Hi --
We are planning to rent a car in Nerja to travel through the southern towns of Spain this fall. We'd like to return the car in Arcos, but I am not seeing companies with offices in both Nerja and Arcos. Does anyone have recommendations? If we cannot drop the car in Arcos, does anyone have experience renting in Nerja and dropping in Seville, for instance?
Thanks very much.
Are you going anyplace from Arcos? It seems to be an odd place to return a car. The airport at Jerez de la Frontera might meet your needs. It isn’t too far from Arcos de la Frontera and a lot closer than going up to Sevilla. The major companies have offices there, right in the terminal. That airport is very small.
Thank you for your reply. It will be our first time to Spain, so we do not have a good sense of where car pickup and drop-off locations may be.
We are traveling following our time in Arcos, heading to Seville. We are planning to be in Arcos two days, with a day trip to Jerez. Perhaps we will just keep the car another day for the leg to Seville. Do you happen to know what companies rent both in Nerja for pickup and Seville for drop-off? The companies I have seen in Nerja appear to be regional, and I would love a recommendation regarding good companies.
Thank you.
You might contact the consolidators, AutoEurope, Kemwel and Gemut. AutoEurope seems the one used most often. Some folks have reported they've saved money by going through AutoEurope rather than directly to one of the major car-rental companies.
Where will you be before Nerja? Are you flying into Malaga?
Pickings are slim for Nerja. Europcar seems to be the only large rental company in Nerja that gets good reviews. Sixt has an office but it has mixed reviews on the forum. Europcar has offices at the train station and airport in Sevilla. Sixt also has a couple locations in Sevilla. As long as you’re going to Sevilla after Arcos, just return the car in Sevilla. From Arcos, take the CA5101 to the CA4011. CA stands for Cadiz. Once you cross into Sevilla Province, the road number changes to SE6201. SE stands for Sevilla. Follow the signs to Las Cabezas de San Juan. So far, all the roads will be 2 lane rural with little traffic. Prior to Las Cabezas, if you don’t want to pay a toll, pick up the A480. It pretty much parallels the interstate. If you don’t mind paying a toll, then pick up the AP4 / E5 at Las Cabezas de San Juan. Both roads will take you to Sevilla, but the toll road will be quicker. If going to Jerez de la Frontera, and have the time, the Alcazar there is nice to visit.
As a side note, if you have a GPS from the states, don’t be surprised if it says California 5101 for the road name rather than Cadiz 5101. From my trips, AL (Almeria) was Alabama, CO (Cordoba) was Colorado, AS (Asturias) was America Samoa. Once you figure out what the GPS is doing, it isn’t an issue. Also if you have a GPS, plug in parking lots in the towns and cities you’ll be visiting. By looking them up ahead of time, it will save you time trying to find them. In Arcos, park at the bottom of the hill (parking el paseo or parking plaza de Espana seem to be the closest) and take the tram up to the overlook. The road up to it is narrow and I don’t think there’s any parking up there any longer. The road down is narrow with a couple 90 degree turns. I’ve driven it numerous times and the last time It was very stressful because I had a larger rental car which made those 90 degree turns very difficult.
Hertz, Avis, and Enterprise all have locations at Malaga and Sevilla airports.
Thank you very much for all of this helpful information. We are arriving in Nerja from Granada and don't have plans to visit Malaga. We are trying to stitch together this part of the itinerary -- Nerja/Ronda/Tarifa/Tangier/Arcos/Jerez/Sevilla -- by car and so had hoped to identify a reliable company with offices in both Nerja and Seville. If we can't thread that needle, we will need to rethink this part of our trip.
Hmmm... I think your issue may be the bolded part of your itinerary, I'd seriously consider dropping it:
Nerja/Ronda/Tarifa/Tangier/Arcos/Jerez/Sevilla
Most of us who've been to Tangier think it's a poor introduction to a fascinating country and consider time spent getting there not a good use of a traveler's time. If you've got time to burn, I'd suggest checking out flights to Fes or Marrakech. With five nights you could have a decent short visit to two really fascinating cities.
Do you have adequate time allotted to Granada, Seville and Cordoba? They have a lot more to offer than Tarifa and Tangier. I haven't been to Nerja so am not in a position to comment about it. I enjoyed Ronda (have been there three times) and Arcos, but I think it's more important not to rush through Granada, Seville and Cordoba.
Thank you very much. Yes, we are allotting plenty of time to those cities as well and know that they will have much to offer.
Rent the car when you leave Granada and return it in Jerez.
Thanks again to everyone!
