1. Plan for your vacation a minimum of two weeks beforehand.

The more time you can spend preparing for your holiday the better, you have a lot of things to take account for. Airfare shopping, locating hotels at discounted rates, car rental arrangements and more can all be extremely time-consuming.

2. Go to the TSA travel assistant web site.

There is a tremendous amount of information that can be found on the site, it can be quite a shock to learn of all the restrictions that are in place if you have never heard of them before. So you have quite a bit more planning to do, that’s not a problem really. The site is very user friendly and you will have no trouble doing research there. You will find a list of prohibited items, what’s considered satisfactory documentation, in addition to info on travelers with disabilities and health conditions.

3. Plan to leave for the airport at least four hours before your departure time.

It never fails, you will always think of something else you need to do to have your mind at ease.

4. Know where the ticketing counter is located before you arrive.

If you are driving yourself to the airport, you want to park as close as you can to where you will be checking in. If you are being dropped off by a friend or taxi, you don’t want to be left somewhere on the other side of the terminal with all your baggage.

5. Keep important documentation and credit cards on you at all times.

These items should be in a purse or coat jacket, the idea is to never leave important items such as these somewhere that you are not.

6. Use curbside check-in if available.

Use this service If you are traveling domestically and if your airline has this service available. You can drive up to the curb, and drop off your baggage with a sky cap. The sky cap can also print your boarding passes without you making any lines.

7. Leave yourself plenty of time to check-in.

Check-in in at least two hours before a domestic flight and about three hours before an international flight. Lines can get surprisingly long, especially during the summer and school vacation breaks. A lot of passengers underestimate the size of these lines and figure they can do a little airport shopping and dinning beforehand.

8. Know the baggage weight limits and cost per bag.

Going over the weight limit on a bag is a nightmare scenario. There you are at the front of the line and all of a sudden you need to repack items from one bag to another to balance out the weight, or buy another bag altogether and put a dent in your wallet.

9. Leave yourself plenty of time to pass through security.

Boarding time for a flight is roughly forty-five minutes before the flight departure, you definitely want to be at the gate by boarding time. There is also the issue of waiting in lines to pass through security. These lines can be significant, at times taking a good twenty to forty minutes. Have your boarding passes, passports, and identification cards in hand as you reach the front of the line. This can help you go through the departures area in reasonably less time. If you have connecting flights, arrange for airport stop overs also.

10. Have the proper kinds of baby food.

You can’t carry fluids through airport security, this includes baby formula, even soft foods like yogurt you will discover. Bring powdered, pre-packaged formula in single feedings.

Natasha is a travel writer covering world wide travel destinations. Her specialty is budget travel, she can help you find domestic flights and cheap international flights for various destinations world wide.