If only going home for the holidays were as simple as whistling for a sleigh and nine reindeer.

Alas, mortals must rely on such modes of transportation as cars, trains and planes to get from here to Grandma's house, and the flurry of travelers can result in congestion and delays.

However, transportation and public safety officials have tips on making holiday travel as smooth and safe as possible.

The California Highway Patrol will have every available officer out on the state's highways starting at 6 p.m. Wednesday, and continuing through the end of Sunday in an effort to keep the roads safe, according to the CHP.

“We're going to be out there in full force,” said Officer Gus Lopez with the CHP office in Santa Maria.

Officers will be looking for drivers who have been drinking or are speeding, and will be checking to ensure people are wearing seatbelts.

Lopez said that when Christmas and New Years fall close to a weekend, as they do this year, there are usually more vehicles on the roads because people will take time off from work and have a long weekend.

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“I suspect that people will be traveling shorter distances just because of the cost factor involved,” he said.

However, people will still be making trips to see family and friends, Lopez added.

Recent rain has made the roads slick, but Lopez said that the Santa Maria area has had a substantial amount of rain lately, which has washed away a lot of the excess oil that makes roads especially slippery.

Still, he encouraged drivers to use caution as a wet road won't hold a car as well as a dry road.

Take time to get to a destination, Lopez said.

“The number one priority is you get there safely.”

For those who want to leave the driving to someone else and to avoid busy highways, the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner trains are an option for holiday travel through the Central Coast and south to San Diego.

Trains also experience an influx of riders around the holidays, according to Marc Magliari, Amtrak spokesman.

“More people are moving around,” he said.

With Christmas near the weekend on a Thursday, some take the whole week off work, and there is a longer span in which people are traveling, Magliari said.

There should be heavy volumes of train travelers today and Wednesday, as well as Saturday and Sunday, he said.

Magliari encouraged those train-bound to have a “holiday spirit of patience.”

The busiest two days during the holiday season at the Santa Maria Public Airport, last Friday and Saturday, have passed, according to General Manager Chris Hastert.

The airport is still a little busier than normal, said Hastert on Monday, but not all flights are necessarily full.

With the recent terminal rehabilitation, the airport is not expecting any problems with accommodating the increase in visitors, Hastert said.

On Monday night, the check-in area of the Santa Maria Public Airport was occupied by only a few travelers.

Nipomo resident Brittany Mazur, who was preparing to fly to Pittsburgh with her boyfriend, Ryan Leahy of Nipomo, said they knew they'd have an easier time getting on a plane in Santa Maria than bigger airports.

“We were actually excited to not fly out of a major airport,” Mazur said.

She said that she thought they were flying out just early enough in the week to avoid the crowds.

Married couple Marjorie and John Oliver of Santa Maria booked early to ensure their spot on a flight to Canada.

“We booked it months and months ago,” Marjorie Oliver said. She added that she always gets to the airport early.

The Santa Maria Public Airport District urged passengers to arrive at least one and a half hours prior to their flight departure time, avoid taking wrapped presents through airport security screening as they are subject to search, and to ensure that items in a carry-on bag meet requirements to pass through the security checkpoint.

Check the Transportation Security Administration's Web site at www.tsa.gov for more information on what can be carried on an airplane.

The busiest days at the Santa Barbara Airport are Friday, Dec. 19 through Sunday, Dec. 28, according to officials there.

Travelers hitting the roads, rails and skies can expect a wet departure from the Central Coast.

The National Weather Service is calling for a 20 percent chance of rain today, 80 percent Wednesday and a 50 percent Christmas Day. Sunny skies are expected on Friday.

December 23, 2008