Airline and hotel supply cannot be turned on and off, planes are chartered months and sometimes years in advance. That means planes that were empty on the departures of 1, 8 and 15 December and on sale at less than €300 will be full and cost €800 on 22 December.
Most of the schedule airlines will turn up full on outgoing flights to sun destinations, interestingly enough you can get home cheaply enough between Christmas and New Year. If you depart early, on Tuesday 15 December, there are lots of €40 fares still available on the Aer Lingus website.
There are ways around the problem, and it doesn’t mean the Ibis in Frankfurt for Christmas. Go to the quieter Canaries for instance.
Even departing on the pre Christmas flash flood flights, there are cheap fares for those who think laterally. Opt for Gran Canaria instead of Lanzarote, travel form Cork and Shannon instead of 
Dublin (planes have been slower to fill than from the capital), Washington and Philadelphia will be cheaper than New York, London is one of the cheapest places of all to fly to at Christmas and Paris is surprisingly inexpensive.
Steer clear of the big name holiday companies that fill first. And stay away from Expedia and www.hotels.com and go direct to hotel websites where unsold rooms are likely to appear first. Your travel agent comes in to his own in these situations, so make sure to drop in.
SKIING: The story of Christmas has been the bargain Christmas week breaks available in France, Austria and Andorra, from under €300 in some case when booked online but expect to pay €800. Late snow last year has hit the market badly, despite a good dump of snow on the Alps last week. That means the resorts which were untouchable at Christmas a few years ago are now offering specials. Air fares drag the price up considerably, but have a peep in to the six main charter operators: www.topflight.ie www.panoramaholidays.ie www.directski.com www.sunway.ie www.inghams.ie and www.crystalholidays.ie For a high end chalet experience try www.slopeside.ie and www.highlife.ie
SCANDINAVIA: Forget those overpriced Lapland specials, a Christmas in any of the northern countries will change your life, with snow, lights and a real sense that hits is a long standing folk tradition and not something invented by Coca Cola. The fares cost 
half the price of flying to Malaga and smaller, boutique hotels are still available in the Scandinavian cities. Prices are high by southern European standards, but hey, we come from Dublin! See www.aerlingsu.com www.ryanair.com , www.flysas.com and look to an Irish site such as www.1800hotels.com for hotel only deals.
LONDON: Get yourself a nice hotel in the outskirts and London, and enjoy a bright lights big city Christmas. At the time of writing the last available €1 fares on Christmas Eve were from Dublin to Heathrow, from www.aerlingus.com
PARIS: Not as cheap as London for flights but again lots of options because of the sheer scale of the bed bank – only London and Berlin can compare. www.cityjet.ie, www.ryanair.com and www.aerlingus.com
GRAN CANARIA: The second most popular Canary still has availability for around €700. Large and hospitable, with African style sand dunes and the lively resorts of Playa del Inglés and Maspalomas. See your agent for the best bargains, but first have a look at prices and availability online at www.budgettravel.ie www.falconholidays.ie www.panoramaholidays.ie www.slatterysun.com www.steintravel.ie www.sunway.ie www.sunworld.ie www.topflight.ie
FUERTEVENTURA: Quietest and second-largest of the Canaries is 
also the slowest to fill at Christmas, it has excellent beaches, particularly around Jandía in the south. You can get there fro Christmas for around €875.
TENERIFE: Largest of the Canaries, and original winter sun destination, has been going out of fashion. It is a wonderful island with probably the best terrain, dominated by Pico del Teide, the central mountain range and several spectacular valleys.
LANZAROTE: Hard to get to from Ireland because the charters tend to fill but hotels are more easily available than you might expect here thanks to the collapse of the German market. The smallest, most easterly and most popular of the Canary Islands is dry and relatively flat. It owes its eerie landscape to the activity of more than 300 volcanoes long since dormant. Camel rides to the volcanoes are a popular tourist attraction.
MADEIRA: Spectacular hilly destination riding itself of its 'newly wed or nearly dead' reputation with family attractions and a theme park. Panorama are the tour operator which specialises here, see www.panoramaholidays.ie and www.visitportugal.com Keep an eye on the new Aer Lingus service, though try to clear some days before Christmas for this one, a flight that costs €40 on Tuesday 15 December becomes €320 one way on Saturday 22 December.
EGYPT: Cheapest ground prices you can find with activity based holidays on the Red Sea and culture-laden cruises along the Nile. 
Most of the action doesn’t start here until January. For further information visit www.budgettravel.ie www.falconholidays.ie www.panoramaholidays.ie
MOROCCO: Developed by Sunway many years ago with desert safaris, historic Berber towns and fly’n’flop facilities at the Spanish style sun resort of Agadir, now served by Aer Lingus with a year round service. For further information visit www.sunway.ie
TUNISIA: Recently up-scaled with desert safaris, Carthageland theme park and several high end spa hotels and gated resorts around Hammamet. For further information visit www.sunway.ie and www.panoramaholidays.ie
CYPRUS: The Med’s sunniest island has grown as a wintersun choice thanks to vastly increased air lift.
TURKEY: Another place we couldn’t go in Christmases past without having to transfer, direct flights to Istanbul make this an option. It is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and while the weather can turn surprisingly wintry, it is a good place to shake off the over exposure to Christmas.
ORLANDO: Most Irish people chose to visit Florida when it is most uncomfortable. A year round service from Aer Lingus was launched at the beginning of November.
NEW YEAR’S EVER: A well kept secret is that the cheapest time to fly long haul in the season is by flying overnight on New Year’s Eve. People don’t like to miss the Auld Lang Syne, when the Auld Lang Haul might be a better option because it costs half the price.
GO NORTH: Northern Ireland’s hotels have great euro rates if you book through the Baggot Street office of the Northern Ireland tourist board. Groups such as Hastings do special offers. For further information Tel. 1850-230230 or visit www.whereni.com
HOTEL PACKAGES IN IRELAND: Increasing numbers of hotels are doing this; it usually involves a visit by the robust red man from Finland on Christmas Eve, log fires, mulled wine and a Christmas dinner. Prices vary, watch out for hotels which are new to this market. For further information call Fáilte Ireland 1850-230330 or visit www.discoverireland.ie (Discover Ireland brochure available in all tourist offices). Call 1800-66866866 for bookings.
Finally, a good generic website is www.myholiday.ie
Eoghan Corry
