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Car hire is considerably cheaper than in the UK. My latest advice is to check
out Europa Goldstar. While I have
been using carjet for about two years, I have discovered that Europa has a
number of advantages, especially for short and last minute bookings. You can
book online at the last minute (night before) whereas usually carjet requires
more time (I have done this 3 times recently; I failed each time to get a
confirmation email as it was so late but they always have my booking when I turn
up -but I suppose you might be taking a risk). It was cheaper for bottom of the
range 3 day hire (57€ vs 66€ from Murcia Airport returning to Alicante). You are
less likely to have to queue with all the carjet people who are sent elsewhere.
Last time with carjet I ended up having to get a bus from Murcia Airport to the
rental company's office (Auriga) which was off airport - a bit of a pain. I'm
not aware of any drawbacks.
My previous advice: I have found
www.carjet.co.uk - Alicante Airport or
www.carjet.co.uk - Murcia Airport to be a good and cheap way of renting a car (thanks to Paul for suggesting this site
a couple of years ago, which
I wasn't aware). I usually seem to pay around £70 for a bottom of the range car
per week. These
prices are inclusive. The site is very clear about what's included (a lot) and
what's not included, especially on the insurance side; you can cancel up to 24
hours before. I have used this site a number of times, and have
varied hire period very easily by ringing their main number. They use different
main terminal companies. I have been very impressed. You may find something
cheaper if you hunt hard, but not by much. Note that if you are given a quote
with Auriga at Murcia you will have to get a courtesy bus a couple of km to
their office; it is pretty quick.
You can also hire direct from the bigger
companies which operate from Alicante or Murcia airports (e.g.
Sol-Mar), or go to one of numerous companies
which operate out of the car park. One which I have found reliable
is Star (http://www.rentspain.com/ Tel.
0034-902 180 808). They need to know when you're arriving as their vans are not
permanently manned. Star operate at Murcia airport as well as Alicante.
Centauro is another I have used in the
past. Another
I have used is Lara (http://www.laracars.com/,
Tel. 0034-966 796 029). Other companies which I have not used include
Victoria ,
Javea Cars.
Connect, who are located inside
the terminal building
 | TIP:
Check whether the company requires you to return the car empty or full. Usually
if you are hiring up to three days they say return full but otherwise it's
empty. If given
the option, returning full is probably better in that you don't end up paying
what they think a full tank costs. If full,
make sure you do so, or else you will probably be charged far more than the
fraction of the tank left empty. If empty, this will not be such a
good option if you will not be using a full tank during your hire. |
| TIP: A disadvantage of the within terminal car hire companies is that you can
get stuck in a very long queue at busy times. On the other hand you can be sure
someone will be there, not true of the airport parking vans if you arrive at a
time other than the one you said. |
| You normally need a credit card when hiring in Spain; a Visa debit card is
also OK but apparently not Switch/Cirrus, as I found to my cost recently! |
| TIP: Articles about car hire always stress the danger of being ripped off
about small scratches etc. They advise that you very carefully check the car
before you drive away to make sure that all existing scratches, bumps etc. are
accounted for on the contract document you get. Otherwise you might get
charged a lot after you drop the car back. |
| You are usually advised to keep your hire documents in the car with you. I
understand that the reason for this is if the police stop you, they can tell
you haven't stolen the car as your hire document will match your passport. |
You can also use one of the bigger sites such as
holidayautos which offer competitive
prices whenever I have checked them out (you can also pay in sterling so you
don't lose on the exchange rate).
Don't forget your driving license! (Unlike UK car hire, I have never been
asked for the paper counterpart to my photo driving licence, but it's probably
worth bringing, just in case.)
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