renting a car in southern Spain?
 

We're going to southern Spain soon and were planning on taking trains and buses everywhere but it looks like there might not be buses on some days we planned to take them (Sundays and a holiday). We've booked our hotels and I really don't want to change them. I've never actually planned ahead and rented a car in Europe before (only on the fly in Greece) so I'd like some advice. <BR>Our plan is to fly into Sevilla, then Cadiz, Arcos de la Frontera, Ronda then we fly out of Granada. We would like to pick up the car as we LEAVE Sevilla or Cadiz and turn it in when we arrive in Granada. Does that sound like a good idea? Can anyone tell me where to get the best rates and which company is best? I don't have an international drivers license; does it matter? Thanks!!

Paige, We are also fans of public transportation, but we had to rent a car in Granada for 2 days to visit Ubeda, Baeza, and Jaen. We dropped it off at Cordoba, so one-way rental is not a problem. The bus system in Southern Spain works really well. We don't drive manual cars, and unfortunately, automatic cars are rare outside of major airports such as Madrid and Barcelona. I researched cars and the best rates were with Kemwell Auto (kemwell.com) and autoeurope.com, but neither of them had an automatic car, only manual cars. if you need an automatic try calling the usual suspects: Avis, Hertz, National, etc.

You can get some good deals with big companies like Hertz in Winter, because it is low season and they have cars sitting around. Some of the Spanish cities are difficult to negociate because of the narrow old streets, so we preferred to pick up our car somewhere near the outskirts. In Seville, we picked it up at the main railway station (Santa Justa) rather than the hotel, because it was already on the way out of town. You should have no problem picking up in Seville and dropping off in Granada if you use a large company like Hertz. We book our cars in advance through our travel agent, but I think things are different in the states, as your travel agents charge a fee whereas ours do everything for free. I can give you the telephone numbers in Seville of several of the car hire companies (but they may not speak english). To dial Spain is 00 - 34 followed by 95 which is the code for Sevilla, then the number. <BR>Avis: 421 65 49 or at Santa Justa railway station 453 78 61 <BR> <BR>Europcar: 457 45 01 or at Santa Justa 453 39 13 <BR> <BR>Hertz: 477 07 98 or at station 427 07 98 <BR>Hope this is helpful. <BR>

We have rented from Europcar and picked up/returned our rental car at the airport in Malaga. Their service was very good and they have offices all over Spain - their website: www.europcar.com. <BR>All companies have various sizes but we prefer the smaller cars because they're easier to drive in the mountains. <BR>Roads are very good in Spain (some highways are tollroads) and it's easy to find your way. <BR> <BR>

I think you would be smart to rent a car. We just drove most of that route. Actually we added Cadiz at the last minute because we got bored in Southern Portugal and left there early. So we drove to Cadiz (through Seville), then back up to Seville, then down and across to Arcos and Ronda, then up to Cordoba (we did not go back to Granada this trip). There may be bus service, but it was nice to stop in Arcos and walk around at our own pace, then move on when we wanted to. And we really enjoyed stopping along the road from Arcos to Ronda just to take in the wonderful scenery. I would suggest going to the Auto Europe web site: www.autoeurope.com. You will be able to pick a type and size of car, plug in your dates, pick-up and drop-off points, and get a quick price quote. We usually find them to be the best, especially with pick-up and drop-off at different locations, but at least it will give you a good starting point with which to compare other companies. Have fun, it is a beautiful part of the world. And by the way, we were a little nervous about driving the mountain road to Arcos and Ronda, but we found it in great condition with good guardrails, and not "scarey" at all.

Regarding your question about international driver's licenses, we drove all around southern Spain and Portugal for a couple of weeks last November and never once had to show our licenses anywhere. But we had read that we needed them, so we went ahead and got them anyway. They're easy to get -- they're like $20 and good for a year. As Patrick says, the roads in Spain are great and driving is very easy. It is well worth it to rent a car. You will see so much that you wouldn't normally see when taking trains or buses.

Hi Paige, We just returned from Spain last month and had rented a car for a week. We drove from Sevilli through Cadiz on to Algecera for our crossing to Morroco, on to Gibralter and Granda. The roads were excellent and drivers quite good. We rented through AutoEuroope but you should check all of them since your renting from Germany. There may be differences. <BR>Art <BR>

Auto Europe, at www.autoeurope.com, we use them all the time for our bizz and theyr have great service/rates.

I just returned from Spain last week . I rented a car thru Autoeurope .com . The service/price couldn't be beat and beleive me I checked a number of sites for price and availability . The highways over there are fantastic , you'll have no problems at all. Enjoy

Thanks everyone!

We just returned on 10/19, and did some driving from Sevilla to Granada. No problems at all. We rented from Hertz, in Sevilla at the station. It's easy to get out of town, but we did have to ask some taxi drivers directions - within one or two turns of the Hertz office. The return to Hertz in Granada was a snap. We selected the right exit/entrance (I can get that for you), and within a couple of minutes the drop off site at the Hotel Central was right there on our right. Completely painless. Our 3 day rental, including 2 drivers and all insurance was about $230. We rented a car with a trunk, after hearing about all the theft, but we had no problems. We did bring a bicycle cable & lock and locked our bags to something stationary in the trunk, just in case. Had int'l licenses, but didn't need them. Since our first night after Sevilla was Ronda, we weren't able to include Jerez & Arcos on our route, but went more directly, with stops in Grazalema and Zahara. Got to Ronda in 5 hours, including those two short stops. The next day we drove to Nerja, via Marbella and Malaga; about 4 hours, including the one-hour stop in Marbella. Part 3 was from Nerja to Granada - 1 hr. 45 min. Do drive - the roads are well marked and easy. Curvy, yes, but not overly scary, and the scenery is breathtaking. Let me know if I can give you any more information.

Paige, <BR> <BR>We had rented a (manual-shift) car through Auto Europe. We picked it up at the main train station in Sevilla (Avis was the sub-contractor)and returned it in Cordoba. The rates were good and the service courteous. (We had traveled there in November, 1999). <BR> <BR>It was quite easy getting onto the autoroute south toward Jerez and Arcos de la Frontera from that location. <BR> <BR>For safety sake, I would recommend making a quick stop at your local American Automobile Association office and get an international license. ($10.00 for AAA members.) <BR> <BR>If you don't have a street map of Granada, copy the one in the Lonely Planet Guide for Spain. It's quite good and will definitely get you to at least the tourist office on the very edge of the city center, where you can then pick up a conventional street map. <BR> <BR>Traffic can be heavy in Granada, and there are numerous one-way streets that will confuse you without benefit of a good map. <BR> <BR>We were fortunate to have been able to stay at the paradors in Ronda and Arcos de la Frontera. Ask for rooms overlooking the gorge in both, if you are planning a parador stay. Enjoy!