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With any upcoming holiday weekend, it’s best to remember to plan ahead. Just like you have a long weekend for Memorial Day or Independence Day, so do a lot of others on the road. Below, we’ll share some tips to make sure you get the most of your days off!

Holiday Weekend Planning: Staying Safe 

Leave Early…Or Late

Leaving for your destination a day earlier than the rest of the crowd will help alleviate some of the holiday weekend traffic. Your holiday weekend planning should include extra time for traffic, so don’t be surprised if your four hour drive to the beach takes six. If you leave on Thursday (given that Monday would be the holiday), you might be able to avoid the rush.

Alternatively, if you leave on Saturday, you might miss the Friday traffic. This applies to coming home, as well. If you leave on Monday or Tuesday of a holiday weekend, the chances of hitting traffic are higher! However, when it comes to driving on holiday weekends it’s important to be wary of drunk drivers.

Book in Advance

Like we’ve said, you are not the only ones with the idea to take advantage of your extra day off work. Try to book hotels, rental cars, and things like that well in advance. Doing your holiday weekend planning early will allow for cancellations, over-bookings, and other mishaps before the big weekend arrives.

Use Alternate Accommodations

Airbnb and VRBO are growing in popularity. You can search by distance, price range, and other accommodations. These are a great way to avoid the holiday charges and other “resort fees” that many hotels have started charging. In addition, these smaller scale websites also give a personal connection with a local, who is usually more than happy to help with your holiday weekend planning.

Try Going Where the Crowd Isn’t

Lastly, if you know that everyone is heading to the beach for Memorial Day, why don’t you try somewhere else? It is likely you will save money and avoid crowds as large as you would face at the beach. Your holiday weekend planning could include a short car ride to the mountains instead of a long, traffic filled ride to the beach!