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The latest Avis Great Drives destination guide is for Lake Balaton in Hungary.

So if you have you holiday booked to Hungary and need inspiration or you are looking for somewhere new to go on your next break then take a look at our Lake Balaton driving guide. For the Hungarians the unspoilt Lake Balaton is seen as a national park, the seaside and a happening clubland all in one place. This Hungarian place to be is also surrounded by fairytale forests, volcanic mountains and much more.

To find out more about Lake Balaton then take a look at our driving guide.

Click here to download the Avis Great Drives – Lake Balaton Hungary.

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We are pleased to announce that Avis UK have teamed up with Topguest – a new service that gives real travel rewards from hotels, airports and restaurants for virtually ‘checking in’ on your iPhone® or Android™.

To celebrate we are offering exclusive rewards to customers who ‘check in’ at an Avis UK branch using Facebook Places or Four Square.

You can get started by registering with Topguest and linking your new account to your existing Facebook, Foursquare, or other geolocation accounts, including Gowalla and Twitter. From there, you’re ready to earn 10% off your next booking whenever you check in at an Avis branch in the UK.

If you don’t already use Facebook Places or Foursquare, then Topguest will show you how at www.topguest.com.

Already a Topguest user? Check out our Avis Topguest page.

How it works
Step 1. Sign up to Topguest by downloading the application for your iPhone® or Android™ or going to www.topguest.com
Step 2. Link your Facebook, Foursquare, Gowalla, or Twitter account to Topguest.
Step 3. Check in to an Avis UK branch on your mobile device, using any of the aforementioned services.
Step 4. Automatically receive your 10% discount off your next rental in the UK. A notification with discount code will appear on the mobile application and in your Topguest account within an hour of checking in.
Step 5. To redeem your reward and save 10% on your next UK rental, simply the enter discount code when booking online or through the Reservation Centre on 0844 5818181.

So why not try it out and let us know what you think.

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On behalf of all of the teams here at Avis we would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We would also like to thank you for following and adding to the blog this year and hope that you carry on into the new year.

We also would like to let you know that there will be limited coverage of the Avis We Try Harder blog from 24th December 2010 until 4th January 2011. If you a have a query with your rental please contact our reservation team or our customer service team. The contact details and opening hours for the two teams over the Christmas period are below.

Customer Services
customer.service@avis.co.uk
0844 544 6666*

23rd Dec – 09.00 – 17.00
24th Dec – 09.00 17.00
25th- 28th Dec – CLOSED
29th Dec – 09.00 – 17.00
30th Dec – 09.00 – 17.00
31st Dec – 3rd Jan – CLOSED
4th Jan – 09.00 – 17.00

Reservation Centre
08445 818181*

23rd Dec – 07.00 – 22.00
24th Dec – 07.00 – 14.00
25th Dec – CLOSED
26th Dec – 07.00 – 22.00
27th Dec – 07.00 – 22.00
28th Dec – 07.00 – 22.00
29th Dec – 07.00 – 22.00
30th Dec – 07.00 – 22.00
31st Dec – 07.00 – 14.00
1st Jan – CLOSED
2nd Jan – 07.00 – 22.00
3rd Jan – 07.00 – 22.00
4th Jan – 07.00 – 22.00

*Please note that calls to Avis customer care cost 5p per minute from a BT landline. Costs from other networks and mobiles may be higher.

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Over the past few days the UK has experienced significant snowfall accompanied by extremely cold temperatures. This has had a major impact on transportation – most notably with some of the largest airports in the country such as London Heathrow being closed or subject to severe delays and cancellations.

Rest assured that the vast majority of our locations have managed to open and are standing by to help. Where driving conditions are particularly treacherous we may encounter delays to deliveries but we will aim to minimise these and keep customers informed of the situation.

If you already have a rental car, and are unable to return it due to the weather please contact the rental location you picked up from who will happily arrange an extension at the same rate.

If you need to amend or cancel a booking or find out our latest rates and availability please call our reservation centre on 08445 810 147 who will be happy to help.

Finally, please make sure you take care and are fully prepared when driving in the current conditions. We hope that your journey goes as smoothly as possible and you reach your destination soon, safely and without getting too cold.

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At Avis we try harder to keep your car rental costs down, which is why we offer optional extras such as additional driver cover. This is well worth having as you might face paying for an expensive trip home if something happens and your only driver is out of action.

Renting a car from Avis for a holiday in Europe makes lots of sense. Not only does it keep down the miles on your own car, but it also gives you the chance to rent something a little bigger, like a people carrier or an estate car, so you can fit everything in comfortably. You can hire from home and take the ferry or the channel tunnel, or you can fly to your destination and hire when you get there from Avis offices across Europe, including holiday favourites like Italy, France, Spain and the Balearic Islands.

Adding an extra driver is a good idea wherever you choose to travel, because your standard Avis Rent a Car contract only covers you for one named driver. That means that the same person has to do all the driving all the time, which is not much of a holiday for them. Not only that, but if that driver falls ill or gets hurt, you could find yourself in a difficult situation.

Extra driver cover can be booked in advance, when you reserve your hire car online, or can be purchased at the Avis pick up point when you collect your car. The costs vary depending on which country you are renting in, but are a small price to pay compared to the cost of getting your family and your rental car home without an insured driver.

An additional driver is just £9 a day for rentals in the UK, €30 per rental in France, €5.83 per day in Italy and €8 plus tax per day in Spain and the Balearics. (Prices correct at Nov 2010 and subject to change. See website for latest rates).

Avis Premium cover includes an additional driver free of charge, along with reduced insurance excess and enhanced personal accident cover. Premium cover with Avis starts at just £12.50 a day for small cars, rising to just £16.50 a day for larger vehicles, so it’s well worth considering as an alternative to additional driver cover.

Sharing the drive not only means you’re covered in an emergency, it also gives both drivers a break and a chance to enjoy the scenery, as well as giving them both the chance to enjoy the unique experience of driving on Europe’s great roads like the Millau Viaduct in France, or Italy’s famous Great Dolomite Road.

At Avis, we always like to find out what you think of the extras such as additional driver cover. If you have any opinions, comments or experiences you would like to share please leave a comment, or email us direct.

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On Sunday 28th November 2010, 35 of us from Avis Headquarters joined James and Oliver Phelps (a.k.a. Harry Potter’s ‘Fred and George Weasley’) to help make up the 700 runners that took part in the 2010 Thames Hospicecare Santa Dash. The 5km race was held in Swinley Forest, the location where some Harry Potter movie scenes were filmed, and although it was extremely cold that day there was an amazing turn out of runners and their supporters.

The Santa Dash is held annually to raise money for Thames Hospicecare (THc), a great charity who provide care and support to adults with life-limiting illnesses. THc helps 1000 patients and their families each year in the local Windsor and Ascot area but also services the surrounding communities of East Berkshire and South Buckinghamshire.

THc relies heavily on charitable donations and so far this year’s Santa Dash alone has raised £40,000 to help them and their staff continue the great work and care that they provide.

If you would like to find out more about Thames Hospicecare, or would like to donate money to this very worthwhile cause, then visit www.thameshospicecare.org.uk.

Click here take a look at some of the Santas in action or click on one of the links below to view the coverage that this years race has received.
itv.com/London
itv.com/meridian-west
bbc.co.uk

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Avis, like other car rental companies all over the world has no control over which new cars become available from specific car manufacturers at any given time. This is why we offer a class of car for our standard car rentals. You still get the best available car that has the range of features you want, you just can’t chose the make and model.

Whether you choose a small economy car or a large estate car, you might drive away with the example car listed – but the final choice will depend on what’s available to Avis at the time. Whatever the alternative, it will be something very similar, with exactly the same level of features.

Many people are happy with this but some of our customers have told us they want to drive away in exactly the model and make that they choose. The solution from Avis is our Select Series. We now offer the several specific, guaranteed models at eight of our car rental locations around the UK. This choice will expand over the coming months as we complete our latest round of updates to the Avis fleet.

Avis Select Series is ideal for customers who want to hire a specific model of car for a special occasion. If you are entertaining family from abroad for an important family wedding it is great to be able to book the exact model that you want so that you can fit them and their entire luggage in – and to make a bit of an impression.

Many of our customers have been in touch to let us know that they appreciate this option but we’d love more feedback on the Select Series. Please feel free to add a comment to the blog – or send us an email.

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If you’re planning to head to Northern Ireland then make sure you check out the latest Avis driving guide. There is more to this country than just a great capital city, so download your Avis driving guide, jump in an Avis hire car and discover the treasures and great views that Northern Ireland has to offer.

To download your Avis driving guide on Northern Ireland – click here.

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Here at Avis UK we are proud to announce that we have been awarded Best Business Car Hire Company and Best Holiday Car Hire Company, at this year’s British Travel Awards. The British Travel Awards, are widely referred to as the ‘Oscars’ of the travel industry and recognised as the market’s benchmark for excellence.

We received the gold awards in recognition of its combination of market leading business solutions, customer service and commitment to providing tailor-made packages answering the needs of business and leisure travellers alike. We also picked up a silver award for Car Hire Company of the Year, as voted for by consumers, highlighting Avis’s unrivalled cross-sector popularity.

We feel that The British Travel Awards are of particular importance for Avis as they are the UK’s largest independent arbiter of public opinion on travel, with the results providing an honest reflection of our leading position in the travel market.

So we would like to congratulate all the teams here at Avis UK for all the hard work that they have put in for us to achieve these awards.

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Our team at Avis Stansted are always working hard to get our cars ready and help our customers. Most people don’t get to see what goes on behind the scenes at our Avis rental locations, so the team at the Avis branch at Stansted Airport are giving us an insight.

Linda, Avis, Stansted Airport.

We hope this has given you an insight on the various things that go on in our working our here at Avis Stansted Airport.

If you have any questions for the team at the Avis Cabin at Stansted Airport please let us know.

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