I am going to Spain the last two weeks of June.I am thinking of flying into Madrid for 3 days then flying to Barcelona for 3 days . I need to get from Barcelona to a little town called Pau near Roses. Is the best way to get there to rent a car from Barcelona ? Is car rental and return difficult in Barcelona? I do not speak the language.

dbos,
I see Pau on the map. It is indeed tiny. For less driving, you could train from Barcelona to Girona, then pick up your rental car there at the train station. Avis has an office there.


About our most recent Barcelona car rental pick up and return:

Since our BCN hotel was in the area, we picked up our rental car in the Eixample neighborhood at the Avis agency at 293 Corsega and at 9 a.m. had little trouble getting OUT of town and up to the Costa Brava to Aiguablava. But turning it back in to that location 2 weeks later was an absolute NIGHTMARE! And it took at least an hr. of circling round and round with extremely heavy traffic, with motorcycles darting in and out without warning from every direction. My rule of thumb learned through yrs. of experience with rental cars in Spanish cities is to pick up at the train station, but return to the airport, just to avoid the aggravation of entering the city core, which can be a maze. I let a taxi driver negotiate that part for me, since he's the expert. So, in retrospect, never, ever, every again will we return a rental car to a downtown Bcn location, not even to Sants train station, particularly mid-morning or late afternoon.
We'll always turn the rental in at the airport, which is easily reachable on the superhighway, and then gladly hire a taxi driver to chauffeur us back to our hotel-that way, no frayed nerves.

I've been to Pau. It's very easy to drive there from the Barcelona airport. It will take you about 2 and half hours with highway. It's a very pretty area, very near the coast. I'd recommend rented the car in advance before you leave the states. I always use AutoEurope. I have never gone wrong with them. Once there you will probably want to spend more time!
Good luck.

Thank You for the advice` Maribel,I am going to Madrid and Barcelona. I would appreciate your files on those cities. E-mail to [email protected] Thank You in advance.

dbos,
Files have been sent. We've used the consolidator/wholesaler Auto Europe as well for the past 7-8 rentals and have been very satisfied. Their preferred provider is now Europcar, but if we stipulate that we want a car from Avis, they'll provide one. But Europcar has offices in Barcelona in the Exaimple on Viladromat and at the Sants rail station and the airport. They also have an office in Girona.