Unless you live in Europe and visit Spain with your own vehicle, you will have to rent a car for your road trip in Spain. Welcome to our tips and information on the issue of car rental in Spain.
We live in Spain and use our own car for most of our trips, but on a number of occasions we have used a rented car. On the Balearic and the Canary Islands, for example, and on a few destinations far from home.
Keep reading to discover our collection of tips on how to make the most of car rental in Spain.
TIP 1 | Book your car before you arrive in Spain
Tip number one is probably the most important one: make sure you book your car before you arrive in Spain.
There are two important reasons behind our recommendation:
- you will get a better price if you book in advance. If you book when you arrive in Spain, you won’t have access to discounted rates and, on top of that, you will have to accept whatever car model is left.
- during the high season, in places like the Balearic Islands, the demand for car rental is bigger than the car fleet. So that means you risk not finding a car for your trip.
TIP 2 | Get your International Driving Permit
Unless you are a citizen of the European Union (and a few other countries, we discussed the issue at length at Driving licence for Spain), the rental company might want to see your International Driving Permit along with your national licence.
There is one organization responsible for issuing International Driving Permits in each country, so you will have to find out how to go about getting yours. It tends to be quite straightforward.
Do not forget to bring your actual driving licence along with your IDP! To be valid, the IDP must be accompanied by your driving licence.
TIP 3 | Beware of surprisingly low rates from unknown companies
If you use Rentalcars.com (our recommended car hire search engine), or any other similar platform, you will come across lots of names of different car hire companies. Along with the international household names (Avis, Enterprise, Europcar, Hertz, Sixt) you will also find unknown names. They are local companies. Most of them do a great job. Cabrera Medina, for instance, is the name to go on the Canary Islands.
But there are a handful of local companies with a troubled history. Before you go for a surprisingly low rate from an unknown company, do some checks. User reviews are a good starting point.
TIP 4 | Read the terms and conditions
Yes, in this time and age reading the full terms and conditions is not something we tend to do.
But when you rent a car, you need to understand what you are purchasing, how much you will pay for it and what it is covered by the travel insurance package (if there is any).
TIP 5 | Check your credit card limit
Most car rental companies will request a deposit at the time of pick-up. The deposit is usually paid using your credit card (very few rental car companies accept debit cards).
So, first of all, make sure you have a credit card. Second, the deposit tends to be a substantial amount of money. When the car hire company processes the deposit, the sum of money will be temporarily blocked and your card limit greatly reduced as a result.
It could take a few days to get your deposit back once you return the car. You don’t have to do anything for the deposit to be released, but it might take a few days. Check that out with the company.
In the meantime, your credit balance will be greatly diminished due to the temporary blocking of the deposit.
TIP 6 | Fuel policy
A Full to Full policy means that you’ll need to drop the car off with the same amount of fuel it had when you picked it up. You usually pick the car with the tank full and return it with the tank full. It’s easy for the customer, and for the company too. Full to full is the standard among car rental companies in Spain, and it’s our prefered choice. Pre-paid gas tends to be a bad business for you. But make sure you understand your policy before you leave the pick-up location.
Another vital piece of information you should check before you leave the car rental premises is the type of fuel your vehicle uses. It is common practice to have a sticker on the inside of the tank lid showing the type of gas you should use. But, just in case, do ask!
On service stations in Spain (called gasolineras or estaciones de servicio) you will find three types of gas:
- Sin Plomo 95, equivalent to Regular Unleaded.
- Sin Plomo 98, equivalent to Premium Unleaded.
- Gasóleo, the Spanish for Diesel.
Extra tip: If you need to fill your tank before returning the car, do some pre-trip research to locate a reasonable gas station close to the place where you will be returning your vehicle; service stations close to airports tend to charge prices well above the market average. What we usually do is to keep our eyes opened once we leave the rental agency to locate service stations nearby.
TIP 7 | Inspect the car before you start your road trip
At the hire car company premises, take a minute to walk around the car and check for any damage, outside or inside the car. It might be a good idea to take pictures of the car before you begin your trip.
In particular, you should look out for scratches on the outside of the car. If you spot any issues, do mention them so they are registered on the paperwork.
TIP 8 | Map your trip
It is not common for car rental companies to supply printed maps. In some locations, you might get a basic tourist map, but that will be all. Make sure you have gathered enough information for your trip, whether digital or in printed form. If you feel it will be of great advantage to you, rent a car equipped with a GPS device.
TIP 9 | Crossing borders
You might decide to visit Spain and Portugal on the same trip. Why not? Just make sure the car rental company allows for that.
TIP 10 | Compare rates
We are partners with rentalcars.com, the largest car rental comparison site in the world. Rentalcars.com belongs to the same group as Booking.com. Rentalcars.com compares rates across the main car rental agencies.
We use Rentalcars.com whenever we need to rent a car and our experience has always been top notch.
Any questions on car rental in Spain?
We hope you liked our tips. If you have any questions or doubts on the issue of car rental in Spain, please use the commentary box below.
Driving advice for Spain.
If you are planning a road trip to Spain, you might as well be familiar with the do’s and don’ts of driving in Spain.
What about insurance?
Car insurance, health insurance, home insurance, is a personal thing. Different people, different requirements. We try to get as much cover as possible and, as stated above, you need to be aware of what you are purchasing and what your insurance covers are.
Hi Tony,
Great collection of videos! I need to plan a road trip from Seville to Porto this Autumn. I want to arrange professional planning advice, have a plan, and have quality contacts to know about along the route. There are four of us, and I am the designated driver. We are retired and are careful about value. How may I use your services?
Brad
Dear Brad, thank you for your words. We are studying the launch of a professional service like the one you require but so far we are at an (early) planning stage. Kind regards.
Dear Tony
I am a big fan of your videos and love them all!
We are a group of 4 ladies, and would like to self drive throughout Spain and Portugal hopefully from Apr to Jun for 3 months. There is a rental car company called Aquichoche, we would require a 7-seater as the luggage for 4 persons can be quite a lot, may I have your personal opinion of this car rental company? For a 3-month journey, do you think a 7-seater is suitable?
Hello Kelly. I take you mean “Alquicoche”, as we couldn’t find any company named “Aquicoche”. It’s a local company we have no references of. For a three-month rental, we personally would avoid companies we have no references of, even more so if they are local. A 7-suiter is probably a wise choice given that you are absolutely right, you would struggle to fit all your luggage on a smaller car. All the best.
Hi Tony
thank you for the quick advice, apologies for the typo error , yes the spelling should be Alquicoche.
May I ask another 2 questions,
(1) for a 3-month trip around Spain and Portugal, is it more economical by combining trains/buses/subways or it is cheaper if we were to share the costs of renting a 7-seater car.
(2) Without a car, just travelling by public transports, are we able to go to the 20 best road trips in Spain you recommended in one of your videos (#006)?
Kelly,
1) much cheaper to use public transportation. Bear in mind in large cities your car will be come a costly nuisance.
2) our road trips are truly road trips, designed to be completed by car.
Hi Tony, my husband and I are planning a 1 month Spain roadtrip. We plan to rent a car for the trip. What rental car companies do you recommend? We are also planning to cross into Portugal, possibly into France as well. Your thoughts on the matter would be greatly appreciated.
Hello Maria, we tend to rent from the household names we mention on the text: Avis, Enterprise, Europcar, Hertz, Sixt. Let them know you intend to travel to other countries as well. As soon as you enter Portugal, you will have to deal with the issue of electronic road tolls, widespread throughout the country – we haven’t got a text on this issue yet. All the best.
Hola Tony
I like your YouTube channel very much.
I am thinking of renting a car in Portugal, from one of major car hire companies you mentioned earlier (AVIS, EuropCar, SixT, Hertz, etc) for 3-4 weeks to drive all over Portugal one autumn or spring.
I will rent in Lisbon or at Lisbon airport and return the car at Lisbon airport.
Can you offer any tips how to get the Portugal pay-road toll charges and payments organised?
Can I get the car hire company to provide me a device that will charge my credit card automatically as I use Portugal pay roads?
Muchas Gracias, from Australia.
Hello Yuri. The issue of toll charges in Portugal is a complex one we intend to cover in the future. But as of now, we have no first-hand experience and for that reason are unable to share any advice on the topic. I am sure the car rental company will be able to provide you with all the necessary advice. Have a great trip.
thank you, I will contact the car rental company as you advised.
I also look forward to YouTube video on driving tips in Portugal (fast roads and smaller/slower roads) as you have done for Spain. It was very helpful when we rented a car in Spain for a whole month in Sep 2019.
Thanks Yuri. The video on Portugal will take a while. We have decades of experience driving in Spain, which is not the case for Portugal.
Have you ever thought about adding a little bit more than just your articles?
I mean, what you say is important and everything.
However imagine if you added some great images or videos to give your posts more,
“pop”! Your content is excellent but with images and clips, this blog could definitely be one of the very best in its niche.
Superb blog!
Hi Dillon, we don’t have a specific video yet for the topic of this post, but if you browse around you will see plenty of images and videos related to the content of the site. Thank you for your words!