Travel lessons I learned this holiday season

January 1, 11:51 PMDC Budget Travel ExaminerKatie Howell

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Sometimes it pays to splurge.

I'm usually all about stress- and hassle-free travel. But this Christmas season, I broke my own rules and ended up frenzied, harried and stressed out -- all things I hate to be while traveling. Doing so, however, gave me fresh perspective on why I set ground rules for myself while traveling in the first place. So I thought I'd share with you a few of the travel lessons I re-learned this year. Without further adieu:

• Don't ask for books. I'm a writer so naturally I love books. I've got quite a collection and my family and friends have learned that giving me a book as a gift is the quickest way to my heart. So it was no surprise to find several cleverly chosen hardbacks with my name on them under the tree. It also didn't help that I hinted to Santa about at least four particular titles I was interested in. After the all the Christmas morning glee about my new reading fodder wore off, I began to realize that books weigh a lot. And airlines are getting picky about things like overweight bags. Needless to say, my books didn't make their connection. My mom is shipping them to me media mail -- much cheaper than the $50 Northwest would have charged me to check an overweight bag.
• Go for gift cards. I love thoughtful gifts and I love giving thoughtful gifts. But I’m not sure packing a Wii MarioKart wheel and houndstooth accoutrements was the best use of my limited luggage space. I hate checking bags. I hate having to wait 30 minutes to get my suitcase. And I hate having to throw elbows to get up to the front of the crowd to snatch my bag during its quick fly-by on the conveyor belt. But most of all I hate baggage fees. Sometimes, though, checking bags is necessary – like this trip. In the future, though, I think I’ll stick to gift cards and toss ‘em in my carry-on.
• Sometimes it’s OK to splurge. In a city like Washington, it’s so easy – and convenient – to get around most anywhere by public transportation. In fact, that’s why I almost exclusively fly out of National airport (domestically, of course): so I can take the Metro. But sometimes the ease, convenience and relatively cheap fare aren’t worth the hassle of wrestling luggage and carry-ons up and down escalators, through throngs of people, around crowded platforms and in and out of the ominous sliding doors. Arriving back at DCA on Tuesday afternoon, after waiting 45 minutes for my checked, nearly overweight suitcase to magically appear on the conveyor belt, I broke my No. 1 rule: I hailed a cab to take me the rest of the way home. I justified my splurge because having to maneuver my oversize suitcase, record player carry-on (thanks Grandmother!), coat and computer bag over to the Metro station, through a transfer at L’Enfant and then another three block walk home – all during rush hour – would have been just too stressful.

Photo by *Solar ikon*