5 Travel Tips for Heading Home during Winter Break

By: Lanie Brice ‘24

Growing up, I spent a lot of time in airports during layovers and on planes themselves, but since the pandemic hit, I’ve only been on a plane twice since March of 2020. Since winter break is coming up and it’s time to head home for the holidays, I put together this list of tips to remind myself and all of you of easy ways to make air travel less daunting this holiday season. All of these tips I’ve learned, tested, and used over the years — especially when I have to travel on my own — to help manage the potential chaos an anxiety travel can bring.

Schedule Your Rideshare or Book Your Winter Break Airport Shuttle In Advance

Unless you’re driving yourself to the airport, getting to LAX requires little planning. If you can’t arrange for a friend to take you, the two easiest options from USC are taking an Uber or Lyft, or taking advantage of the USC shuttle if it’s running at a time convenient for your flight out.

Since I need to leave for the airport at 5AM, I had to make my own arrangements. For my own peace of mind, I went ahead and scheduled my Uber last night and got matched with a driver already, so I have some assurance I’ll be able to leave for the airport on time since it can be hard to find a ride so early in the morning. You can schedule a ride well in advance on both Lyft and Uber for a bit more assurance you’ll have a ride when you need it. It’s an easy tip to forget, but it can be a major help with the current driver shortage, especially if you’re leaving at a strange time. Another thing to keep in mind with flying is that you should probably leave at least 2 hours before your scheduled boarding time to make sure you don’t miss your flight. 

Also, if you’re leaving between December 14th and 17th, USC offers a free airport shuttle if you reserve your spot in advance. It’s worth keeping in mind for future years even if it doesn’t work for this winter break.

Create Sticky Note Reminders

One of my favorite systems that I developed for packing for long and short trips alike is to break your packing list up onto individual sticky notes to place around your room. For instance, I’ll write out everything that goes in my toiletries bag on a note and stick it on my bathroom mirror. That way, I’m reminded of exactly what I need to pack every time I walk into that room. It also allows me to check off the items as I go and then tuck the Sticky Notes into each of the bags I bring so that I can consult it again when I’m ready to head back to LA, making sure I don’t leave anything behind.

Dress For The Airport In Layers

You can easily go from a freezing plane to a stuffy airport in the span of a couple hours when you’re traveling. Also, if your situation is anything like mine, you’re leaving LA for a snowy place that requires very different clothing when you land. My best approach to airport dressing is prizing comfort over everything and focus on layering: like wearing a T-shirt under a hoodie or a zip up, and not wearing anything too warm that you can’t take off like wool lined boots. The more you’re able to adapt to your environment, the more comfortable flying will be.

Bring Snacks and an Empty Reusable Water Bottle

While you can’t bring a full water bottle through security, you can bring an empty bottle and use the fill stations in the terminal. This helps avoid the extremely high bottled water prices in the airport and is better for the environment! I also recommend having your own snacks on hand, especially if you have any kind of dietary restrictions, because keeping up your blood sugar will make any potential bumps in the road on your way home a little easier to handle.

Get Familiar with the Airline’s App

You’ll likely have downloaded your airline’s app to access your boarding pass, but there’s tons of helpful information you can find in the app. I like to look at the tracking on my scheduled plane’s earlier stops in order to anticipate any possible delays before the airline even sends a notification. Also, I’ve had many times where my connecting gate or flight time has adjusted while I was on my first flight, so it’s always good to check the app frequently to prevent any confusion. And if something does go wrong with a connecting flight, the airline apps are the best resources for getting rescheduled ASAP. 

Navigating airports is almost always hectic and stressful, especially during the holidays, so more than anything, just remember to take a deep breath and rest assured that you’ll get to your destination eventually. It’s much easier said than done, but keeping flexibility at the forefront of your mind will make the process easier to navigate. I hope everyone has a great winter break and enjoys smooth travel days heading home!

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