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The holiday season is fast approaching, and for many out-of-state students, it’s time to pack up and head home for some much-needed rest and family time. While holiday travel can be exciting, it also presents unique challenges, whether you’re flying for the first time or have done it countless times before. Navigating crowded airports, dealing with delayed flights, and managing the stress of long-distance travel can quickly turn your excitement into frustration, but don’t let it!
Traveling is a privilege, and it’s worth remembering that the travel mishaps often turn into funny memories and stories to share later. For my first year of college, home was just a two-hour drive away in Los Angeles, making it easy to visit family and friends during the weekends. But this Thanksgiving marked a big change, as my family moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Especially if you are flying out of LAX during the holidays, it’s important to be prepared for a little mayhem, no matter how familiar the journey may seem.
tips to relax
- Transportation to the airport
If you do not want to pay the high price or your destination is not reachable through the small SBA airport, I highly recommend taking the Santa Barbara Airbus to LAX. They make 16 trips a day between LAX and Goleta, with a close stop right in Old Town Goleta. It is such an easy ride, they drop you off at the terminal you depart from, and they give you a location pin to track the bus. It is a great way to avoid parking fees, LA traffic, and just sit back and get some homework done or just relax before a flight. There is plenty of other transportation companies, but this is just one of the many good ones.
2. Double check all your downloads
I cannot begin to tell you how many times I have though I downloaded all my shows and music on Spotify, just to find out at the airport that I am out of storage and should have kept the app open while the materials were downloading. Personally, I do not sleep well on flights and my downloads are a savior to kill time. Airport WIFI is never great and it saves so much time and effort to quickly check your downloads before leaving the house.
3. Try to avoid checking in your bags
In the case of a delayed or a missed flight during the holiday craziness, I prefer not having any bags checked in, just so they cannot get lost. I personally use the Patagonia Black Hole duffle bag, which are intended to meet most airline and train carry-on requirements. I have flown spirit and some other budget airlines back and forth now and I have been okay with this bag every time. It has plenty of space, compartments, and it is a comfortable backpack- style bag. This is just one of the many good ones though, I recommend checking out REI, Patagonia, or Cotopaxi if you are looking for one!
4. Take care of yourself
My biggest tip is to bring some snacks and food with you to the airport in case the LAX lines take too long in some of the smaller terminals, or in case of a delay later on in your journey. Charge all your devices well, put on your headphones and listen to some of your favorite songs. Dress with some layers, in case it gets really hot or it is really cold in the terminals or even on the plane. Half the battle is thinking ahead of what you can do to set yourself up for success, and the other half is letting the craziness of traveling during the holidays just run past you and not let it affect you!
my laughable experience
I seriously had everything go wrong during my travel days—by that, I mean every. Imaginable. Thing. On the way to LAX, the airport was completely unreachable, with traffic so bad that it took over an hour to move just 0.3 miles. By the time I had been on the bus for four hours and an hour away from my flight departure, I started to panic. Not having moved at all, I decided to jump off the bus and run to the airport myself. I know, it’s a little dramatic, but it felt like a heroic moment, right? Turns out, I wasn’t alone—more people had the same idea, and it felt straight out of a movie, watching everyone sprint up the LAX departure ramps, dodging cars and trying to block out the honks of reckless LA drivers. I’ve got to say, this is why I love people. Everyone was losing their minds just to get home to dinner with their families and friends—it’s the essence of what makes us human and reminds us what really matters in the end. Anyway, after a solid twenty-minute run, I made it to the airport, rushed through a long security line just in time, boarded my flight, and finally left for the East Coast. What I learned that night? Always take the airbus earlier than you think you need to. It’s better to be at the airport with time to spare—grab a drink, maybe finish some homework—than to be stressed out, thinking you have more time than you actually do. The Thanksgiving x LA traffic combo is a surprise every time, and it rarely ends with a smile.
You’d think it would end there, but on the way back to school, I had another travel disaster. I was flying out of Boston after visiting friends, and just as we were about to board, American Airlines pulls up to the gate and hits our wing. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Thankfully, there was another plane ready at a different gate, and after an hour delay, we finally took off. Regardless of the mess, though, these experiences teach you how to navigate time pressure and move through crowded spaces. And at the end of the day, we’re lucky to be able to fly home to our families for every break, to enjoy time off with the people we love. So, no matter how chaotic travel gets, take a moment to appreciate being home for the holidays, surrounded by the people who matter most.
emailing teachers and missing class
The holidays are always hectic, with insane crowds, flight cancellations, missed flights due to endless security lines, delays, and the overwhelming mass of people flooding airport terminals—it can all feel like too much. However, from my experience at UCSB, every TA and professor has been very understanding of the challenges that come with out-of-state travel, as long as you’re proactive in communicating your needs and plans. I always email my professors with exact dates I’ll be gone and offer to make up any missed work on my own time if needed. Being proactive is key.
It’s also important to check the syllabus for each course you’re taking. Professors are usually pretty clear about how many absences are allowed before it starts affecting your grade, so planning ahead is crucial. Additionally, get to know your TA and their expectations. Thanksgiving is a good time to gauge their flexibility, since it’s near the end of the quarter, and you can often anticipate how they’ll handle missing class for travel or personal reasons. Many professors even cancel or make classes optional that week to accommodate for travel. There’s usually a lot of leniency and accommodation—just ask, and work with what you can get excused in your classes.