Matty42

Hi guys, we are looking at flying in to Seville instead of Faro this summer and looking at car hire, however, what we have seen so far, it is double or more than we pay for Travel Rent @ Faro. Does anyone have any recommendations for low cost car hire @ Seville Airport? Salud!

MKABZ

Hi Matty,
The prices at Seville airport have shot up recently. I had looked about ten days ago and the prices were about average, I looked again after Spain announcing entry without PCR test for British people and the prices had shot up to double and more than that of Faro. You also need to take into account the cars from Spain do not have toll transponders on them and the cross border charges tend to be higher also. We would also have to travel to a airport further from home, rather than our local airport, which is a ten minute drive, to get a flight to Seville. All in all, we are cheaper to get the PCR tests, for two of us, and fly into Faro, which I prefer to do as I am familiar with the airport and the car hire firms there. :-)

Matty42

Hi MKABZ and many thanks for your advise, it certainly looks like we may take the hit on the extortionate PCR Tests costs at the airport etc. and fly into our usual Faro hub. We have already booked the car with Travel Rent who are brilliant and a snip at €550 for 3 weeks in August, all in. Additionally, anything can change between now and August but hoping for a positive (not COVID) outcome. Salud! .

MKABZ

We are booked for next month. I am hoping that Portugal will do away with the need for a PCR test by then, which is more likely if Spain are put on to our green list soon. I would rather not pay the extra money for tests but it will be worth it to get away from this dreadful weather and get some sunshine and heat.
Good to hear your recommendation for car hire firms as it can be a bit of a jungle out there. We used to always go with the big brands because of that. We were looking to change and after seeing others recommendations on here we went with Drive4Fun in November; we found them to be excellent, so have booked them again through Zest Car Hire.
Mary.

Matty42

With you there Mary, ideally, we would like to go through our usual route through Faro, along the motorway into Ayamonte and to IC but these are challenging times and will probably not book our flights until things change for the better. Salud!

MKABZ

No harm in waiting Matty. At least you can always book your car hire in advance as most can be cancelled at short notice with no charge.
Mary.

olivia

Has anyone costed having an airport transfer to Ayamonte from Seville or Faro and hiring from Guillacar in town? It would help the local economy. Many years ago I costed train Seville to Huelva and collecting a car at the train station there. A little inconvenience might result in a saving.

MKABZ

Hi Olivia,
I got a transfer a few years ago from Faro, I think it was about 70 euros each way if I remember correctly. I did try to contact Guillacar in Ayamonte but received no reply from them, so ended up hiring from one of the international brands and picked the car up at a hotel in Isla Cristina.
I can't recall if it worked out any cheaper, I'm thinking not, I also had the cost of a taxi to pick up the hire car and after returning it. We just thought we would try without a hire car that particular time but found it too difficult. To be honest, I would stick to hiring at Faro airport.
I can look for the name of the transfer company if you are interested, they were excellent,
Mary.

olivia

We are not planning a visit anytime soon and when we do we drive in a motorhome these days. When we were working we flew to Faro but that's a long time ago. We thought we might have to go over and I have been looking at all options.

glaisboy

Disaster, Portugal and Spain now on the Amber list ,cannot afford to quarantine so it looks as if it will another few months before we travel out.

MKABZ

glaisboy, Spain always was on the amber list, never been on the green list.
Mary.

MikeJ

One thing I would warn you about Seville Airport car hire. Beware if you have a late arriving flight and it is slightly delayed. My son had a flight to Seville due at 23:00 but was delayed by 1/2 hour. The car hire desks were all closed and he had to wait in the airport oernight until 08:00 before he could collect his car.

MKABZ

That sounds bad Mike. Do they not check for delayed flights and wait, assuming your son had given his flight details? I usually give my flight details for Faro but never been in the situation of arriving late, I have paid extra for a flight arriving after closing time.
Mary.

MikeJ

This was Spain .not friendly Portugal.
He complained , of course, but never even got the courtesy of a response.

MKABZ

Yes, I realise you are talking about Spain . The car hire is the one thing that puts me off using Spanish airports as I just have that feeling they would be more dodgy than Portugal, happy to stick with Faro.
Mary.