Travelling During Thanksgiving – the Tourists Guide
Thanksgiving is a major holiday in America. Thanksgiving Day is always the fourth Thursday in November (this year it is November 28th) and lots of people have the following Friday off giving a four day weekend.
I have travelled a lot over Thanksgiving – making the most of the four day weekend. It can be a great time of year to visit the US, but with many places closed on Thanksgiving Day itself, the airports rammed to capacity near the holiday and Black Friday mayhem, it can throw up a few issues. Here are my top tips on how to avoid any worries and have a great time.
Travelling around Thanksgiving
Avoid getting any domestic flights on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday afterwards. These are horrendously busy days for airports, you will pay a lot extra for your flight and the airport will feel like a zoo. Personally I always avoid the Tuesday and the Saturday too.
Thanksgiving Day itself however, can be a great time to get a domestic flight. Most people catching a flight want to be at their destination Thanksgiving morning so there are plenty of deals around and the airports are lovely and quiet.
Road travel is also affected by the holiday. Again, try and avoid any long trips on the Wednesday and the Sunday, especially through heavily populated areas with high traffic density such as the East Coast I95 corridor and the West Coast around Los Angeles. There can be a lot of traffic on the roads on Thanksgiving Day itself as people head out to visit friends and family. This tends to be more localised but check the traffic news before you hit the road.
What to do on Thanksgiving Day
Most shops and many attractions are shut Thanksgiving Day so it is worth thinking ahead and deciding what you are going to do.
Thanksgiving Day Parade, New York
If you are in New York head for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. There will be loads of people, it will be manic but it is a great experience to be part of the crowd. If you are in any other city check to see if they have a parade too. Some do but it is a long way from ubiquitous.
Thanksgiving Day can be a great time to go sightseeing as many people are busy eating turkey with their families so you can sometimes have places to yourself. The National Parks are all open and are a great bet. Most State Parks are open as well – it is difficult to be categorical about this as obviously they vary by State, but I have never found one that has been closed. City centres are great to wander around with fewer people to block your photographs.
It is also worth bearing in mind that restaurant capacity is limited on Thanksgiving Day. Some restaurants are closed and others may have large family bookings. My advice is to make reservations for dinner.
Black Friday
The Friday after Thanksgiving has been dubbed Black Friday and is the busiest shopping day of the American year as retailers prompt the start of the Christmas shopping season with big sales. Like the January sales here, people queue for hours to get into their favourite store to bag a bargain. Shops originally opened during the early hours of the morning on Black Friday but the opening time has crept ever backwards with midnight being popular and some stores even opening during the evening of Thanksgiving Day.
Although I am a keen shopper, I refuse to go anywhere near any shops on Black Friday. The scrimmage of people has no appeal for me whatsoever but lots of people love it. If you do decide to give it a go my advice is to go with a plan and try and get to whatever store you are interested in as close to opening time as possible. Those bargains go fast.
A good friend of mine is an excellent Black Friday shopper and has saved herself thousands of $ over the years. She goes armed with laser focus, iron determination and her brother She gets there early, knows exactly what she wants, knows where it is in the store (scouting out beforehand makes sense), makes her way straight there and has her credit card ready. I think her brother is for sending out on reconnaicense missions, pincer movements and moral support. Good luck!
