Dad driving
Cyprus is the best place to be this summer if you are wanting to save money on car hire.
‘The Car Hire Price Index', commissioned by car hire broker Holiday Autos found that Cyprus came top in affordability when compared with 20 other popular UK destinations for holidays this year.
The report investigated the charge of renting a four door family car based on one week’s stay, combined with the price of petrol, road tolls, parking and the unfortunate event of a speeding fine as well as the add ons such as sat naves and child seats
France and Italy reached as much as £788 which was a huge £582 more than Cyprus and outside of Europe, South Africa and UAE were some of the best prices on hiring cars on holiday.
As with the bugbear of every motorist, on holiday or not, the most influential factor was the cost of petrol. This ranged from 16.43 in the UAE and rocketed to £86.92 in Turkey for a tank of petrol.
Speeding fines, although not something we would normally consider in the equation, were £320 in France, however just £10 in Cyprus, so not such a strain on the pocket if the worst were to happen. Cyprus was also toll free driving as was Malta; however the likes of France, Switzerland and Denmark were between £10 and £31.
Holiday Autos released the report at the start of the summer to allow motorists to budget for their holiday transportation and how they can do it a cheaply as possible.
Kevin Currie, Managing Director of Holiday Autos comments:
“It’s been a decidedly wet and miserable start to 2013, so many Brits are already in the process of putting their hard earned cash towards seeking out some sunshine – booking flights, hotels and thinking about hiring a car.
As budgets get tighter, the cost of car hire is one thing but the true cost of getting behind the wheel is another entirely, which is why we hope our ‘Car Hire Price Index’ will help consumers get the most out of their holiday.”
Using customer booking trends and a typical compact four-door family car as a base, the findings showed that outside of the actual business of booking a hire car, many of the most popular holiday destinations were in reality a financial drain - with the rising fuel prices and the weak UK pound major contributing factors.
Interestingly the enduring allure of mainland Spain to British holidaymakers was almost entirely unaffected in the wake of one of the most dramatic fuel price increases in recent years - remaining the number one most booked destination for Holiday Autos customers.
Kevin Currie continued:
“Although unsurprising that the more traditional European Holiday destinations continue to receive the most bookings overall, many consumers have not quite cottoned on to the fact that they are paying over the odds for petrol and the privilege of driving on many of the major toll roads.”
“The solution in making your money go further seems to be as simple as looking somewhere outside traditional European holiday hot-spots, taking advantage of offers available on the market – like our all-inclusive packages in the USA which actually includes additional extras.”
“Although the actual business of hiring a car may be comparable, by looking further afield at places like Cyprus, Malta, South Africa and the UAE – the reality of driving there is a far cheaper affair overall.”
www.holidayautos.co.uk