Spain Travel Car Hire

Lisbon, the capital of Portugal is also the largest city in Portugal. NUTS Lisbon region and district of Lisbon too are part of it. Lisbon’s municipality area is 33 square miles. Greater Lisbon or Grande Lisboa sub-region is the second important economic and financial hub of the Iberian Peninsula.

Lisbon has a mild Mediterranean climate influenced by Gulf Stream. It is warm during all the months of the year. Summer’s day temperatures range from 26 to 29 degrees C. The night temperatures are 16 to 18 degrees C. Winter temperatures are within 8 to 15 degrees C. Fall and spring seasons too are mild. It rains during October – April.

You can find buildings portraying various styles of architecture- Traditional Portuguese, Romanesque, Manueline, Gothic, Baroque, Post-Modern and Modern. Its upper districts have some outstanding monuments and boulevards. Examples of these are Liberty Avenue (Avenida da Liberdade), Avenida Fontes Pereira de Melo, Republic Avenue (Avenida da República) and Avenida Almirante Reis. Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, its opera house is quite active primarily during winter and autumn.

Belem tower guards Lisbon harbour’s entrance and was constructed during 1515. It is the country’s symbol and has been listed by UNESCO as a monument - World Heritage. It is built in Manueline style and has motifs of sculptures, Discoveries and denotes historical persona like St. Vincent. Its architect - Francisco de Arruda designed some Portuguese fortifications at Morocco and so it has Moorish influences.

Sintra, a municipality and town is situated in the sub-region of Grande Lisboa (Lisbon Region). You can use rental cars for reaching it since it is easy and convenient to book and use rental vehicles. It is a World Heritage Site of UNESCO because of its Romantic architecture of the 19th century. Cacém and Queluz cities are part of Sintra. It is visited by tourists from Lisbon since it has 19th century’s Pena Palace, Sintra Cascais Natural Park, Castelo dos Mouros and 15th-16th century’s Palácio Nacional de Sintra which was the home of Portugal kings during summer. Tourists also throng Sintra Mountain Range (Serra De Sintra) which is one of Lisbon’s biggest parks.

Mafra, Lisbon’s town and municipality is situated in Greater Lisbon region (district of Lisbon) at the west coast. Tourist surfers throng Ericeira since it is a sea side town. Mafra also has the famous Mafra National Palace (“Palácio de Mafra”). Its architectural style is baroque. This palace inspired José Saramago, a Nobel Prize laureate to write the novel “Baltasar and Blimunda”. Another interesting site surrounding it is a game reserve and a wildlife area - Tapada Nacional de Mafra. Australia’s Maffra town was named after Mafra.

To rent-a-car in Lisbon, please note that your age should be minimum 21 years and this restriction depends on the car you choose. Not only that, your license should be at least a year old. For good car hire deals in Lisbon, use popular websites like Spain Travel Car which offer car hire in Lisbon at the lowest prices.  

No one pays much attention to car hire until things turn bad–and things are bad. One small player, Advantage Rent A Car, has tumbled into bankruptcy and closed many of its rental stations. Standard & Poor’s says Dollar Thrifty may be the next into Chapter 11. The Avis Budget Group had to scramble to secure financing for a fleet update. Enterprise, until recently the industry’s highest flyer, is laying off employees for the first time in its 50-year history. What’s it mean for us in 2009? More rentals with high mileage, lots of road wear and obvious cosmetic damage. (Don’t be shocked if you get a two-year-old clunker with 20,000 miles or more.) Fewer employees to check us in when we return cars. (Most rental firms are emulating Enterprise.) And more under-the-radar cash grabs. (Watch for rising daily rates for insurance and damage waivers and higher prices for vehicle-refueling service.) The bad state of the global economy will take its toll on car hire companies and the entire travel industry in 2009.

Source: The Washington Post

If you are planning in spend your holidays in France and want to know a little bit more about this lovely country, check the prices at carhire deals in france. This site offers the best rental prices in France and Corsica. The experienced staff will help you at any moment to find the best prices for car hire in all cities and airports in France, like Toulouse, Nice, Marseille or Paris.
Paris.

Rent a car in Paris and visit one of the most romantic cities in the world with its numerous museums as for example the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay and the Art Centre Georges Pompidou. The other famous buildings to be visited are the gothic Cathedral of Notre Dame, the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower.

By renting a car at Paris airport the visit to the different sights will be more pleasant. Claude Monet’s house and gardens in Givenchy, Euro Disney, which is located east of Paris or the famous Versailles Palace and many other, like the National Opera, the Champs Elysées or the Sacré Coeur. The Quartier Latin close to the Sorbonne University is not only popular with students or tourists at night.

Málaga is a port city in Andalusia, southern Spain, on the Costa del Sol coast of the Mediterranean. Málaga is surrounded by mountains, lying in the southern base of the Axarquía hills, and two rivers, the Guadalmedina and the Guadalhorce, which flows west of the city into the Mediterranean. The climate is mild and equable, the mean annual temperature being about 19 °C. The Holy Week, and the Málaga Fair are the two most well-known of Málaga’s festivals. The Malaguenos choose the hottest month of the year, August, to celebrate the Feria de Malaga with not only the locals, but in addition to the thousands of tourists who come to see the spectacular sight. The streets are transformed into symbols of Spanish culture and history, with sweet wine, tapas,and live flamenco shows filling the town. The city is a popular tourist destination, due mainly to its proximity to the Costa del Sol. Many tourists also visit here to see the birthplace of Pablo Picasso. There are very cheap flights to Málaga from countries in Northern Europe, particularly the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands and Germany. A popular walk leads up the hill to the Gibralfaro castle (a Parador), offering extensive views over the city. The castle is next to the Alcazaba, which in turn is next to the inner city of Málaga. By taking the Paseo del Parque, a promenade that runs alongside a park with many palm trees and statues, one can walk to the harbour, finishing in Calle Larios the main commercial street of the city.
If you are planning to visit Malaga we recomend you to rent a car. There are many offers of economic rental cars in Malaga, the best prices for renting a car in Malaga are in the airport. To ensure a good price and service we recommend to use the online service of www.spain-travel-car.com offering very cheap prices and comprehensive insurance. Normally the minimum age for renting a car in Malaga is 21 years old and at least one year of driving licence. If you want go to Malaga during your holidays, come on Summer and hire a car rental.

In the city centre of Nice you can visit the following tourist attractions: the baroque Saint-Jacques Church, Nice Cathedral and the beautiful flower market. The “Promedade des Anglais” is Nice’s most famous avenue along the seafront. It was built in the 19th century and paid for by the English community who spent the mild winters in Nice, this is where it got its name from. Tasting Nice’s delicious cuisine with its worldwide famous ’salade niçoise’ and seafood specialities is a must.

Cheap car hire in Nice airport allows you to discover the numerous museums and galleries in this marvellous city, for example the Matisse Museum, Musée des Beaux Arts and The Opera of Nice. Nice’s airport serves the entire Côte d’Azur and Monaco and is used by the most popular low cost airlines.

With a cheap rental car in Nice you can easily drive to Monaco, with its famous casinos and of course the French Riviera’s most exclusive beaches like Saint-Tropez and Cannes. Outside Nice there are many villages and towns to enjoy and visit. The Provençal town of St. Paul, which captivated Chagall, Matisse and Picasso, is just 12 miles away . Hire a rental car at Nice airport to discover the beautiful Cote d’Azur and the Provence.

Whilst Spain is one of the world’s leading destinations in the tourist industry there is more to this country than just beaches and islands. The country is situated on the Iberian peninsula. Spain also encompasses two groups of islands,  The Balearic Islands (Islas Baleares), in the Mediterranean, coast and the Canary Islands (Islas Canarias) which lie off the Atlantic coast of Morocco. The Balearic Islands have ferry services to the mainland running to Barcelona, Valencia and Denia. Please bear in mind that car hire companies do normally not allow to transport a rental vehicle on board.

Furthermore Spain has got two enclaves in Morocco on the African continent, Ceuta and Melilla. Ferries link the enclave of Ceuta with Algeciras, Tarifa and Malaga. Melilla, the other enclave is served by ferries out of Malaga and Almeria. Remember that a rent a car in Spain may not be taken from or to these enclaves on the boat.

Spain has a extended network of  airports serving the following cities and towns: A Coruna, Alicante, Almeriia, Aviles, Badajoz, Barcelona, Bilbao, Girona, Granada, Jerez de la Frontera, Leon, Madrid, Malaga, Murcia, Pamplona, Reus, San Sebastian, Santander, Santiago, Seville, Valencia, Valladolid, Vigo and Zaragoza. All the Canary Islands have at least one airport which makes it fairly easy to travel to El Hierro, Fuerteventura, Gran Canary, La Gomera, Lanzarote and Tenerife. Except for Formentera the rest of the Balearics Islands, namely Ibiza, Menorca and Mallorca all have airports.

In addition to the many inter island flights which are available at reasonable prices the islands are also connected by ferry services. If you’re not travelling with a car you may choose the much quicker jet foil services, however if you are travelling by car you will have to opt for the slower traditional ferries. Please bear in mind that rent a car companies do not permit to transfer a rental vehicle from one island to another.

All mayor airlines provide scheduled flights to Spain but it is also a main destination for low cost airlines with flights available from almost any city in Europe. Furthermore there are many charter flights serving the mayor tourist destinations in Spain and it is possible to find some very good deals on seats on these flights if the tour operator has not sold out the inventory.

The train service is well developed and tickets are relatively cheap compared to other European countries. The AVE high speed train network is extensive, you can travel comfortably from Barcelona to Madrid, Sevilla and Malaga at a speed of almost 300 km per hour.

Travelling by car is an other cheap option for visitors from many European countries who do not depend as much on air transportation as tourists from the United Kingdom. Some roads in Spain are not of a good standard but the infrastructure has been improved considerably and so it is also possible to travel by car on some of the newest and finest roads on the continent. If you prefer to travel by bus Spain is served by many bus companies linking the major cities with express services.

One of the most interesting options for the independent traveller who wants to move around and see much more of Spain is the service of one of the many car hire companies in Spain. Especially in major tourist destinations car hire in Spain can be a very economical option if you compare with the total expenses for taxi fares for several sight seeing trips. Spain car rental is also available from the internet at bargain prices, all you have to do is use your favourite search engine to find the best prices for cheap car hire in Spain.

In a previous post we outlined a number of tips and tricks on the most common surcharges when you need to rent a car in Spain. Apart from the already mentioned additional charges like airport surcharges, insurances, sales taxes, concession recovery fees, customer facility charges to name but a fee there are other additional charges which may be applicable depending on your travel destination or the pickup station you collect the car from. Here are some tricks about gasoline charges applied at the desk of the car hire companies in Spain.

Depending on the car hire company you are renting the vehicle with there are a number of petrol policies applicable in Spain.

There are companies in Spain who will deliver the car with a full tank of petrol and will charge you for the petrol used or you are allowed to return the car full again in which case you will not be charged for the petrol or will receive a refund in case the corresponding amount has been credited to your credit card at the time of signing the rental agreement. Please note that some of these companies may require a high premium charge (sometimes also called refuelling charge) for returning a car with an empty tank, so in these cases you’ll definitely want to make sure to fill up before you return your vehicle to the rental company, unless you’re really in a hurry and risk to miss your plane due to the delay of finding a petrol station and fill up the tank.

Other car rental companies in Spain require you to purchase a full tank of petrol when you sign the rental agreement and collect the car, enabling you to return the car with as much (or as little) petrol as you wish. In these cases there is no refund for unused fuel, but it can be very convenient when you return the car at the rental station, because you can walk straight to the check in desk at the airport, there is no need to wait in line at the car rental counter for a final adjustment of the balance. You will also avoid the trip to the petrol station to fill up the tank.

A third option which is sometimes applied by smaller car hire companies without proper installations close to the airport (including refuelling services) or local offices of multinationals offering car hire in Spain which are far away from the nearest petrol station is that the vehicle is delivered with the amount of petrol it was left with by the previous customer and you are requested to return the car with the same amount of gas. This may seem convenient, as you do not have to reimburse any money at all for the petrol, but occasionally this can be rather inconvenient, especially when you arrive late at night and find that many petrol stations are closed or when you fill up the car and due to circumstances have to return the hire car with a lot more petrol than it was delivered with in which case the car hire company does normally not reimburse you for the extra fuel left in the tank.