There are still plenty of cheap car hire deals for the Christmas period and throughout the winter.

Book cheap car hire with easyCar and enter the promotional code BARGAINS for excellent low cost rental car offers.  Sign up for their newsletter and more special codes to guarantee bargain rent a car prices in the UK, Europe and Worldwide will start winging their e-way to you!

With the FIFA 2010 World Cup groups now drawn, it is time to book cheap car hire in South Africa, so that you can combine your football extravaganza with an exciting safari or glorious beach holiday. easyCar low cost rental prices start from £95.23 for 7 days in June, collecting an economy 3 door hire car at Cape Town Airport (CPT) – that’s just over £13 per day –don’t forget to enter BARGAINS in the promotional code box online!  Rental cars collected from Johannesburg Airport are already starting to sell out, with the cheapest in mid June 2010 currently costing £163.62 for 7 days for an Economy 5 door car.

Other than booking well in advance, bargain car hire can be booked in Portugal, Spain and Switzerland using easyCar’s deposit scheme. By paying as little as a £12 deposit you are able to book a cheap car with the guarantees you would expect by prepaying the full amount.  All you do is pay the booking fee to easyCar and the difference is paid to the car hire company when you collect your hire car.

Travel Tour Operators may be speculating that holiday bookings will be booked later this year due to the credit crunch, but when hiring a car, the sooner you can book the better!  Warnings were publicised throughout 2009 advising that less new cars were being ordered than previous years and that older cars were being used for longer.  The result of this was that in popular locations such as Malaga and Palma, Majorca, either no cars were available or only larger cars could be booked.  There has been no indication to say that this won’t happen again in 2010, especially during peak periods such as Half Term, Easter and the Summer – particularly July and August.  So take head – and book your cheap car hire as soon as you know you are going away!

Winter and spring is the ideal time to travel by ferry, as passenger numbers are less than the peak summer months, the ferries are quieter, the queues are reduced and of course, cheap ferry crossings are available in abundance.

You may be considering visiting friends or relatives abroad during the festive Christmas and New Year period and want to load up the car with presents, looking for a budget priced short break abroad pre Christmas or you may be looking to book your cheap ferry crossing for your summer holiday next year.

Norfolk Line have a 5 Day Discount fare with a reduction of £5 each way for travel completed by 11 December 2009 from Dover to Dunkirk. Get the 8pm crossing on 2nd December and return at 8.01pm on Sunday 6 December and the low cost ferry crossing starts from a mere £33.00 including fuel surcharge and £1 visa debit card fee for four passengers and a car up to 5 metres long.

P&O Ferries are offering cheap fares from £25 each way travelling from Dover to Calais for a car and up to 9 passengers, including all taxes, and day trips from £20 return. Book the 8.30am crossing on Wednesday 9 December and return later that day at 6.25pm with a car and 4 passengers for £20 return.

If you’d rather stay in the UK, Red Funnel Ferries will sail you in one of their car ferries between Southampton and East Cowes in the north of the Isle of Wight from just £16 each way based on one night stay. Red Funnel are also offering up to 50% off ferry travel during the Christmas period, and a Camping Offer for pitch and ferry from £104 too.

For ferry travel from England and Wales to Ireland, Stena Line are offering low cost Christmas deals from £69 each way travelling mid week for a car and driver on the Superferry from Fishguard to Rosslare and Holyhead to Dublin Port. There are also offers from Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire, Stranraer to Belfast and Fleetwood (near Blackpool) to Larne. How about a winter break in Holland from £49 each way from Harwich?

Take your car away with you this Christmas with DFDS Seaways if you live in the north of the UK, with ferry trips from Newcastle to Holland from £139 each way for a car and two passengers each way, and Harwich to Esbjerg in Denmark from £232 each way.

All dates, availability and prices may vary, but were correct on 23rd November 2009 based on booking ferry travel online.

With car hire shortages anticipated from 19th December for the Christmas and New Year holiday period 2009/2010, easyCar are warning their customers to book car hire NOW to avoid disappointment. 

The demand for rental cars has been historically high in the UK and Ireland during the Christmas season, but shortages are expected this winter in the popular cities and resorts of France, Portugal and Spain too.

easyCar reported in June 2009 that many areas of the UK, France and Spain had actually run out of hire cars during Easter, with the credit crunch leading car hire fleet operators to use their current stock of cars for longer periods, and not replace all of the older vehicles. A number of sources throughout the summer also stated that holidaymakers were more likely to book the small cars as they presumed they were cheaper, although this wasn’t always the case, which then led to the smaller cars being in very short supply.

Again the message regarding Christmas car hire availability with the shortage of cars and increasing prices being a problem, is that if you want to be sure that you will get the hire car of your choice, do not leave your rental booking until the last minute – BOOK NOW!

Christmas in New York really starts on the fourth Thursday of November when the fantastic Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade starts at 77th Street and Central Park West. On Thursday 26th November 2009 as the shops open, this enormous parade celebrating its 83rd event of impressive floats, enormous balloons, marching bands, troops of clowns and TV characters, will follow a new Thanksgiving Day Parade route through New York. This year the route starts at its usual point but then turns east onto Central Park South instead of Broadway. See the Macys website for full details.

Another symbol of Christmas in New York is the huge Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Centre, to be lit on Thursday 3rd December. The tree overlooks the outdoor ice rink (West 48th & West 51st Streets).  Must do visits include watching the festive decorative windows of Saks on Fifth Avenue, Barney’s on Madison, Macy’s on Herald Square (take the kids to Santa Land whilst there) and Lord & Taylor’s Christmas themed windows.

Big and little children will enjoy choosing or buying Christmas presents at the biggest toy shop in the world, FAO Schwartz on Fifth Avenue (near 58th Street), a (hopefully) snow covered Central Park, the Laser Light show at Grand Central Station and the spectacular Times Square. On Friday’s until mid January, listen to live music for the lighting ceremony for the UNICEF Snowflake at 6pm, and prebook tickets for the WaMu Theatre at Madison Square Garden for the Cirque du Soleil winter themed Wintuk show.

For a truly authentic Christmas in New York, A Cathedral Christmas Concert is being performed on Saturday 12 December at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine by the Cathedral’s Choir with the American Classical Orchestra. Alternatively, prebook tickets to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular at the Music Hall on Avenue of the Americas where you will watch spectacular dance performances suitable for the whole family, from mid November to the end of December.

Guaranteed there’ll be rain in the UK – but don’t let the weather get you down, there is plenty to do to escape it!

So where to go on your December holiday?   Hot or cold?

As Christmas approaches, the Caribbean is the perfect hot spot to spend the festive season. There is still last minute holiday availability in Grenada, Dominican Republic, St Lucia, Barbados and a selection of other Caribbean islands for Christmas holidays and New Year holidays; however, if you can complete your holiday before Christmas Day, you are likely to find that your total holiday package is a few hundred pounds cheaper per person than if taken during the end of December. For your December Caribbean holiday, choose to stay in a luxury all inclusive spa resort or in low cost self catering complex – there are December holidays to suit all budgets!

Alternatively, how about slightly further north of the Caribbean, off the Florida coast and north of Cuba; the Bahamas?  Over 700 islands and 2,500 cays make up The Bahamas, although most people are only familiar with New Providence Island where the city of Nassau is located, a charming and colonial setting with many exclusive beachfront hotels.

Head south to South America in December, and 400 miles off the coast east of Argentina are the Falkland Islands. An ideal winter holiday location to unwind and escape the hustle and bustle of daily life, the Falkland Islands is a natural paradise. Over 740 islands make up the Falklands, with beautiful long sandy beaches and outstanding flora and fauna.

Not so far from home, in the north of Africa is the fascinating country of Egypt, bordering the Mediterranean to the north and boasting some of the world’s most beautiful and ancient historic artefacts, as well as many world famous seaside and diving resorts along the Red Sea.  The days are pleasantly warm during the winter although the evenings may be a little chilly – take a light jumper or cardigan rather than a thick ski jacket though!  Combine a Nile Cruise with a city break in Luxor or Aswan, or spend a few weeks relaxing on the luscious pale sandy beaches or exploring the colourful sea life.

Christmas ski packages are exceedingly popular with families and groups, many staying in chalets which offer a very sociable atmosphere with everyone dining together.  Snow in Europe tends to be good around the Christmas to New Year period, especially in the French Alps, Switzerland and Austria, although of course, you could also ski in Canada or America. Ski resorts that you can almost guarantee will have snow throughout the ski season because of their high altitude or glacier location include Val d’Isere, Tignes, Les Deux Alps, La Plagne, Courchevel 1850 and Meribel in France, Courmayeur in Italy and St Anton, Austria.