The time has arrived to plan ahead for ferry travel during the busiest part of the holiday season.

Washington State Ferries will make several sailing schedule adjustments around Christmas and Hanukkah, and all routes switch over to the winter sailing schedule on Jan. 1.

The Mukilteo/Clinton, Seattle/Bainbridge Island and Point Defiance/Tahlequah routes will be on holiday schedule on Monday, Dec. 26, and customers can check WSF’s fall schedule for details on vessel sailing  times.

All other routes remain on their normal fall schedules throughout the December holidays.

Customers can know before they go by checking wait times and traffic cameras, which are available online.

Also during the holiday week and weekend, the schedule for the Port Townsend/Coupeville route will again be adjusted to reflect low tides that make it difficult to navigate through Keystone Harbor. To avoid missing the boat, riders of this route should carefully check the schedule for revised sailing times on the days they plan to travel.

All routes will switch over to the winter sailing schedule on Sunday, Jan. 1. The winter schedule notes annual service reductions, which WSF makes to match the reduced seasonal demand. Changes include:

No inter-island vessel on the weekends in the San Juan Islands.

No third vessel on the weekends on the Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth route.

No service between Anacortes and Sidney, B.C.

San Juan Islands customers should pay particular attention to the winter 2012 sailing schedule. Although it is similar to the winter 2011 schedule, WSF has made minor sailing time adjustments to improve reliability. See the WSF’s schedule proposals page.

To keep up on the latest ferry travel information, the Washington State Department of Transportation – Ferries Division advises customers to sign up for route-specific email alerts.