When NOT to travel over the holidays

There's no denying that the skyways and byways are going to get crazy as we enter what many believe could be the busiest holiday travel season ... ever. If you still have a choice on which days you are planning to fly or drive, take a look at the handy calendar above to determine your strategy.

First, the good news: When Christmas and New Year's Day fall midweek (both on Wednesdays this year), the holiday travel season is longer and more spread out. In this case, it begins about Thursday, December 19 and runs all the way to the Friday after New Year's, January 3.