard.

Get the traffic report
For knowing traffic conditions in roads, visit Traffic.com or SigAlert.com.
Find out what's happening at the airport on Federal Aviation Administration website which lists real-time flight delays. For security lines, check out the website at TSA which lists security line wait times by hour for any terminal at any U.S. airport. You may also use sites like flightstats.com.

Park online.
Airport parking lots fill up fast during holidays. You can reduce stress by making sure you have a place to park once you arrive at the airport. Sites like Airportparkingreservations.com  or CheapAirportParking.org reserves spots at parking lots near 50 airports in the U.S. and Canada. It displays a matrix of airport parking lots close to the terminals. You view an airport map and sort by price, parking type (self, valet, covered) or by company. Note that most lots offer a 10 to 25 percent discount to online bookers.

Surf for free
Before you leave your home, find free airport Wi-Fi hotspots at wififreespot.com/airport.html so you can easily get online during long flight delays and spend some quality time.

[Disclaimer: LiveInUSA has no connection whatsoever with the commercial sites mentioned in this posting. Users should use those sites and information therein at their own risk.]