Holiday Autos Partnership

Zintech are pleased to announce that they have teamed up with Holiday Autos,  the world’s largest and leading leisure car hire broker, to provide a sat nav hire solution for its customers travelling to and from the UK.

Holiday Autos customers can now pre-book a sat nav for effortless navigation throughout all seven continents in over forty countries. The hire process involves the customer being able to take delivery of the unit in the UK then posting it back in the provided packaging to Zintech when finished. Additionally, hiring a sat nav with Zintech demonstrates savings of up to 60% compared to car hire suppliers rates with a bonus 5% discount provided through the Holiday Autos website.

Satellite Navigation has become an essential piece of equipment for holiday makers and business travellers hiring a car abroad. Zintech started their sat nav (known as GPS in other countries) hire business in 2005 having identified that the car rental suppliers could only allocate a unit upon arrival at the car rental desk. For the first time these customers wishing to drive in foreign countries could pre-book a sat nav for their car and even now most car hire suppliers still do not provide a way to guarantee a pre-booked a sat nav.

Zintech’s sat nav products will feature on the Holiday Autos UK website through their recently launched holiday extras page found at www.holidayautos.co.uk/travel-extras/

There are some great places to see and drive around in Spain such as Granada and Sierra Nevada mountains, Malaga to Granada (with plenty of great stops on the way) or all the way to Seville! In the Summer months if you’re lucky enough to be in a convertible with the sun beating down on your backs driving doesn’t get much better but for those who have normal cars then make sure the air conditioning is working!

First and foremost don’t forget that the Spanish drive on the right hand side of the road. As you leave the airport you will see plenty of signs reminding you to drive on the right. If you have a sat nav then most of them these days will also remind you of this.

There recently has been a crackdown on indicating when driving on motorways and the Police are strictly enforcing fines. Please ensure you indicate when overtaking and again when pulling back into the same lane.

Like most countries Spain also has toll roads, if you are using a sat nav and planning your route it will ask you whether you wish to avoid toll roads. A sat nav comes highly recommended, especially as the roads in Spain are forever changing as the country continuously being developed. If you don’t have one then you can hire a sat nav for Spain and many other countries from Zintech. If you prefer to use a conventional map then make sure it is a recent edition and you take some time to plan your route in advance.

Accidents unfortunately do happen and if you’re involved in one then you must do the following. Exchange your details with the other party and call the police so you can obtain a police report. If you are driving your own car then inform your insurers immediately (don’t forget to take a contact number away with you) and the same goes for the car hire company if you are renting.

Further Information

All passengers are required to wear seatbelts at all times.

All spectacled drivers are required to carry a spare pair of glasses in the vehicle at all times otherwise they could be fined.

Headlight converters are required if you are driving a car to Spain from the UK. For more information please look here.

A Bulb Kit is required in your car at all times.

2 Warning Triangles are neccessary for breakdown or accidents. Place one in front of the car and one at the back.

A high-vis vest must be kept in the car and used appropriately if exiting your vehicle (motorways).

Children under the age of 12 must use an approved booster seat or harness if sitting in the front of the car.

If you are in a hire car and some of the above safety equipment is missing then you might be fined if stopped by the police. Don’t worry, the car rental compnay with reimburse you.

The blood alcohol limit in Spain is stricter than in the UK – 50mg per 100ml of blood. If in doubt don’t drink and drive.

Mobile phones are not permitted while driving, even if hands free.

Parking is not permitted if the pavement is painted yellow and any illeagally parked cars will be towed away.

Residential area speed limit – 20 kph or 12 mph

Built up area speed limit 50 kph or 31 mph

Open road speed limit 90 kph or 56 mph

Major road speed limit 100 kph or 62 mph

Motorway speed limit 120 kph or 74 mph

Useful Phrases

Abierto – Road open

Carretera de peaje – Toll road

Ceda el paso – Give way

Cerrado – Road closed

Despacio – Slow

Desviacion – Diversion

Estacion de peaje – Toll booth

Gravilla – Loose chippings

Obras – Roadworks

Peligro – Danger

Priordad – Right of way

Prohibicion – Prohibited

Salida – Exit

Unleaded fuel – Gasolina sin plomo

Diesel – Gasoleo

I was looking at the TomTom site today and found that they put their maps on sale by up to 30%. This doesn’t apply to all maps, such as Australia or New Zealand but if you were thinking of updating your map now might be a good time.

Despite this limited time reduction, our TomTom hire service is still very competitive compared to buying a map for a country that you might only ever visit once.  Take a look here.