Hello! We're planning to rent a car in Nice and drive towards Andorra (my husband has a conference there). We're staying in Andorra for 3 days. Then flying out of Barcelona a couple of days later. Is there any way to avoid the fees associated with crossing borders on a rented car? Should we drop of a car somewhere close to train station in France? But where? Any recommendations? Thank you!
Posted by
Washington DC
27394 posts
My Andorra experience was far too long ago to be of any help. I'd be surprised if you can avoid a costly drop fee, but I'd call each of the companies frequently mentioned as good options for European car rentals: AutoEurope, Kemwel and Gemut. See what they recommend. There are rental agenices in Andorra, so consider dropping the French car in Andorra (if it's for some reason cheaper than dropping it in Spain), then busing from Andorra to a convenient Spanish town with a rental agency. Or drop the French car in France (I've looked at a map but have no particular town to suggest), take the bus on to Andorra and rent a car there if it can be dropped in Spain at not too high a cost.
Otherwise, you're looking at buses both into and out of Andorra, which is going to eat up a good bit of time. At least the countryside is pretty.
I can tell you that, on the Spanish side, both Puigcerda and La Seu de Urgell have very attractive historic districts. I have no idea what the car-rental situation is in either place. Puigcerda is about a 40-minute walk (or quick taxi ride) from the French border town of Bourg-Madame (not special in any way), but Bourg-Madame looked quite a bit smaller and likely has no rental facilities.
Posted by
San Antonio TX, United States
2393 posts
You might see about returning the car in Perpignon, France (2:45 drive from Andorra Capital - not sure where you will be), then take the TGV or AVE train to Barcelone - that takes 1:21.
Posted by
Washington DC
27394 posts
Christi probably has the right idea--take the French car to Andorra, then drive back into France to drop the car in a city with good train connections to Barcelona. I've seen ViaMichelin.com give driving routes from Barcelona to Spanish cities to the west that actually go through France.
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
7175 posts
Either, return the car in Perpignan then train to Barcelona.
Or, return the car at Toulouse Airport then fly to Barcelona with Vueling.
We travelled from the Camargue to Andorra in a day with a stop to visit Carcassonne. More time is definitely preferred as Beziers and Narbonne are worthwhile stops too.