Automatic transmission car to pick up in Granada

We just rented a car from Autoeurope and the car was provided through Europcar. We picked up in Sevilla at the train station and returned to Granada's train station. We were forced to change drivers at the last minute, so I was driving, and through mountains (which you will be doing) I drove a manual a lot 30 years ago and then again, in Mexico 8 years ago. It does take a bit to get used to it again. We asked in Sevilla if we could upgrade to automatic and were told it would be 35euro extra per day. So you are smart to reserve an automatic ahead of time. We kept the manual, had a little stress getting out of Sevilla mostly due to getting used to the clutch (and what exactly does flashing yellow mean in Spain? because I seemed to have been the only one that looked both ways and proceeded thru the intersection. When we saw that, we stopped and waited for green on flashing yellow) I would look at a map and pick the location (airport vs. train station) to determine which is more easily driveable. The only frustration with a one way rental is that we didn't know that Europcar's parking ramp in Granada was a couple blocks from the train station and not by the Europcar's actual office across the street from the train station. I did get an IDP. I was told at AAA that they are not required for Spain. That said, maybe people's experience has been that when in difficulty the IDP helps, or maybe the AAA person was wrong, but it is actually not listed in the IDP as required for Spain. So, I personally would only get the IDP for the driver.

In regards to the white villages, Ronda was our least favorite. We parked at one of the first tourist lots going into the city and then walked. Ronda is bigger and touristy. The gorge IS beautiful, but much was closed due to recent rain/storms. (We were there approx November 6th) I am glad we went, but I enjoyed Zahara much more.

If you do not plan to visit other white villages, you can take public transportation to Ronda and then to Sevilla. We really enjoyed exploring the white villages for a few days so for us, the car was necessary, but I sure was glad to get rid of it! Also we never get additional insurance, but this time we did, which I would recommend if you will be doing any driving in some of the hilly, narrow streets white villages.

While my itinerary is slightly different from yours, I hope this helps.

Things have changed. When I dropped my rental in Granada, I parked it in front of the Europcar office at the train station. I don't have a problem with manual transmissions. Generally the recommendation is to pick up an automatic from the location with the largest fleet on hand, which is usually the airport location. Return the car at the train station. Europcar has a big parking lot adjacent to the station. Then it's a short taxi ride to your hotel.

There is a lot next to the "train" station in Granada. The companies that use it are Hertz and Avis, I believe. Europcar uses a local ramp two blocks away from the train station. I don't believe it is marked on the exterior of the ramp. They had no parking adjacent to their office. They are closed for some time period in the afternoons. They do have a drop box for keys in the ramp, but you'd have to know where the ramp is. The Sevilla train station, Santa Justa, has a number of rental cars with a parking lot right next to the train station. For sure there was Herta, Avis and Europcar. That all said, I would say we have had really good experience with Autoeurope and Europcar.

Thanks, Jules and Chani for your great information! I thought picking up at the airport location for biggest choice was probably correct. Jules, you wrote that you picked up the car at the Sevilla train station. It looks like it's right in the center of the city. It would be nice to be close to our hotel when we drop off the car (we're going opposite direction), but worried about driving into the city - so wondering if it might be less stressful to drop off at the airport?

I definitely plan to get the additional insurance! And I thought it best for us both to get our IDP in case I have to end up driving for some reason. Worth the $20. And did you ever figure out what the flashing yellows mean?

Jules, you mentioned Zahara and I saw on your trip report you stayed in Grazalema. I was looking at both for a day trip.
Thank you again!

If you have two drivers, the rental will cost you more per day, so unless you really think you are going to drive, in my opinion, its not worth it. For us, it is typically easier to have one in the permanent role of driver and one navigator. I don't know what the area around the Sevilla airport looks like. The roads leading out of town from the train station were not all that complicated. They were multilaned and wide. It is definitely not in the "older town" area with the narrow streets, etc. Again, my biggest problem was that I was just getting used to a manual again after quite a few years. We picked up the car around 10am so while it was a bit busy it wasn't like people were rushing to get to work. We used maps.me, offline as GPS.

We googled the flashing yellow in Spain and most seem to indicate that we should exercise great caution. But we observed that people were stopped and did not proceed on yellow. So no, we never were really quite sure what it meant and we only saw it in Sevilla.

We really enjoyed Grazelema and Zahara. Sentinel was nice, too. I would say that as much as possible, it is just easier to park on the perimeter and walk in to the more central areas where the roads are steep and narrow. Although, you will be in a better position with automatic transmission than I was. I would say that those cities might even be half day trips. You could definitely do both in one day. Not only are Grazelema and Zahara nice, but the geography around those cities is stunning.

In terms of renting, try searching on the Autoeurope website. They work with a few rental companies. They tend to be less expensive and you can stipulate automatic.

Hi Debbie,

I just returned from Spain a couple of weeks ago. We were in Spain for 4 weeks. We rented our car from Budget rentals with an automatic transmission and a GPS unit. We picked the car up from Granada Airport then drove to Ronda, Zahara, and Arcos.We spent 2 nights in Ronda and 2 nights in Arcos. We dropped the car off at Sevilla airport. I did all the driving and my husband navigated me through the freeways and towns. I would have gotten him lost if I navigated. It worked well for us. The streets are very narrow in the Hill towns so be careful.
We had a wonderful time, our favorite is Ronda.

Would be glad to share information. Enjoy!

Jules, thanks for the additional information! Good point on the additional cost for 2 drivers - I had just thought in case something happens and I have to drive, so maybe I'll just have my IDP for that purpose. And yeman, thanks as well, I'll send you a pm.

If you think you will drive IN the white villages as opposed to parking on the "fringe" of the villages, I would want the smallest car possible. That would also apply to driving in the mountains. Smaller is better.

Yes, plan on the smallest car we can get. For an automatic, that's looking like economy, maybe compact. I've seen videos where people pull in their side mirrors!

@debbie, ah yes, regarding the side mirrors, we were glad we got the extra insurance! :)

Hello Debbie,

Just did the opposite - picked up a car in Seville and dropped off in Granada. Went with Hertz and picked up next to the train station in Seville. A bunch of different agencies alongside the train station which is decently close to old town. You could easily bus or taxi into old town from the station in a couple of minutes. Easy access to and from the freeway via Ave Kansas City.

Dropped off at the Herz Granada 'Central Hotel' not the train station location. Left via the train station and it is decently close to town - you could easily taxi/bus back to your hotel. The hotel location was a 10 minute walk back into old town Granada.

Needless to say driving into old town Sevilla and Granada are adventures and best avoided. Old town Granada is much worse than Sevilla in terms of driving but center Sevilla is both medieval and aggressively pedestrian so I would still avoid it and pack a lot of patience.

The Spanish are pretty safe and sane drivers for the most part from everything I saw. They will tailgate you but will also pass as soon as they can so just ignore them. If you slow down for the traffic warnings (80 in the tunnels etc) you will generally get passed but that's no different than people ignoring the speed limits here so again just ignore the opinions of others and drive what you feel. really didn't see anyone doing anything crazy or any unsafe vehicles on the roads.

Get full coverage. Drove some in Arcos and other hilltowns but things that should be fine like entrances to big public parking garages get suddenly very tight and are covered in scrapes. Drove for a week and dropped it off without a scratch but having full coverage makes it easier to be brave when you need to be.

Also get International Driver's license. I have drive in England, Ireland, Italy and France without one but went ahead and got it this time. I didn't need it but friend's of mine who just got back had ever heard of the IDL and it cost him ~$150.

Have a great time!
=Tod

Thanks all for the great information! I will definitely get full insurance and have IDP's.

Tod, I know you went in the opposite direction, but I'm planning to pick up the car at the Granada airport (for largest selection) when we are ready to leave Granada. Heading to Ronda to check out some of the hill towns, and will then return the car when we go to Sevilla. I had thought we should drop it off at the airport so we don't have to drive into the city, but maybe it won't be too difficult to drop off at the Sevilla train station? Would be nice to be closer to the hotel. I haven't fully researched yet, but so far haven't seen something like the ZTL's in Italy - I know pedestrianized - but reading about the ZTL's ensured I stuck with public transportation in Italy last year!

If you have GPS, you should have no trouble getting to the train station in Sevilla.

Debbie, I think you're fine dropping off the car at the train station in Seville. Car Rental row is just off Avenue Kansas City which is s straight shot from the freeway (A-4?) coming from the east. But even if you were to miss the exit of come in another way the old town of Seville is hard to drive into by accident. The city itself has large easy to navigate streets that run all around the old town so you're not going to accidentally end up in it without any warning.

We took a wrong turn coming out of the car rental place and took a scenic tour of Seville on our way out of town, but it is just your standard European city with stores and apartment buildings. We just eventually made a U-turn and went the right way. If you're comfortable driving in Europe you should be fine. I would say the proximity to the city itself makes it worth it. Grab a taxi from the stand in front of the train station and be done with it.

My Spain driving tips:
-Use your GPS and Google maps for navigation. The street signs are on buildings and are unreliably placed and or readable while driving. Typical European set-up but frustrating when you're lost and trying to get oriented.
-Near Malaga I encountered the "go right to go left" Google instruction which means pull off into the righthand lane, wait for the left light and then cross traffic lane. I had never seen it before but it is essentially a left turn lane but on the righthand side rather than the center.
-Hill towns are great but park in a garage or Public parking ASAP. I didn't drive deep into Arcos but I drove more of it than I wanted to.

Have a great trip!
=Tod

I agree with the suggestion for GPS. We had great success with the MAPS.me app. I downloaded the map of Spain when I had wifi and then I could use it offline. I practiced with both google and MAPS.me before we left on our trip to Spain. I like it so much now that I've been using it more often at home vs. my Garmin. I had rented GPS in France and it was better than not having it, but it was not without problems. I did not have any problems with MAPS.me in Spain, but obviously that is not a perfect comparison.

It is also a great help to have an old fashioned map especially in the rural areas/mountains. We selected our own route and could modify MAPS, by marking various cities/points of interest on our preferred route on MAPS and then routing between those cities.

Thank you everyone again, for all the wonderful tips and suggestions! Last night we booked our flight with miles (arrive Malaga, depart Sevilla), and I also got the apartments I most wanted in 2 locations so very excited about that! Next will be more detailed research, but plenty of time and will continue to be reading posts.

I just rented through Enterprise through Costco. Enterprise will pick you up and bring you to the rental agency - just make sure you let them know in advance. I still have to ask if they will drop me off at my hotel after I return the car. Price for an automatic VW Golf was 87 euro including tax and drop fee for a one day trip.