Car rental in Barcelona / Catalonia
As you have probably tried yourself if you have previously been on a holiday including rental cars, it can be a bit of a jungle.
There is no simple formula to get the best car at the best price and with nothing unexpected happening, such as extra fees. We have since 2005 been to Catalonia at least twice a year. We usually fly into Barcelona and pick up a rental car there.
Here are some things to consider when renting your car:
In our outside the airport?
Some of the rental companies do not have the cars standing in the airport itself, but in a parking lot far away, you have to take a shuttle bus. If you want to avoid this, select only cars where the pickup location is listed as "In AIRPORT" (Inside Airport)
Full to full tank or full to empty tank?
The cheapest cars usually have a deal called "full to empty tank". The advantages of "full to empty tank" are the price and also that you don't have to fill the car before delivery, which means that you don't have to find a petrol station on your way to the airport. However, since it is difficult to calculate the last refueling so that you can deliver the car empty, you will probably deliver the car with some gasoline that you have paid for, but will not use.
Extra insurance?
When picked up at the airport, you are always offered to extend your insurance (for extra payment) so that it is fully covered (ie. no self-risk). It may be a good idea to understand what insurance you have purchased in advance, so you know what to answer. Also, check what your private insurance covers as you may have some cover included. A lot of private insurances already cover a good amount of the insurance deal they are trying to sell you!
Extra equipment (eg. child seats)?
For example, if you want child seats, cross-border driving, or a roof box, this is usually booked in advance. Make sure that you know what you need before you book, and book accordingly.
How to find your car:
The portals where they have all car rental companies can be a good starting point to find the best rate. When you have found the company you want to book with, we recommend that you go to their own website and book directly.
Where to book:
We do not recommend a specific company, we have had mixed experiences with more or less all companies. But if I should recommend one, I think I would say Sixt (but certainly, some of you will also have had mixed experiences with them, as with all the car rental companies)
Book directly:
What we DO recommend is that you book directly on their own website. We have always experienced better services when booking directly than if we show up with a booking from one of the portals. In addition, it reduces the risk of “hidden costs” and “pressure to buy additional insurance etc.”.
We have experienced when showing up with a booking from a portal, that they pressure hard to sell additional insurance and we have even experienced that they deny that the insurance we have bought via the portal is valid (wasted money..)
Check your private insurance:
We recommend that you check the coverage of your private insurance before booking. In some cases (for instance own private experience), except for the “own risk” amount, it might cover you.
Our collaboration - Fair Car Rent:
We are affiliates of Fair Car Rent, which is one of the car rental companies that we feel more comfortable recommending to our guests compared to many of the other companies. In our experience, they are more transparent with the costs, so the car rental process will likely be less stressful.
By renting a car through our affiliate link, you can support our company: LINK
