This is the time of year when most people are beginning to think about their holidays and the travel business is booming. The winter is dragging on, Christmas is well and truly over and forgotten and summer is a long way off. Desperate for something to look forward to, Brits head off in droves on a Saturday morning to trawl the travel agents for their next big credit card binge.
Glossy brochures abound with pictures of enticing white sandy beaches, seas of the deepest azure and smiley children splashing in pools. Quickly summing you up as you walk through the door, the travel agent will already have a good idea about whether to direct you toward a family holiday package with on-site babysitters and family clubs or a holiday aimed at the young, free and single.
They are trained with an eye that will suss out whether you have the kind of disposable income that will afford a round the world cruise or three weeks in Egypt, visiting mysterious pyramids, diving WW2 wrecks surrounded by fish of the brightest colours or whether you are the hippie type that would appreciate tree hugging holidays in the jungle where you can do good while you're there.
At the end of the day, travel agency is a huge business designed to extract money from you without you even noticing, promising you hotel views and holidays that will have you so relaxed you'll be virtually horizontal. In reality, you'll probably get rained in your hotel room where there is no running hot water, eaten alive by mozzies and with a view of a building site.
Why people spend vast amounts of money to go to another country just to play sardines on coaches and in bars with other English people, getting drunk and eating fish and chips is way beyond me. Far better to use car hire and make the most of the beautiful country we live in on a much reduced budget and be just as relaxed at the end of it.
At least if you stay in the UK, you will have no problem asking for directions, the weather is fairly predictable and you will see sights that will take your breath away. If you use car hire, you can also travel around roads that you can predict will either be gridlocked, or use a map you know will be accurate and take advantage of the summer breeze with open topped car hire around the country lanes at your own pace.
It seems amazing that we live on such a small island yet we just don't know what half of it looks like. Take car hire to Yorkshire and visit places of natural beauty that will leave you in awe. You can stay for a week in one place and, without the worry of maintenance or expensive breakdowns, use your car hire to move on again to the next breathtaking wonder.
For those golden sands and cobalt seas, try Devon and Cornwall. From any point in the country, you can obtain car hire, drive down to the area and surf to your heart's content. Soak up the rays if you want a tan to look like you've been abroad and smile inside at the amount of money you have saved.
Car hire will take you to Scotland where you can enjoy fresh mountain air and invigorating walks but if you want that family package holiday, look no further than the UK. It's all here, resident babysitters as standard.
