My husband and I are planning on driving from Barcelona to a small town about 2 hours away towards the northwest (don't have the name right here) for 2 days and then driving to Cadaques for another 2 days and then back to Barcelona. We are wondering if anyone out there has had good (or bad) luck with rental companies. Our instinct is to go with a known name like Hertz (plus we are gold members--don't know the benefit of that in Europe). We will be driving at the beginning of June.
Posted by
Cincinnati, OH, USA
1 posts
Susan, I've had good luck with Europecar, very professional and helpful, with a good range of cars from economy to fullsize. There's also a US customer service number if you need to change reservations, upgrade, or need assistence. Recommended. David
Posted by
Myrtle Beach, USA
12313 posts
I generally just shop all the companies, then go with whichever one works best for me. We rented a car out of Barcelona through Europecar. One thing that was nice is we could pick from a list of downtown rental locations. I mapped our lodging, then mapped the different rental locations to pick one that was walking distance from our hotel. Other companies allow the same thing, so you wouldn't have to use Europecar to do that. We use AmEx's CDW insurance. The transaction with Europecar didn't trigger an automatic charge for the premium (as it probably would have with Hertz or Avis). I had to call AmEx and have them manually charge the premium so I knew I was covered.
Posted by
Gaston, Oregon, USA
931 posts
We really enjoy using the Autoeurope.com website. We have been using them for years. We can easily pick and choose locations, and rental agencies, and do multiple price comparisons. We usually find that they have great prices. If we have any questions we can call them at their headquaters in Maine. Once we book, we can easily cancel if something comes up. You can also use sites like Kayak, that show you the best pricing, and then refer you directly to the rental agency. Read the fine print in any contract. The deductable for Collison and Theft can be a problem, but we use our VISA to cover that. Amer XPres has great coversge too. Bring your GPS from home, a Michelin map of Spain, a compass, your drivers license, and your International Drivers Permit, (that you buy at your local AAA office).