With wind, rain, ice and snow – winter can throw the very worst at us. So to help make sure you are prepared when travelling by car this season, here’s some helpful advice from the Highways Agency.

For a smoother journey check your vehicle is ready for winter.
Regularly servicing and checking your vehicle is in good running order before setting out, will reduce your chances of breaking down on the road. It’s worth making these checks regularly – especially before a long journey:

• Check and replace the anti-freeze in the radiator
• Make sure your lights are clean and check the bulbs
• Ensure your windscreen is clean
• Replace the battery if it’s not reliable
• Ensure your tyres are correctly inflated and replace them if the tread has reached the legal minimum. For further information please see www.tyresafe.org

For peace of mind always carry an emergency kit.
Gather a few items and keep them in your car – just in case. Below are items that should be in your Emergency Kit:

• Ice scraper and de-icer
• Torch and spare batteries
• Warm clothes and a blanket
• Boots
• First aid kit
• Jump leads
• Food and a warm drink in a thermos
• A shovel
• Reflective warning sign
• Sunglasses – the glare off snow can be dazzling

For a safer journey adapt your driving in bad weather.
Even after roads have been treated, driving conditions may remain challenging especially on stretches of road where there’s greater risk of side winds or of ice forming. These include places where: –

• There are changes in road elevation or exposure
• Where the road passes under a bridge
• Objects at the side of the road create shade
• There is infrequent traffic

It’s also advisable to slow down on corners where the risk of losing control is at its greatest.

Be a smarter driver – check traffic and weather updates.
Before you set off it’s worth taking a few minutes to make sure that there aren’t any problems on your intended route. You can check for live updates as you travel too – but remember not to use your phone while driving.

• Visit http://www.highways.gov.uk/traffic/traffic.aspx
• Check the weather at the metoffice
• Call the Highways Agency information line on 08457 50 40 30
• Tune into DAB Traffic Radio

Remember to take regular breaks from driving – tiredness and loss of concentration are major contributing factors to road accidents.

Think ahead move ahead

I’ve spent a fair bit of time in the mountains since starting to snowboard in 1995, and to be honest I’ve tried most methods of getting out into Europe. 15 hour road trips in the back of unheated windowless Sprinter vans potentially being the highlight.

I’ve found over the years, flying into Geneva or Lyon and then self driving through Avis is an excellent way of tackling the transfer and still retaining independence while in the mountains. I love to explore, and having a hire car allows me that pleasure. This road trip takes you from Lyon Airport all the way to the highest city in France, Briancon and some of the ski resorts worth stopping at in between.

From Lyon airport you should head for Grenoble into the Daulphiné Alps and the Ecrins National Park and some fantastic ski resorts that will suit everyone from total beginners to hardened pro riders and off piste specialists.

The first main resort you will come across is L’Alp D’Huez, a famous stop on the Tour de France. The summit at Pic Du Blanc is an impressive 3300m and apparently has the longest pisted run in Europe at 16km. With 240km of runs and 2 snow parks there should be plenty to keep you occupied. My tip would be to take the “Alpette Rousses” lift up to “Dome de Petite Rousses” to get away from the crowds and marvel at the top lift station and its precarious position atop a 400metre cliff.

A few kilometres further down the valley towards Briancon is a right turn to Les Deux Alps, the party town of this part of the Alps. Bars, clubs and eating a plenty. My personal favourite being the Avalanche Club, although I can’t recall much from my time inside this little gem that is open till the small hours of the morning. The resort goes up to 3600m and has 225km of pistes. Glacier riding in the summer, 2 freestyle parks and smaller parks if you like jumps, spins and rails. You can access best high alpine area in the Southern Alps, La Grave, from here. If you like alpine charm character then head down to the little hamlet of Venosc from the main resort. Traditional building set in the depths of the Venosc valley below L2A.

20 minutes further up the valley towards Briancon is La Grave, although patrolled its total un-pisted and has no formal avalanche controls. Its high, it’s dangerous and should not be considered unless you know what you are doing or have hired a guide from Bureau des Guides de La Grave – La Meije. The area has unsurpassed off piste and 2150m vertical descent as well as some of the most amazing mountain scenery in this part of the Alps. Its also worth noting that the small restaurant at 3200m does an awesome steak, chips and tea, useful when its -32C outside.

From La Grave head towards Briancon and you’ll come over the high mountain pass of the Col Du Lautaret at 2053m, this is often closed due to snow falls. From here it’s all down hill to our last stop, the highest city in France and the sprawling ski area of Serre Chevalier. The three communities of Monetier / Chantemerle and Braincon link up to create a vast ski area of 250km of piste up to 2800m. Probably the most French and family orientated of the resorts in the area, which offers a wide range facilities and riding potential. It has great off piste and tree riding, plus a couple of parks. Briancon itself has a fascinating history and fortifications dating back to the 17th century, so if you do get this far then certainly take the time to drive down into the town and explore…Oh and its has the only McDonalds for about 2 hours…I’m sure some people will be interested in that.

View Lyon to Briancon in a larger map

We know that many drivers are unsure of how to cope with conditions on the roads during the winter months. And it’s not just ice and snow which cause problems. You also need to take extra special care when there is fog, wind, rain, wet leaves and glare from the sun!

We have teamed up with Interactive Driving Systems, to help you become more aware of the risks and keep you safe when you are driving this winter.

Our top 10 tips for driving in the winter
1) Check the weather conditions before you set out.
2) Keep your distance from the car in front – it can take 10 times longer to stop in icy conditions and twice as long in wet conditions.
3) Drive carefully in a low gear .
4) Do not brake suddenly – as this can cause you to skid. If you do skid, steer in the direction of it
5) Leave plenty of time for your journey.
6) Use dipped headlights in fog and in thick fog use fog lights, but don’t forget to turn them off once conditions improve.
7) Don’t drive through flood water .
8 ) Make sure you have plenty of fuel and keep an emergency kit in the car (warm clothing, boots, flashlight, food and drink, blankets and a high-visibility jacket).
9) Tell someone about your journey and let them know when you have arrived .
10) Keep your mobile phone with you and the number of a breakdown company.

If you have any other tips to stay safe this winter let us know.

Apparently it’s all relative, time, space…and even which side of the road is right and which one is wrong.

I’ve recently passed my driving test in the UK and having originally learnt to drive in Italy, and have to admit that the first impact with driving on the left, was well, interesting. As my driving instructor eloquently put it, in the UK: “left is right and right is wrong…”, and that little mantra will probably stick with me forever.

But that got me thinking about all the British drivers who every day cross the Channel and face the slight disconcerting feeling of looking at the world suddenly flowing in the wrong direction.

Unfortunately I don’t have a catchy phrase for that, but I’ve tried to collect a short list of tips which I hope you could find useful:

1) Keep right: obvious as it sounds, that’s the golden rule when driving in Europe the USA and most other countries outside the UK. Right lane is your regular navigation lane whereas the left one is for overtaking.

Bear in mind that the side of the road is not the only thing you have to consider when driving abroad. Of course most road signs and general rules are the same but others vary by country. In Italy for example you normally give way to vehicles coming from the right, but if you are driving roundabout you have to give way to traffic coming from the left.

2) Watch your speed: when you drive the “wrong side of the road” you will have to fight rather than rely upon some of your basic instincts, and if total concentration is paramount, driving at a moderate speed will give your brain that extra time needed to assess the situation and make the right decision in an unfamiliar situation.

3) Follow the crowd: I know this could sound obvious but paying attention to what other road users are doing is usually the best way to get, and stay, on the right side of the road when pulling out off a parking space or exiting a junction.
This is especially important when coming out of a junctions or…negotiating your way across a roundabout.
Of course if you are coming out an airport car park, chances as your fellow drivers might be as clueless as you are…. so be careful!

4) Take your time: Make sure you take few moments to familiarise with your car before you set off. No matter where you drive, pedals will be in the same, but when you drive in Europe for example, the steering wheel and the stick gear will be on your right so you will have to learn to change gear with your right hand. Doesn’t take long to get use to it, but if you feel this could be an issue for you, you might want to consider going for an automatic car.

5) Mind the curb: gauging distances when you suddenly have the bulk of your car on your right instead of your left might be tricky especially when you are trying to find your way around those picturesque, narrow passages that are so popular in Italy, Spain and France. So once again be careful and allow plenty of space when overtaking.

I hope these tips help, but if you have any others of your own please let us know.

After seeing Christmas decorations in the shops this weekend it hit me that there are only 10 weeks left until Christmas. If you need to hire a car over the Christmas period then I would highly recommend booking one as soon as possible. It is one of the busiest times of year and the cars generally sell out very quickly. Also, not only does it help make sure you get a car, but it also helps to ensure you get the best price!

You may have read recently in a number of newspaper and internet articles about an increase in the cost of renting a car over the summer period, so I thought I would take this chance to explain some of the reasons behind this and provide some tips to find the best rate in the future.

Many of you will have read about why the price of car rental has increased over summer – the recession, lack of finance to buy new fleet, unexpected demand meant a reduction in fleet sizes.

A change in the UK weather and a reduction in prices for overseas holidays added to a surge in last minute bookings in some popular destinations, largely Spain, that had not been forecast by a number of business. This resulted in excess demand and disappointment for a number of customers who had waited till they arrive at there destination to hire a car.

Even though the summer peak period may be over, we will still have a number of peak periods coming up till the end of the year including October half term for schools and the Christmas season. So how can you avoid disappointment in over paying or not being able to find a car? I have listed below my three tips that I hope will help you get the best value car rental:

1) Reserve the car in advance. Cars generally go up in price the closer to the date of pickup so you may find yourself paying a higher price or, worst still, unable to book a car at all.
2) Take advantage of special offers and promotions. We often have a number of promotions available where you could save money. For example we are currently offering 15% off rentals in Ireland, car hire in Spain from £22 per day and UK weekend rates from £14 per day based on a 3 day rental. You can sign up to the Avis newsletter to receive updates on offers to your inbox.
3) When booking your car at Avis.co.uk or by our call centre, choose the Pay Now option for the best price. Pre Pay rentals receive a discount versus Pay later ones. Some times they are as high as 50% on certain locations depending on when you are picking up the car.

I hope you found this post interesting and helpful.

Darren

If you are tightening your budget, it doesn’t have to mean squeezing your holiday right out of the picture. With a little planning and some hints from the experts, I have found that you can still enjoy some holiday time this year. Avis have partnered with Lonely Planet guidebooks to give you some ideas on where to go, when and how to save money along the way.

Here are a few of the money saving tips I have picked out to help you get more planet for your pocket:

Save before you go…

• Planning your itinerary and booking transport and hotels ahead of time ensures you get the best prices, saving you both time and money.
• Booking online can fetch amazing deals.
• Also try flying with a low-cost airline to a nearby city (like Girona instead of Barcelona). You’ll save a bundle and see somewhere new.
• Travelling midweek will also set you apart from the big spenders.

Save while you’re there…

• Travelling with kids? Family and student discounts are often available for transport and sights and many destinations have parks, beaches and museums that are absolutely free.
• Family-friendly accommodation doesn’t have to cost big bucks – look for child-friendly guesthouse and family-run hotels instead of the big chains. Better yet, consider camping.

If you are looking to rent a car when you travel abroad, take a look at Rob’s post “Our tips for renting a car this summer” for lots of useful information.

If you have found the above information useful and would like to learn more from Lonely Planet, why not visit the Lonely Planet partner page on the Avis website, where you can save 10% on all Lonely Planet guides.

Avis, along with the other car hire companies, get extremely busy over Christmas. In fact, it’s one of our busiest periods of the year. With our busy periods, the demand for our cars can easily outstrip supply. So, we recommend that if you need a car for the Christmas period, book as early as possible.

Firstly, this will help you guarantee getting a car (because if the past few years are to go by we will sell out). Secondly, the earlier in advance you book, the better the price you are likely to get. As described in the blog post “Tips for getting the best price”, our pricing works similar to airlines with prices getting more expensive as the plane fills up (except of course we fill up cars not planes!)

Another tip is that if you need rent a car one way, look out for some bargains. To help us get our cars into the right locations, we are currently putting in place some good prices on one way rentals into Heathrow and Gatwick airports and into our busiest locations in Central London. These prices will be available soon from many of our locations in and around the Midlands, South and South East regions.

With continental Europe just on our doorstep we are in a privileged position to have such easy access to the mainland, providing a variety of diverse and exciting cultures and beautiful landscapes within a relatively short distance. A while ago Xavier wrote a post about some of the rules for taking a car outside of it’s country of origin. Well today I thought I’d write some tips and information for those people specifically looking to access mainland Europe by car, starting from their home in the UK.

For drivers, the ferry provides a great way into mainland Europe and there are a number of UK ports with routes into Europe including Portsmouth and Hull. But the cheapest way to access Europe (and which I think is the best starting point) is Dover to Calais, a route that both Sea France and P&O Ferries serve.

For those drivers who plan to make their way into Europe by car via the ferry there are two options, both with varying costs and levels of convenience involved:

1. Transport your car in to mainland Europe by ferry – The cost of going on a ferry by car starts at £35 each way. It is worth bearing in mind that, if you are in a rental car that you collected from an Avis UK office, then you will need to take Continental Cover. This cover costs from £88.13 for 1-7 days driving on the continent and goes up to £158.62 for 22+ days driving. With this you are covered to drive in Belguim, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Republic of Ireland, Andorra, Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Italy (including Sardinia and Sicily), Liechenstein, Malta, Monaco, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain (including Baleriacs and the Canary Islands), Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey. A condition of this is that car is returned to the UK on completion of the rental but the package does cover a good breadth of Europe and of course Avis Roadside Assistance is available across Europe. If you require Continental Cover then please advise the Avis rental office at least 2 days in advance.

2. Cross the channel by ferry as a foot passenger – And then rent a car from Calais. A foot passenger costs from just £10 each way and, in addition to this saving, you will not need Continental Cover on your car hire. However, there are more restrictions on where an Avis hire car collected in France can be taken and these include Andorra, Luxembourg, Austria, Norway, Belgium, Portugal, Denmark, Spain (Mainland), Finland, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Italy (again the vehicle needs to be returned to it’s country of origin). Also, there is the question of getting to Dover. You could leave your car at the Port of Dover where parking costs £12 for the first 24 hours and £6 per day for each subsequent day. Alternatively, you can get the train to Dover Priory where a cheap day single costs from just over £24 from London Charing Cross. Clearly, there are cost savings to be made with this option but it is not necessarily the most convenient.

Avis has offices at both the Dover and Calais ports. Of course if speed and convenience is the way you want to go then there is always the Euro Tunnel from Folkestone to Calais where prices start from £49 to £149 depending on your length of stay.

Well there are some ideas about how to start your European tour. Now I would love any suggestions on recommended routes! Last year my American cousin started his European road tour from Calais, drove north through The Netherlands (Amsterdam of course!), went east across Germany, then looped round through the Czech Republic and came back through Austria, Switzerland and Italy before heading back up towards Calais (to make his way back to Heathrow for his flight home). All of this in just 4 weeks!

I read on the BBC website on Wednesday that the Bank of England has delivered its gloomiest assessment of the UK economy yet with Governor Mervyn King expecting growth to be flat and he could not rule out a recession.

In these testing times, we’ve been writing posts on this blog for a while now about saving money whilst driving and hiring cars. Over a year ago, we wrote a blog post suggesting tips for driving economically. Given the high fuel prices at the moment, I thought it might be worth reminding everybody of this information.

I thought it also might be worth reminding you about our blog post “Are you thinking about downsizing?” which could save you over £6,500 per year.

Have you got any money saving tips associated with driving? Why not let us know and we’ll share them with everyone.