Car Hire at Christmas: how to avoid the chaos

• Posted by: Editor
• On: 02/10/2007 14:49:11
• In: Travel tips

Luckily, Christmas Day this year lands in the mid week. This, at least, may mean it will not clash with the normal heavy weekend traffic, but this could also mean that people will be travelling earlier than normal to be home for Christmas Eve on Monday.

Be sure to arrive extra early at your check-in desk, so you can move on to departures and relax as the rest of the airport moves about you in a blur. It can be a good idea to be at the front of the queue for boarding as it helps keep all the family together and save you the trouble of rounding them up on the other end of your flight. Many airlines allow families to board first anyway but this isn’t always the case, so perhaps you should ask when you check-in.

When you get to your holiday destination the public transport networks will be clogged with other holiday goers and staff who themselves are eager to get home as well, so it may be a better idea to hire a car and make your own way. It may not be wise to head into the city on Christmas Eve as you'll meet all the last minute shoppers.

Of course with all the travel going on around Christmas, there is generally very little traffic on Christmas Day itself, so you could possibly choose to travel on this day should you really want to avoid the Christmas chaos. On Christmas Day many of the facilities in the airport may be unavailable including car rental facilities, so make sure you are prepared for these eventualities upon arrival. At least road traffic should be very limited on Christmas Day.

A lot of the travel chaos over the Christmas season is not solely caused by the huge numbers of travellers but by the inclement weather that is prevalent in the depths of winter in the northern hemisphere, in particular Northern Europe which can get very foggy.

This can lead to many flights being cancelled due to fog and/or stormy weather. There is not an awful lot you can do about this except to get a long term weather forecast before you book your flights. Obviously this would only work a week or two before your flights and as a consequence you'll miss out on cheap flights booked well in advance.

Assuming you get out to your destination, it’s possible that the city you're visiting could be 'locked down' during poor weather. It can happen that the airport will be more organised and they can accept and send out flights but you can’t get out of the airports as the main roads are still covered in snowdrifts or similar freak weather.

If you're driving a hired car, be sure to get the appropriate tyres for the weather. In many countries it's compulsory to have snow tyres or snow chains on during winter months. Obviously the depot should have done this for you but it's best to check.

Remember, if the roads are busy don't panic. If you let all the rushing and delays get to you, it can severely damage your holidaying experience and the experience of those travelling with you. Show empathy, be polite and you'll get to where you want to go much quicker.

It would be wise to have your phone fully charged and ready to call ahead to let your relatives/accommodation know that you may be late.

If you've any questions, comments, tips or advice you'd like to share about driving at Christmas, then drop us a line in the box below and let us know!