Are you planning holidays in Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote or one of the others minor Canary Islands and you need to rent a car? Good, you’re on the right page, this guide shows all what you need to know, and there are good news even if you don’t own a credit card.
Fortunately the process to rent a car in Canary Islands is much more easier and cheaper and safer than elsewhere in europe.
Roads in canaries are also well kept, and you can easily find free parkings almost everywhere. The “autopistas” (highways) are free and gasoline is priced less than european countires, so driving canary islands will not ruin your budget!
First thing to know: Forget the famous european car rental brands! 🙂
You also don’t need car rental search engines/brokers and their additional insurances, because rentals I’m going to show you include full insurance without excess. So, book directly from the official website.
In detail, all rentals shown give these important advantages:
- You can book for free on the website without paying and without giving any credit card details, you’ll just pay when collecting the car;
- Free cancellation by email;
- The price shown includes full insurance usually with no excess, unlimited mileage, and some car accessories for free;
- Prices cheaper than usual famous european brands;
- There are no tricks or hidden costs on fuel. You don’t have to buy fuel from them as some other brands do, they just give you the car with a certain level of gasoline and you have to drop off the car with the same amount;
- Rental office directly at the airport hall, so fast checkin at the counter where they will give you car keys that you’ll find at the near parking. They don’t bother you with car upgrade proposal or other stuff;
- The price you see on the website is the total price you’ll pay, nothing more to add at their desk;
- Extra: sometimes they gave me a superior car than the one I chose for free!
Everything looks perfect, right? Well yes, I have to say that I never had a problem all the 4 times I rent a car in Canary Islands!
Good news for who don’t have credit cards ! One of the following brands accept payments also by cash without extra fees! You just have to leave a deposit (about 20% more than the actual price) that is like a fuel guarantee, and they will give that back to you at the drop off if everything is ok. Now let’s see the brands:
1 – Autoreisen:
Autoreisen rent a car has offices at the airport terminals of the four main islands ( Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura). This car rental has all the advantages mentioned before and accept payments by credit or debit card.
I rent three times with Autoreisen thanks to the good opinions and cheap prices, two times they gave me a car of major category than the one I chose (a C category, Seat Ibiza, instead of a B category), and both were car with less than 20.000 km ( in one we personally celebrated the 20.000 😛 ).
Usually they also have the best prices, I suggest checking regularly on the website as they sometimes rise or drop (like Ryanair do with their flights! :lol:). Autoreisen also offer some accessories like baby seats for free.
2 – Cicar:
Good opinion also for Cicar, that would be your favourite choice if you need to rent a car in Canary Islands without a credit card. They accept also cash or debit cards: they just ask you for a little cash deposit (in my case was 22€ for a 95€ week rental in Gran Canaria) that you’ll get back at drop off.
This brand also works in other cities of continental Spain and in Balearic islands, but outside Canaries they apply higher prices and different conditions, similar to usual famous european rentals, as you can check here: https://www.cicar.com/ES/view/condiciones-popup
Anyway In Mallorca I took a car with them, they don’t have own office at the airport, they are supported by Enterprise, everything was fine, the car was almost new, but instead of getting the key at the airport desk like in Canaries, they gave me a ticket to show at the parking, where the employee almost started the operations from scratch, trying to giving me cars in superior categories with a paid upgrade or additional insurances, taking some more time.
3 – PayLessCar
They work with Cicar, so same opinion as before; I never rented with them, so I don’t have a specific opinion; anyway sometimes they have the cheaper prices.
4 – Cabrera Medina
https://www.cabreramedina.com/IT
Also this one is working in collaboration with Cicar, they have a lot of offices in many towns, not only airports, in particular way in Tenerife, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, but also in minor islands like El Hierro, La Palma and La Gomera. A brand to keep in mind if you’re planning to travel in these last islands, where some of the previous brands may be missing.
5 – Plus Car
You can find them in all the seven islands , including El Hierro, La Palma and La Gomera. Somewhere they don’t have an office at the airport, but after booking they’ll send you an e-mail explaining that their employee will come at the airport with the car and wait for you at a specific parking number, so that’s not a problem.
Ready to drive?
After all, always check Rental conditions on the company website, and check every part of the vehicle when retrieving it and let the employee know if you see any problem.
The full insurance without excess covers every risk, except the ones caused by bad behavior, like losing the keys, wrong refueling, damages under the vehicle; you’re not covered also while driving out of asphalted roads, and damaging tyres, so pay attention on what roads you choose.
That’s not a problem anyway because almost every road is asphalted, except some in Fuerteventura or Lanzarote.
Apart from these brands you’ll find also some little car rental in many town, offering 1-3-7 days rental. I don’t have any opinion about because I never used them, due to higher prices and the fact that taking the car at the airport is more confortable for me. If you happen to choose these, my advice is to pay attention to what is covered by the insurance and the rental conditions!
Have a nice holiday!
Keep in touch for other posts Canary islands and their beautiness!
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