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!

There is a huge selection of New Year breaks and New Year holidays in the UK to choose from.

Hire a car with easyCar and drive to a comfy country bed and breakfast for a quiet New Year break, or stay in one of the Warner Leisure Hotels for 3 or 4 nights including New Year’s Eve, and enjoy the party, evening meal, live entertainment, a piper and fireworks.

If you want to simply relax, or celebrate the festive season in full party style, there are plenty of hotels offering New Year Breaks in the UK to suit every requirement. Choose a secluded country house or a city centre hotel, a quaint rural Inn or a hotel spa resort which offers activities all through the year.

Celebrate the arrival of 2010 on a New Year Break in the Cotswold countryside, amongst the Welsh hills, on the edge of Lake Windermere in the Lake District or overlooking the south coast from Brighton.

Enjoy a two night New Year Break arriving on 28 December at Centre Parcs in Longleat Forest or five nights arriving on 30 December at Whinefell Forest where you should wrap up warm and experience a whole assortment of indoor and outdoor activities over the New Year period.

Greet the New Year with traditional Hogmanay celebrations in one of Scotland’s Hotels of Distinction such as at the Four Seasons Hotel in St Fillans, Perthshire or Ruttlets Country House Hotel in St. Andrews, Fife. 

The New Year celebrations in Edinburgh are renowned worldwide. Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Street Party is a programme of music, lights, dancing and midnight fireworks to see in the new decade. Stage events start at 9pm on Princes Street and it is worth pre booking tickets to the various events to avoid disappointment!

As Big Ben in London tolls midnight on December 31st 2009, hold hands with the person next to you and sing…

“Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot and auld lang syne
For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne,
We’ll take a cup o kindness yet, for auld lang syne.”

Happy New Year!

There are lots of cheap winter deals available online.  Choose winter package holidays or make your own dynamic packages, putting together flights, transfers, car hire, accommodation and insurance.

Today (5th November), I found the following cheap and reduced deals online.

The Thomas Cook brand Airtours, is offering self catering holidays to Gran Canaria in the Spanish Canary Islands from £217 per person. For seven nights departing on Monday 23rd November, stay in the busy and popular seaside resort of Maspalomas in a studio with bath, shower, WC and balcony or terrace.

Airtours are also currently offering the four star Benalmadena Palace in the Costa del Sol for £123 per person for seven nights with flights from Manchester on Sunday 6th December staying in a self catering studio.

Thomson Holidays are also offering holidays to Gran Canaria from £125 per person flying either from Gatwick or Luton on 14 December, staying in a 3T self catering apartment for 7 nights. Depart Gatwick on 1st or 8th December and for just £132 per person based on four people sharing an apartment, you can travel to Malta for 7 or 14 nights.

Cosmos have last minute holidays to Kenya. Leave Gatwick on 23 November and for just £285.50 per person you could stay at the three star Reef Hotel in Nyali Beach for 7 nights on bed and breakfast basis.  Meals are included on the flight, but don’t forget you need a visa either purchased from the Kenyan High Commission or on arrival at Mombassa.

Travelling further afield, Virgin Holidays are also selling holidays at low cost prices.  Stock up on your winter wardrobe in New York with 3 nights staying at four star W New York costing just £649 per person for 3 nights departing on 14 December, a saving of £370 per person.  Ten nights in Thailand are going for £882 per person staying at the five star Sheraton Hua Hin Resort and Spa in Pattaya, departing between 7 November and 4 December, a saving of £497 per person.

There are many excellent low cost and reduced priced hotel offers in the UK too.  Premier Inn are offering deals at over 500 hotels in the UK from just £29 per night as long as you book 21 days in advance, on selected days for two or more nights before end of January (check premierinn.com for full terms and conditions).  Best Western are offering saving of up to 50%, free nights and free wine, in separate offers around Christmas time, as well as last minute offers for the coming weekend.

Visiting family?  Visiting friends? Hosting a quiet dinner for two?  However you plan on spending Christmas Day and Boxing Day, you’ll find that most people will spend at least some time travelling up and down the UK highways and motorways.

Why not consider hiring a car with easyCar for the festive season? 

Not only would booking car rental in the UK give you the flexibility to be where you want to be, when you want to be there if you don’t already have a car, but it would mean that you would save the mileage of your own car, therefore helping to retain its value.

Have you bought so many presents that on your Christmas trip there won’t be room in your own car?  Then hire a car larger than your own.  Does mum and dad live in the country and you want to make sure you also see all your friends, but can’t because you don’t have a car?

With easyCar the low cost car hire specialists, rental prices start for 3 full days, from just £80.01 (2 days, £76, 6 days, £133.76) hiring a super mini 5 door air conditioned car such as a Chevrolet Matiz, from £232.27 for a full size automatic air conditioned estate such as a Volvo V70 – and many other styles and prices of cars in between.  How about requesting a Landrover Discovery 2.7 or similar from £604.08 or a luxury Mercedes CLS for another £53? All prices based on pick up/drop off from Gatwick airport on 24th December for 3 x 24 hours, as quoted 5th November (except where stated otherwise).

So Merry Christmas and have a very happy and healthy New Year!  Watch the roads, leave plenty of time for your Christmas journeys and drive carefully.

Enjoy holidays in Cheshire; an ancient county in the north west of England, home to many quaint villages, winding waterways, miles of stunning countryside and bustling market towns.

Cheshire’s county town is the medieval walled city of Chester close to the Welsh border.  Founded by the Romans, Chester is full of unusual landmarks set within the city walls including the Victorian black and white architecture on Northgate, and unique Rows. Chester is the ideal base to commence a Cheshire holiday, with its characteristic streets, river strolls and boat rides, choice of accommodation, extensive facilities and excellent road links.

Other key towns in Cheshire include Crewe, Widnes, Runcorn, Nantwich and Northwich, with Warrington the largest town.

There are so many opportunities in Cheshire for either an active or relaxing holiday, with riding either by horse or cycle particularly popular as there are over 200 miles of bridleways and byways to explore.  There are also the disused railways lines along the Wirral Way and Biddulph Valley Way, ideal for motor free riding.

Walkers have an extensive choice of routes through Cheshire, either taking short round walks through country villages or longer distances through the Gritstone uplands, winding river valleys or trails of Sandstone Ridge. Head to Nantwich Town Square and park your hire car in the Town Centre, then follow an easy five-mile round route of footpaths and towpaths to explore Elizabethan buildings, a water mill, a lake and Dorfold Hall Park.

There are two challenging walks from Tegg’s Nose Country Park near Macclesfield, with a pleasant moderate walk around Dane Valley near Holmes Chapel.

If the indoors is more to your liking whilst on holiday in Cheshire then there are plenty of museums, castles and stately homes to explore, with beautiful gardens and market towns for interesting walks.

Tatton Park is a fantastic historic estate near Knutsford with a beautiful landscaped deer park and gardens; the Georgian Dunham Massey house is a short drive away. 

Constructed in 1225 is the Beeston Castle standing high above the Cheshire Plain overlooking the Welsh mountains, now maintained by English Heritage. Cholmondeley Castle is only just over two hundred years old and whilst the house is a private home, the gardens are magnificent.