Dealing with an airline trip for the holidays (and back) can be a pain, but if you were to travel to some superlative airports, you'd have a story to tell your relatives when you get there. Forinstance, imagine having to time flights to low tide, as they do at Barra, UK.
At the Barra Airport in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, the tide determines the landing time. It’s the only airport in the world where the planes land on the beach. When high tide isn’t hiding the runway beneath a layer of water, passengers can depart the aircraft and stretch their legs on the golden-white ground, often to the applause of curious spectators who’ve stopped to watch takeoffs and landings.
"What do you mean, I can't book an earlier flight because the tide will be in?" There's also an airport with a runway made of ice, one lined with houses where people store their own planes, and one below sea level, all in a list at Atlas Obscura.
(Image credit: Kerry Wolfe/Atlas Obscura)