Brits say bar humbug to the credit crunch

Despite the current state of the economy, it looks like the recession isn’t preventing sun seeking Brits from opting for a Christmas break abroad according to the latest survey from the world’s largest travel search engine Kayak.co.uk. Almost half (43%) of those that were surveyed are escaping the winter blues by jetting away this festive season.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the majority of respondents (63%) will be making the most out of the holiday season by setting off for their festive break on Monday 22 December. Travellers can expect the M25 to be grid-locked this year, as over half (55.6%) of those surveyed will be travelling by car. Heathrow and Gatwick will also be busy - but perhaps not as much as years past - as fewer than a quarter (20%) of respondents plan on taking to the sky. Luckily the majority (32.8%) of those surveyed will only have to travel between one and three hours to reach their destination, giving them more time to spend with loved ones.

The survey also revealed that family still remains at the heart of Christmas with over one third (41.7%) of respondents planning on visiting loved ones during the festive season. However, Christmas can still be a good excuse for a sneaky romantic rendezvous. Over a quarter (28%) of respondents will be escaping the holiday hustle and bustle for a romantic getaway with a significant other.

Preferred destinations for Christmas getaways:

New York – 37.6%
The Caribbean – 33.6%
The Alps – 20.8%
Los Angeles – 4.7%
Paris – 3.4%

We all know that Christmas holidays sometimes don’t run as smoothly as we like, so Kayak.co.uk’s pulled together the ultimate Christmas travel survival guide to help make things a bit easier this year.

Top tips for Christmas travel 2008:

Loose the last minute
Book your Christmas trip before others do in order to take advantage of availability and low fares. Now is the time to buy—don’t wait until the last minute when the booking frenzy begins because prices increase as fast as the seats fill up.

Flexibility is key
Flexible travel dates can result in major savings— as much as £100 per ticket—for travellers willing to fly on non-peak days like Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Use Kayak’s Flexible Search tool which displays prices up to three days before/after desired dates of travel.

Driving home for Christmas?
Driving home to visit family over the festive period? Kayak.co.uk’s Fuel Cost Calculator estimates the total cost of petrol for a trip and instantly adds this figure to the daily rate of each car option. The Fuel Cost Calculator takes into consideration four factors including miles per gallon for each vehicle, average price of petrol, number of estimated miles travelled during trip and the type of driving including motorway, town, and combination (town and motorway).

Get Together
We all know that organizing holidays can be stressful at the best of times, so avoid those arguments by using Kayak.co.uk’s new collaborative search engine tool which enables two or more travellers in different locations to view the same search results simultaneously, and additionally, sort and filter those results in real-time.

Avoid sleeping on the sofa
Kayak.co.uk makes it easy to find a hotel that’s as close to (or far from) the in-laws as possible by integrating search results on a Google Map. Travellers can enter a relative’s address and view up to 15 nearby hotels, and also check the satellite image to see how they close they really are. Use Kayak.co.uk’s multiple sorting and filtering tools to perform a custom search based on price, brand, amenities, property type, and other options.

Open your mind
For some this Christmas, it might be the chance to have an alternative festive experience and go on a non- traditional adventure. Kayak’s award winning Fare Buzz feature provides a crystal ball of prices for users who are date and/or destination challenged. Festive holiday seekers can search and track the best fares to the “Top 25 Cities” in a region including US, Europe, Caribbean, Mexico/Central America, Asia, Africa and Australia/Oceanic. The ultra budget conscious traveller can narrow in on the perfect destination based on price or use the Google Map to weigh options such as travel time and weather.

Location, Location, Location
Many low cost carriers fly into alternative airports (like Luton or Stanstead) and what they save in airport fees they pass onto the consumer. Kayak.co.uk automatically includes these locations when performing fare searches. Along with cheaper fares, alternate airports also have the added benefit of less traffic and cheaper rental cars.