Go Back  Fodor's Travel Talk Forums > Destinations > Europe
Reload this Page >

Phone charging in a rental car in Spain

Search

Phone charging in a rental car in Spain

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old May 12th, 2024, 10:24 AM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 48
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Phone charging in a rental car in Spain

I’ll be renting a car in Spain for 20 days. What type of phone charging is usually available in a typical car? I want to make sure I bring the right cords and anything needed.
travelrex is offline  
Old May 12th, 2024, 10:40 AM
  #2  
 
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 24,080
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
There is no "typical" car.
This is probably a question you ought to ask of the rental agency.
Who are you renting from?
What type of car?

I have rented cars twice in Spain in the last two years.
Both cars came with those charging slots of different sizes. so I could easily plug in with various types of cords/cables.
And there is option of charging via lighter...
I always bring too many cables since I never know what I will need in hotels and cars but then, I am not savvy about this kind of thing as is probably most obvious for anyone reading this post!

If you forget something you can always buy it in Spain.

I always want a GPS in my rental car!

ekscrunchy is offline  
Old May 12th, 2024, 12:21 PM
  #3  
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 18,538
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Usually a USB A in the car if any, so your normal cable should fit, or use a device from home in the cigarette lighter slot. Probably worth packing a lighter charger just in case the rental doesn't have USBs.
hetismij2 is offline  
Old May 12th, 2024, 01:01 PM
  #4  
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 1,575
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I use the cigarette lighter charger regularly at home. All cars have this. Mine is a small cartridge with 2 USB-A females.
shelemm is offline  
Old May 12th, 2024, 01:33 PM
  #5  
kja
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,728
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Originally Posted by shelemm
I use the cigarette lighter charger regularly at home. All cars have this..
I've rented cars in which the cigarette lighter was disabled and so was useless for charging anything. I take the lighter plug-in as a backup, but do not count on it.
kja is offline  
Old May 12th, 2024, 02:18 PM
  #6  
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 73,664
Likes: 0
Received 50 Likes on 7 Posts
Originally Posted by kja
I've rented cars in which the cigarette lighter was disabled and so was useless for charging anything. I take the lighter plug-in as a backup, but do not count on it.

This ^^^ Very few rental cars will have an operational cigarette lighter since the rental contract often prohibits smoking in the car.
janisj is online now  
Old May 12th, 2024, 03:28 PM
  #7  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 48
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Thanks for the replies. I'll bring a small cigarette lighter charger, USB A and C cables.
travelrex is offline  
Old May 13th, 2024, 12:20 PM
  #8  
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 83,441
Received 46 Likes on 17 Posts
Originally Posted by travelrex
Thanks for the replies. I'll bring a small cigarette lighter charger, USB A and C cables.
That will cover it.

You may also want to bring a battery pack for back up and charge that in your hotel room.
starrs is offline  
Old May 13th, 2024, 09:10 PM
  #9  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 48
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Yes I plan to bring a battery. Starting the day with a full charge and having a battery pack will cover me even if I can’t get the car to charge my phone. Always just nice to be able to charge while driving.
travelrex is offline  
Old May 13th, 2024, 09:22 PM
  #10  
 
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 1,840
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Originally Posted by kja
I've rented cars in which the cigarette lighter was disabled and so was useless for charging anything. I take the lighter plug-in as a backup, but do not count on it.

When was this? No lighter was a thing in 2008 before the widespread use of GPS units and later smartphones. Now nobody calls it's a cigarette lighter anymore. It's an auxiliary power or some other useless term.

It's actually common for cars to have ports front and back today. This way the people in the rear seats can watch a video or something.

Many also have USB ports. The issue here is the port may not have enough power to fully charge a phone while in use. But it should be able to keep a phone from running down too much.

I'd suggest the OP brings a long cable 1 metre and a more normal 50 cm one. The long cable if he's using a windshield mount might be needed. You never know where the charging point is. The shorter cable would be fine if you're using the car screen to mirror the phone. Say Android auto or the apple equivalent.
Traveler_Nick is offline  
Old May 14th, 2024, 05:10 AM
  #11  
 
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 24,080
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Of course the cars have cigarette lighters, or whatever that outlet is called now.

Also remember to bring those things that you need to plug into the round-pronged wall outlets, so you can plug in your chargers...
Laptop, phone, electric toothbrush, maybe, etc....
ekscrunchy is offline  
Old May 14th, 2024, 08:02 AM
  #12  
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 1,575
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Originally Posted by Traveler_Nick
nobody calls it's a cigarette lighter anymore.
Nobody is a sweeping term and clearly does not take into account that I call it a cigarette lighter. But if I said "Auxiliary Power Supply" would everyone know what I'm talking about? The Art of Communication.

"Nobody pays full price anymore, why should you?"
shelemm is offline  
Old May 14th, 2024, 06:42 PM
  #13  
kja
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,728
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Originally Posted by Traveler_Nick
When was this? [Rental of a car in which the cigarette lighter had been disabled.]
2012, in Turkey.
kja is offline  
Old May 14th, 2024, 06:50 PM
  #14  
 
Join Date: Feb 2024
Posts: 60
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
IME essentially every rental car nowadays, US and Europe, has USB ports for charging, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, etc. Sometimes USB-A, sometimes USB-C, sometimes both.
jeffhullinger3220 is offline  
Old May 15th, 2024, 12:44 PM
  #15  
 
Join Date: May 2024
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
This is usually a standard USB cable (2.0 or 3.0, in general there is no difference here). Of course, not all cars have direct usb outputs, but all of them have cigarette lighters. You will just need to buy a cigarette lighter adapter with USB output, and voila, you have the opportunity to charge your phone in the car.
MalakiHebert is offline  
Old May 24th, 2024, 08:15 AM
  #16  
 
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 24,080
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I spoke with two rental car agents in Spain on this current trip and they confirmed that all of their rentals have cigarette-lighter outlets (if not the actual lighter).
ekscrunchy is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
libra5556
Europe
9
Oct 5th, 2012 06:56 AM
CYork
Europe
8
Jun 23rd, 2009 07:53 PM
JCBT
Europe
6
Mar 31st, 2008 06:16 PM
dmlove
United States
8
Mar 31st, 2008 01:30 PM
MNPAGES
Europe
10
Feb 28th, 2005 12:47 PM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are On



Contact Us - Manage Preferences Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Your Privacy Choices -