We rarely rent in Europe, but on the visit to Santander (in Sep.) we plan to rent a car for 3-4 days.

Could someone recommend the company they prefer?
Is it better to rent on the spot or
from home before the trip?

What kind of insurance do you recommend?

ttt

novacarhire.com

Three 50's females rented a car for Barcelona in March, see another of my posts regarding this,and I have a couple of suggestions. I'm not familiar with Santander, but at the SANTS train station where we got our car there was a very confusing exit out of the station, which resulted in me turning into a BUS ONLY lane. I managed to get into the proper lane but it was unnerving. Then I encountered the large roundabout that I must have done wrong, as I had lots of drivers cutting in front and blowing horns and using hand gestures! I was trying to stay on the outside as I thought my exit was next, but apparently this wasn't the right way. In the US I've never had trouble with roundabouts, use them frequently, but I think it might be a good idea to observe a little from the sidelines or ask a local about such things. Obviously, I'd take all the insurance I could find! Be sure to check the Spanish website for traffic regulations, including needing an International Driver's Permit and an extra pair of glasses on hand if they are required by your license.

AutoEurope is our preference. We book ahead and do take the insurance. You'll need to check your credit card company's policy on coverage.

We LOVE Santander. Let me know if you want any details.

I went to school there for a year in college and then more recently took my hubby back there a few years ago.

Have fun!

danon, we used the Spanish AutoEurope site this May for a trip in and out of Madrid, 17 days rental. The price was much more reasonable than going with the US autoeurope site. We experienced no problems with the rental.

have a great trip, Deborah

thanks all for very useful info.

mom23,
we will be in Santander for a full week ( staying in a private home 2km west of town).
I would be grateful for any hints about Santander since we know very little about the place except that it is an hour from Bilbao.
We have visited a number of cities in Spain ( love the country);when the apt. in Santander was offered to us , we could hardly refuse!

tt

Maybe this website helps you a bit, danon :

http://english.turismodecantabria.com/

I have used AutoEurope and Avis. Sometimes the company will have an affiliation with another company and rented under the name of another.

Hi,

I am excited about a car rental for S. Spain - starting and ending in Seville. My mom is joining and has only found 'horror' stories about navigating around, parking, and city traffic. I'm a confident city driver - do her findings hold water?

Is it true that parking in a city is either impossible or very expensive? And you practically have to leave the car outside city limits (kinda nullifying the point of having transport?)

I know the signage will take some getting used to - can a first-time visitor to Spain enjoy the freedom of having a car without too too much stress? My mom will act as navigator.

Should we just plan on a few day rental (instead of 9) to see outer sights? To summarize - 9 days in S. Spain, car or ?

Many Thanks.

One of the biggest issues we had was the signage, or lack thereof! We drove from Barcelona to Perpignon, France, and the highway signs were wonderful but the signs in the cities was not. Even with GPS we had some difficulties, mainly because the street names were often on buildings and very difficult to find, or to read once you found them. Parking was a major issue in several places, we used street parking, underground garage parking, and "pray you don't get towed" parking. We had prepared for the Spanish signs and knew what they meant, and one friend is a native French speaker, but even so we had some issues with signs. And they didn't seem too good about posting detours. Oh, they'd say DETOUR and point an arrow in a direction, but after that there were no further signs.
Still, we managed and enjoyed ourselves, so I'd still do it again. Just be aware of possible problems and allow plenty of time to get everywhere.
And be aware of the rule requiring an extra pair of glasses must be carried if glasses are required on your driver's license. And get an International Driver's License.
We were not allowed to take our car into Andorra.

This is an old post which has been revived by a possible spammer!

There does seem to be a lot of spam car hire activity now that we're heading into the Spring and Summer booking periods. I'd personally avoid anyone using this forum to spam up their business.

Hmmmm, it sounded pretty legitimate to me, but I suppose I'm easily fooled.

Challiman That is what the spammer wants. Never trust a one poster with comments either good or bad, is my personal view.

And what do they get from this? Will they eventually say, oh, I found a great deal and here's a link?
Guess we'll wait and see. Hope not.

Challiman--These spammers usually work for or own the business they're trying to promote. What they get out of it is income.

Well, yes, I get that, but so far nothing has been promoted. Maybe you all scared him off!

Challiman
It was removed...before you believe any posting you have to understand some folks posting history. Like I said if a first time poster ad they just give a link then ignore them . If they have posted several times and they seem ok with previous advice and have not always posted links to the same website again they should be ok.... But never ever believe a poster who says go to this hotel /car rental in all of the postings or go to this website to find a bargain etc etc.
Also if they add something to an old thread (like this one) then it all smacks of spam. But I can see you hardly get out of the lounge so spammer do not really worry you in that part of the world do they? ;-)