Car rental and return in different places?
 

My husband and I are traveling to Spain next week. We are going to spend the first half of the trip in Barcelona and the second half on the Costa Brava. We are going to rent a car to drive to the Costa Brava and at the end of our trip will drive straight from Costa Brava to the airport in Barcelona. I'm wondering whether it's possible to rent a car at our hotel in Barcelona and then return it at the airport. If so, will it be significantly more expensive to do it this way?

Thanks for the help.

Yes, you can do that. Yes, you might end up paying a bit more. Perhaps a surcharge for dropping the car at the airport. The only way to know for certain is to check prices at various brokers and rental agencies. Try www. AutoEurope.com and www.autoeurope.es

depends what you mean by "significant", but I wouldn't call returning at the airport instead of a downtown location within the same city to be significant. It is usually more at an airport, and train stations, also. Maybe 20 euro, I forget. Just go to the car rental websites and find out instead of guessing.

Generally speaking there is no difference when picking up a car at one location and dropping it off at another, but it will depend on the type of car you're renting, especially if you would be dropping it off at a location that's not as busy as the one you picked it up at, and they would have no need for the type of car you’re dropping off. In your case it shouldn't be a problem. The airport is much busier than most city locations and needs a variety of cars to service its clients. But as already noted, you need to check with the rental agency to be sure.

Picking the car up in the city will save you the airport or rail station pick up fee, which can exceed 40€ in some locations.

I have rented cars in Spain and have never paid a surcharge for returning to a different AIRPORT. Most recently I rented in Madrid and returned to BCN airport; no charge. Prior to that I picked up car at Estacion Santa Justa in Seville and dropped at Barajas; once again, no charge. I deal with HERTZ, to me the absolute best car rental venue....and I have tried them all after more than 30 years of business and personal travel.

With most rental companies there is no charge to return a car to the airport or any different rental location as long as it is in the same country. There is usually an extra charge if you pick your car up at an airport or train station.