Christmas time as a planning time for the next vacation: Many people were already using December 2023 to plan their 2024 vacation. And instead of booking the rental car at the last minute, those who were hungry for travel reserved it right away.

The number of bookings is a full 60 percent higher than in the previous year. This emerges from the current monthly evaluation by the quality rental car operator Sunny Cars. The early birds are happy about significantly lower prices. Booking in December 80 was almost 2023 euros cheaper compared to the same month last year.

“The past month represents a turning point in the last-minute trend that had previously lasted for months,” explains Thorsten Lehmann, Managing Director of Sunny Cars. “The bookings from the Christmas season are spread across all months of the new year. Over half of all reservations are for travel periods from March to the end of 2024.” Just as unusual as the long advance booking time: the number of bookings. With almost 60.000 rental car bookings, December 2023 is also a record for Sunny Cars after November 2023.

Rental car prices continue to rise. Since October 2023, they have been continuously increasing in small steps every month, so that the average price in December 2023 was 483 euros. The good news for rental car fans: Compared to December 2022, it can be seen that prices fell significantly overall. Back then, travelers paid almost 80 euros more for their rental car.

Consistent leaders: The Mediterranean destinations Spain, Portugal, Greece and Italy remain consistently among the most popular rental car countries. The USA continues to be ahead among long-distance travel destinations. Altogether, over 65 percent of all bookings from the last month of 2023 fall on these five destinations.

The following destinations recorded the highest number of rentals in December 2023:

1. Spain
2. Portugal
3. USA
4. Greece
5. Italy