Thank you Chuck Berry, Nat King Cole and everyone who have made this song part of everyone’s vocabulary but where is Route 66 and what’s so special about it?

Bobby Troup, an American songwriter had the idea to list the places the highway passes through while crossing the country. “The Mother Road” opened in 1926 and originally ran from Chicago to Los Angeles passing through eight US states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. Improvements constantly altered the route until by 1985 there had been so many changes it was removed from the United States Highway System. Even so, this doesn’t stop many road trippers driving the route to see the changing landscapes across this vast country.

Not all of the route is paved so when looking for car hire you might like to consider an off-road vehicle for comfort but all will come with air-con and you will be grateful for that if your travel during the summer months when temperatures can soar to 40C in the daytime. The best months to drive the whole route is from April to October as other times can be snowy with icy driving conditions.

You won’t find Route 66 on standard road maps anymore but there are signs with the “Historic Route 66” emblem along the route to keep you on the right path.

If you want to do the whole route you need to start at Grant Park in Chicago, also known as Chicago’s “front yard” which has three world-class museums: the Art Institute, the Field Museum of Natural History, and the Shedd Aquarium. Visit in June and you can enjoy the Chicago Blues Festival with its “Route 66 Roadhouse” stage on the actual pavement of old US 66 on Jackson Boulevard.

Although the whole journey can just about be done in four days there would be no joy in that so allow at least two weeks as there is over 2,000 miles to cover.

Head towards Springfield, IL and walk the same streets as Abraham Lincoln and then onto St Louis, MO and you will cross the Chain of Rocks Bridge over the Mississippi River on the north edge of the city where you can go inside the tallest man-made monument in the United States: the Gateway Arch. There’s a public observation area at the top of the arch and you can get excellent views.

Less than two hours drive away in Fanning, Missouri you can see the World’s Largest Rocking Chair which makes for a fun photo opportunity.

After Oklahoma City look out for Clinton, Oklahoma and stop at the Route 66 Museum, then switch your soundtrack to “Is This the Way to Amarillo?” as yes, it is. Amarillo, Texas is cowboy-land so you can see a mix of Old West and New West. Make sure you drive along Amarillo Boulevard as that’s part of the original Route 66.

Popular stops include Albuquerque, Nebraska, the Grand Canyon in Arizona and Las Vegas in Nevada. You might like to stay at the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, Arizona for a change from a classic motel before reaching Los Angeles and enjoying Santa Monica’s Californian beaches.

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Research conducted by travelsupermarket.com shows that prices can rise dramatically in the summer months, whilst it was also found that it’s worth being as flexible as possible when it comes to the category of car you book.

There are a number of ways in which you can reduce the cost of your car hire, such as:

• Book alongside flights or a hotel (or both), a package deal may include a discount for car hire – call the tour operator to negotiate a discount.

• Book it as early as possible; prices rise in the summer by 60% in popular European destinations

• Look for online vouchers/discount codes

• Don’t pay extra for a Sat Nav – most mobile phones now include Sat Nav software or an application can be downloaded which can be used for more than just a week or two’s holiday.

• Read the small print online: beware of extra costs such as mileage excess, child seats, taxes etc. Check your booking includes excess insurance; some companies may try and sell you their insurance on top; which won’t be of any use to you if you already have this cover. Also check what exactly you are covered for.

• Replace any fuel used before returning the vehicle, many rental companies hire their cars out with a full tank of fuel and charge you for refilling the tank, often this is higher than the pump price and it’s hard to prove how much fuel was in the car when you picked it up.

• Check the car for any damage BEFORE you leave the rental office, and ask for a note of it to be made (or take pictures if you can) as you may be charged for damage to the car that was already there.

• Ensure you return your car within the agreed time period, otherwise you will incur the cost of another full day’s rental.

8 day’s car hire between 7-14 August from eight different destinations were priced up, below are some examples which show that booking earlier in the year will save a serious amount on the cost of your car hire:

A people carrier in Faro on 1^st February costs £311, whereas on 28^th June the same vehicle costs £523.66 – an increase of 68%.

An economy car in Murcia in the same time period increased from £133.48 to £205.15, a 54% increase.

A large family car in Palma rose from £233.75 to £384.90, a 65% increase in price.

Travel expert Bob Atkinson from Travelsupermarket.com said: “As was witnessed during the Easter Holidays, there is strong demand for car hire this summer, naturally leading to a pressure on supply and an increase in prices. Undoubtedly, holidaymakers will see prices continue to rise as we move towards the peak summer season.

“Key destinations in Spain, Portugal and the South of France are already seeing significant increases in prices, a firm indication that holidaymakers should book as soon as they can if they plan to hire a vehicle. Also ensure you look at prices of slightly larger or smaller cars if you are flexible, and of course, use a comparison site such as travelsupermarket.com to compare many suppliers at once”.

Low cost car hire is a must for everyone on holiday, however not doing your research can lead to being hit with a rather large bill on the day you return the vehicle.

Other things you should consider:

• Ensure breakdown/emergency numbers are provided before you leave the rental office, as many rental services don’t provide you with these numbers.

• Check Eurotest to see which companies scored the highest in their annual checks (and which companies to avoid!)

Finally, remember to ask for an upgrade, sometimes the car hire companies will offer a free upgrade to the next ‘class’ of cars available.

Written by Tony Haslam, part of the Car Hire team at Travelsupermarket.com

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One of the first points to consider is renting a car (if you do not plan on driving your own car to Cornwall). There a large number of car rental companies in Cornwall, for example Europcar and Cornwall Car Hire. Cars can be hired from a range of locations. Something you may need to consider, however, is the hiring of bike racks and surf board racks. Unfortunately there doesn’t appear to be any car hire company which provides this service. Fortunately though bike racks can often be hired when hiring bikes. This is also the same with surfboard hire, from such places as NCS surfboards, whereby a roof-rack can be hired along with the board.

Cornwall is home to a number of beautiful beaches. Considered to be one of the nicest, Porthminster Beach provides a long stretch of yellow sand and rock pools to explore. Further up the coast, however is Porthtowan Beach. It’s busier and provides better waves for surfers. Most of the beaches are watched over by lifeguards during peak months. Be warned some of the beaches exercise a no dog policy during the summer months. Others exercise this policy all year round.

There are a multitude of interesting places to visit in Cornwall in addition to the beaches. One of the most famous is the Eden Project. The Eden Project will link you to the natural world via fun events, workshops, exhibits and educational programmes. This popular tourist destination has over one million visitors per year. The Project consists of two biomes (giant green houses) homing many of the world’s rarest plant species. Various events take place throughout the year, for example The Eden Project at night. The website should be checked for more details. Excellent signposting from both Exeter (A30) and Plymouth (A391/390) will lead you safely there.

The Minack Theatre or ‘Theatre under the Stars’ is another popular attraction. It’s situated roughly 90 minutes away from the Eden Project. Additionally, it has a large free carpark. As this is an outdoor theatre there is no dress code, other than to prepare for the weather. Performances are only cancelled in extreme weather conditions. It is therefore advisable to bring raincoats, hats, and suncream, and plenty of water if the weather is hot, particularly as the theatre is completely un-shaded during the day.

Cider tasting is another great activity for driving holidays. The Lizard Cider Barn, situated in the heart of Cornwall, opens daily from 10am to 5pm. It provides visitors with great opportunities for viewing the outdoor displays of cider press, along with tasting various ciders, liqueurs and elderberry wine.

Cornwall is also home to celebrity restaurant Fifteen Cornwall which provides a seasonal menu of local produce cooked by professional chefs and their apprentices. The restaurant boasts friendly and knowledgeable staff along with a relaxed atmosphere in which you can enjoy your meal.

In regards to accommodation, hotels and bed-and-breakfasts are plentiful. However, you may wish to consider camping or caravanning. Campsites are plentiful. Good ones include Newperran Holiday Park which is relatively close to major attractions such as the Eden Project, this campsite provides facilities for camping and caravanning, and there is even a beautiful outdoor swimming pool. Equally as nice is Trevornick campsite, also boasting a swimming pool and a number of other activities such as golf.

This article was kindly written and donated by car hire uk

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Sorrento is one of the most enchanting resorts in Italy as well as one of the most popular tourist destinations. Nearby are the famous and wonderful holiday areas of Positano, Ravello, Capri and the archeological sites like Pompeii, Herculaneum with the Vesuvius and the Greek city of Paestum.

If you are planning to hire a car in Sorrento to tour the Amalfi Coast, Sorrento Car Rent is the best and cheapest car company, based near Sorrento city centre.  So you could easily reach all the most beautiful places in total freedom and without stress of public transportation.

Sorrento Car Rent has a modern and wide range of vehicles (Ford Ka, Smart ForTwo, Renault Clio, Ford Fiesta Tdi, Fiat Barchetta, Peugeot 206 cc, Citroen Pluriel Hdi, Lancia Lybra SW, Renault Grand Scenic).  Working directly with customers, this car rental company can offers some of the best all inclusive prices.

It promises many services: 24 hours of customer service, unlimited mileage, theft protection, liability insurance. For those booking by june 15 2009 Sorrento car Rent offers a discount of 5% off the official rates.
Visit their webpage special offers amalfi coast car.

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Other destinations enjoying increasing popularity are Norway (+345 per cent) and Finland (+195 per cent), the Czech Republic (+129% per cent), Portugal (+196 per cent) and Israel (+418 per cent): all proving that people are stretching their imaginations as well as the pound when looking at destinations.

Apparently, Saturday night is the peak time for making travel arrangements.  With Brits forced to save cash by staying in on Saturday nights – they are also using the time to book their next break abroad. The easyCar.com survey reveals a third (33 per cent) of all its holiday bookings are being made at 10pm on Saturday nights.

The research also highlights the changing face of the British holiday in the face of the credit crunch – nearly half (45 per cent) admit they won’t let the cold economic climate freeze their plans to head to warmer shores. Instead they are adapting plans to fit in with the recession – 43 per cent are planning to opt for cheaper accommodation and travel, and a cheery 40 per cent agree that taking a less luxurious holiday than usual won’t affect their enjoyment.

We’re also putting more thought into how we source holidays – a massive 84 per cent of us check out deals on up to 10 websites before making a decision on our travel provider, and 79 per cent are using the internet more than a year ago.

Easing the credit crunch a little more, easyCar.com now offers a no cancellation fee policy within seven days of booking your car hire, as long as the cancellation is made up to 24 hours before your pick up date and time. Outside of this window we now offer you a cancellation option which allows you to cancel your booking (again up to 24 hours before pick up) for 7.50 GBP per rental.

For more information see: www.easycar.com

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Carrentals claims that sites such as Travelsupermarket are simplifying their car hire business to focus predominantly on key airport locations and fail to offer many customers the breadth of rental options they are looking for.

Gareth Robinson, managing director of Carrentals.co.uk, says: ““Travelsupermarket bills itself as the travel comparison site, but in reality it focuses on a limited number of locations and companies. In terms of its car rental offering, the majority of its locations are airports, providing no choice to customers arriving by train or ferry, or who simply want to hire a car somewhere like Chamonix.””

Based on research carried out for August 2008, Carrentals.co.uk found that in key locations such as London Travelsupermarket offered just 21* locations, including Luton, Stansted, City, Heathrow and Gatwick airports, compared to 49 locations offered by Carrentals.co.uk, including the airports, plus Vauxhall, West Hampstead, Wembley and Kensington.

In addition, in a price comparison of the two sites based on 10 of the most popular car rental locations, Carrentals.co.uk produced lower prices in over 84% of the search results sampled. The price comparison looked at both the cheapest rentals available, and the best deals on compact, intermediate and people carrier vehicles.

Robinson added: ““Sites such as Travelsupermarket use a pay-per-click approach to their comparison service, which automatically limits the number of companies that can afford to be featured on the site due to the potential for spiralling costs. Smaller companies that can offer a specialist service are priced out of the site, even though they may offer customers lower rates and broader choice. To us, this doesn’t represent a true comparison service, and fails to offer consumers the prices and choice they need in the current economic climate.””

Carrentals.co.uk works on a fairer Cost-Per-Acquisition basis, enabling companies of all sizes to be featured. It now compares up to 50 car hire providers on the site, and features over 7,000 locations worldwide.

Visit www.carrentals.co.uk, for more information.

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