Holiday Travel for New Yorkers While You’re Practicing Your English December 12, 2017

The holidays are a wonderful time of the year—amazing food, reunions with loved ones, and appreciation for all the blessings you have in your life. If you’re travelling out of New York City for the holiday or if you find yourself staying in the Big Apple, here are few tips and tricks when it comes to making leaving (or staying!) as seamless and painless as possible. Brush up on your holiday wish phrases before you head out so your holiday spirit stays strong and positive!

You might remember from an earlier post a few months ago when I talked about ways to travel outside of New York City—it might be helpful to pull that article up again because during the whole month of December, you might find that it’s one of the biggest travel times of the year—much like summer when everyone is taking their vacations. Because of Christmas or Channukah, thousands of people that call New York City home will be travelling all over the world to reunite with their families to celebrate these respective holidays. If you’re staying in the city for these events, be mindful of where you go in the city during the busiest time of the year. If you’re one of the many that will be travelling elsewhere beyond New York City, here are few tips and tricks I’ve come up with during my time here to make it just a little bit easier—otherwise, you might find yourself frustrated or spending way more money than you should! Also, if you’re new to English, these tips should be helpful since as you know, this city is a melting pot of international people, so you won’t be alone! I’ll include a few universal phrases that will help you get through the hubbub of the season.

1. Book ahead

If you’re travelling, it’s helpful to book your trip as far in advance as possible. If you’re flying by plane or train, you might find that flights around the Christmas holiday book up quickly, so if you wait until the last minute, not only will your options be minimalized significantly, but they’ll raise the prices exponentially simply because they can and they know you’ll pay it! Using sites like Orbitz and Trip Advisor will help you compare competitor prices so you know what the average rate is and how each company compares to one another. The longer you wait, typically the more you’ll pay. It’s also helpful to be mindful of traps—if you find a deal that’s almost too good to be true, pay attention to the fine print (here’s where your English reading skills will come in handy!), as they’ll take on tons of fees to more or less make their money back.

2. Pick times typically not popular

Consider taking a red-eye flight (overnight or first thing in the morning) to avoid crowds and maybe even higher costs. Many people travel in the middle of the day or during typical rush hour times, so these are when your airports and train stations are going to be the most congested, which will no doubt contribute to your limited patience. If you’re okay with waking up in the middle of the night or travelling when the rest of the city is asleep, it might be worth it so your jolliness will stay upbeat. If you find yourself travelling during these less-than-popular times a day, you’ll find that you may not be interacting with too many people. But still make sure you practice your “Happy Holidays” with those that you do encounter to keep the spirit alive during the stressful travel times.

3. Avoid the travel hotspots

If you’re staying in New York City for the holidays, you’re going to be in for a wonderful surprise. The city will feel oddly empty, and it will make you feel like you have the whole place to yourself! Now is the time to try out that store that’s always packed or enjoy the serenity of a less-populated Central Park in December. It will feel wonderful! Keep in mind, however, that thousands of people do in fact leave the city in some way or the other, so it would be wise to avoid neighborhoods around Penn Station or Grand Central. Avoid the Lincoln Tunnel and the FDR. If you’re in Queens, avoid the neighborhoods around La Guardia and JFK. These places will have incredibly congested traffic this time of year, so plan ahead and be sure to avoid these areas. Otherwise, the only English phrase you’ll be using is, “Excuse me.”