Renting a Car in Spain

[sengsational]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brett No room for error and no turn around spots. You are committed once you enter the street.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hyperborea Be aware that some towns have driving restrictions on non-residents - usually small towns with small tight streets.

Until mentioned, I kind of forgot about the city driving headaches, and those are worth mentioning. In Gibraltar we had to circle for 20 minutes to find a free place to park. In Seville, we were looking for a tourist office that was open (many were closed on that day/time), and we ended-up driving into the tiny/narrow streets, right up to the door of the Seville Cathedral! We literally had to fold-in a mirror to get through one place, and we had a tiny car! Once outside of the old city areas, it's no problem, except they'll charge you to park a car at most hotels in big cities.

[brett]

Restricted streets are also common in Italy..complete with cameras and large fines for those who mistakenly enter. Same in some Turkish cities.

We invariably rent when we are leaving a city and drop off at another. In Spain we trained from Madrid to Toledo. Toured and picked up the car as we left. Dropped it off in Seville when we arrived. But we did have the car in Granada...just parked it for a day in a public parking lot.

[Hyperborea]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brett Restricted streets are also common in Italy..complete with cameras and large fines for those who mistakenly enter. Same in some Turkish cities.

In some of the Spanish towns there was a short window of time allowed for "free" and beyond that you would get a ticket. If you were staying in a hotel inside the downtown then the owner would register your license plate and give you access.

[brett]

Same in Turkey. We had a car while travelling through Antalya. The hotel owner had to phone in our lic. Plate details to avoid any tickets during the few days we were there. This was in the old part of gown where traffic is restricted. This is very common. Failure to pay close attention to the signs or to ask can turn into an expensive proposition by the time the rental agency adds their admin fee to the ticket cost.