It’s that time of the year again. Time to think about your holiday plans. Will you be traveling to visit friends or family over the holidays? Will you be taking advantage of your kids’ winter break from school to take a family vacation? Whatever your travel plans are, you might want to book those flights early.

Experts warn that travel as we get closer to Thanksgiving and Christmas could be a nightmare, and there are several reasons for this. For starters, right now prices to fly across the country aren’t that bad, but as time goes on, prices are expected to increase. If you want to get a good deal, stop waiting and make those travel plans before Halloween.

In addition, Covid-19 vaccine mandates that impact the travel industry could cause major delays at airports and possibly even flight cancelations. Deadlines are quickly approaching for airline staff and TSA employees to be fully vaccinated in order to keep their jobs, and a potential shortage of employees right before the holidays could cause long lines at airports and flight delays.

Watch the video below to learn more about why it’s important to make your holiday travel plans as soon as possible.

Airplane travel isn’t the only thing that might be inconvenient over the holidays. With gas prices going up, a road trip over the river and through the woods to Grandma’s house is going to cost more this year too. If you want to rent a car for your road trip or once you fly to your destination, expect prices to be higher than you’re used to. In addition, other travelers are making their plans early, and hotels are seeing their inventory already starting to fill up.

Besides travel, you might want to have your children write their wish lists to Santa right away as well. If there’s a certain must-have gift you want to make sure they find under the tree on Christmas morning, you’ll want to buy it right away. Shipping delays mean that inventory for everything from toys and electronics to clothing might not make it to store shelves in time for the holiday shopping season. That means that must-have items are going to be even harder than usual to find.

Are you planning to travel over the holidays? If so, have you made your travel plans yet?