There will be 6 of us renting a car (we may need 2 cars) in Madrid for a couple of days driving out to El Escorial, Valley of the Fallen and spending the night in Segovia. We have driven in Europe but try not to in big cities. Wondering if we should rent car(s) at the train station or somewhere near our lodging, rather than taking transit all the way to the airport to rent? We would drop the vehicles at the airport for departing flight. The only time we would drive in the city is picking up car and heading out of the city. Any advice or opinions are appreciated.
Posted by
Seattle
65 posts
Always rent at the airport
Always.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
7157 posts
If you’re referring to Atocha train station and can rent a car there, that would work and is closer than going all the way out to the airport. The main road that runs by it, Calle de Méndez Álvaro, goes directly the M30 (3.8km from the train station). You’d get on the M30 in the direction of the M42 and A5 that goes south around the city. Stay on it past the A5, then get onto the A6. At Las Rozas de Madrid you’ll get into the M505 and it will take you directly to San Lorenzo de El Escorial. Until you get onto the A6, expect heavy traffic.
Other than the Royal Seat there’s little else to see in El Escorial. The former Valley of the Fallen, renamed Vally of the Hanging Walls (Valle de Cuelgamuros) is only 13km away. We spent a couple hours there. It’s somber visiting it knowng how many bodies are interred there and that it was built using essentially slave labor. From it one’s gets a great view of the valley.
From the Valley, getting to the AP6 (toll road) is easy and Segovia is only 50km away. If you didn’t want the toll road, at the AP6 junction, stay on the M614 that will turn into M601/CL601 (CL=Castile León). The non-toll route will take about 15 minutes longer than the toll way, but will be more picturesque.
If you need an automatic the airport is probably the best bet. Most rentals are still manual. Also, if you intend on plugging your phone into a USB for directions, the last rental we had in Spain only had USB-C ports so our USB2 cords were useless. For upcoming trips I bought a lighting to USB C cable for my iPhone.
Posted by
Paris
7303 posts
Always rent at the airport
Always.
I respectfully disagree here. Driving in Madrid is fairly easy. There are car rental offices around calle Princesa/Plaza de España, Chamartín station and Atocha station mainly. Calle de la Princesa would be ideal: you just have to drive straight north on that street and you will be on the A6 highway towards El Escorial.
Whereas the airport is on the wrong side of the metropolitan area, so it is a longer drive out.
Posted by
Hudson Valley
2267 posts
Always rent at the airport
Always.
I also disagree with this, as an absolute.
Driving in the very center could be tricky (Madrid has rules about what cars are allowed based on emissions and waiver permits... It's complicated and I havent bother to study it.) But many/most agencies will have multiple offices around the city, so there should be many options to collect a car away from the trickiest driving, but not at the airport. Bonus of avoiding whatever airport fees there might be for rental cars.
Posted by
OP
U.S.
7 posts
Thank you so much for your replies!
Posted by
340 posts
Absolutes are always problematic. That said, I really like renting at the airport if it's reasonable to do that. You're likely to have a broader choice of cars to choose from and it's out of the city, so makes early navigation easier as you get to know the vehicle.