Car Hire Barcelona

Because there are so many companies offering Barcelona Car Rental we have tried to make your selection quicker and easier by running a price comparison on them.  

The five main car hire firms who offer good value for money car rental are all located on the first floor of Terminal 1 and in Terminal 2 in modules B (next to arrivals area) and C (next to the baggage reclaim area).

There are many other rent a car companies situated on the outskirts of the airport, but again for easy access and speedy collection of your hire car the companies listed below will be able to provide you with a competitive quote:.

Avis at Barcelona Airport  -  National Atesa at Barcelona Airport  -  Europcar at Barcelona Airport  -  Hertz at Barcelona Airport  -   Solmar at Barcelona Airport

When looking for a rent a car it is well worth obtaining quotes from CarTrawler who are an internet company offering  excellent rates for car hire at every Spanish Airport.

They have formed partnerships with car hire companies and then match your requirements against their databases to find the best quotation to meet your requirements. You can obtain a free online quote for your Barcelona car hire here, but just to give you some indication of costs:   a Ford Fiesta or similar hired for seven days during the last week in September (Saturday to Saturday) will cost in the region of GBP123 (quotation includes collision damage waiver, theft protection, third party liability, VAT, unlimited mileage and airport fees).

The car hire desks in Terminal 1 are located on the first floor of the terminal building.

Once you have landed in Terminal 2 and collected your luggage at Barcelona Airport simply head for the Arrivals area in Terminal B where you will find all the corresponding car hire desks. Alternatively, if you have arrived at Terminal C and you are collecting your luggage from there, the car hire desks are located in the baggage reclaim area.

After all the relevant paperwork has been completed by the rentals agent they will hand over the keys and also a piece of paper that you will need to hand in to the rental agent in the relevant car hire office situated in the car park.

Head for the exit doors located behind the car rental desks in Terminal B and cross over the road where you will clearly see all the different car hire offices in the car park opposite Terminal B. Hand the piece of paper in at the corresponding office where they will then direct you to where your rental car is parked.

Car hire rental agents tend to operate slightly differently depending on which airport you are at and at Barcelona Airport the rental agents will accompany you to your car to note down any bodywork damage etc before you leave so make sure you personally check the car thoroughly and point out any damages to the rental agent otherwise you may end up paying for damage to the vehicle which had been caused prior to you renting the vehicle.

Once the car has been checked the rental agent will hand you the piece of paper back as you will be required to show this to the car park attendant at the exit.

When returning to Barcelona Airport to drop off your rental car simply follow signs to Airport T2 and the Car Hire return car park which will lead you around the front of Terminal A where you will need to continue towards Terminal B and enter the car rental car park via the slip road opposite Terminal B.

If you are flying from Terminal 1 then just follow the signs for Airport T1 car hire return car park.

You will then need to drive to the relevant car hire company office and park the vehicle in one of the bays directly outside the office and not with the other rental cars in the car park.

Once you have parked and removed your personal belongings, notify a rental agent who will then proceed to check the vehicle over to ensure no damage has been made to the bodywork etc. The rental agent will then stamp your rental agreement and ask you to go to the car hire desk in the module which corresponds with your flight so that they can issue you with any relevant refund such as for fuel or for a damage excess waiver that you may have paid.

Barcelona airport is just off the C31 motorway.  It offers very good transport access to other parts of the Iberian Peninsula and France.  If you want to travel around, Barcelona is an excellent base to operate from and a hire car is the most cost effective way to give you the necessary freedom and flexibility. 

To give you some indication of the travel distances from Barcelona Airport the city centre is a 12km journey; Sitges is 33km: Girona  125km: Madrid 830km and Malaga is just over 1000km.   One option you have when hiring a car is to collect it at Barcelona Airport and drop it off at Girona, Madrid or Malaga Airport – all depending on how much travelling you are planning to do.

When driving around you should be aware that there is law operating in Spain regarding the use of indicators on motorways which is being strictly enforced. You risk being fined by not indicating before overtaking and again before pulling back to the nearside lane after overtaking. Make sure you do not cross the solid white line as you enter the motorway from a slip road and only do so when the line is broken.

As a guide the speed limits in Spain are 120 km/hour on the motorways: 90-100 km/hour on the open road and 50 km/hour when driving in a town.  If you are breathalysed the legal limit is 0.5 milligrams of alcohol per millilitre of blood which is lower than the 0.8 which is law in the UK.