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Hi,
Does anyone have any car hire company recommendations for pick-up and drop-off at Faro Airport? Happy to hear of the better ones and the ones to be avoided 🙂
A quick search of Google’s search results showed 1 week for a small car (which is all I need) ranging from around £50 to over £200 (Hertz, Avis, Enterprise, etc.).
I’ve also only ever rented a car once in my life (in Germany in 2008) and can’t remember what insurances I took out, so any guidance on what I should be going for would be very much appreciated. Thanks!
I haven’t rented in Portugal yet (using Avis via BA Holidays in September), but it can be a bit of a minefield – have you had a scroll through the Car Hire Tips thread?
My best tip is check the excess in Europe (can be hidden in the small print) as it can run up to £2k or more so you may want to get an extra policy to cover it.
Try zest car rental. It’s a car rental broker. For Faro the advise I got was to use travel rent or cars4less as they are local companies with reasonable reputation.
Thanks both!
We did “Sicily by Car”. Used Plat’s insurance.
It was all good except for the child car seat they gave us. The seat wasn’t particularly bad for a car rental but wasn’t the best either.We’ve a fair number of cars from Faro and so have our friends and family. We’ve not had a single issue with any company we’ve used and we’ve bounced through a fair few of the cheaper ones over the past 15 years. If you’re concerned about car quality (we’ve had a couple of rotters) then go for a better known brand. If you’re concerned about being stiffed with fees when you get back then in my experience go with any that get half decent reviews and you’ll be fine.
Do pay for the toll transponder, going into a Portuguese post office to pay your toll isn’t a fun experience (well it’s fine it’s just boring as they are so slow and the Portuguese treat any interaction as a social catch up) and does leave you open to a system glitch and a follow up fee/fine from the rental company (happened to one friend last year, not the rental company’s fault and totally reasonable for them to pass on the cost). The £18 or whatever it will be for the transponder is worth it. Especially since the N125 is such a busy road now the A22 is worth the toll.
Timely thread. How about one way car hire Faro to Porto? Any suggestions?
LCRent , email geral@lcrent.pt
Have used these people for years never had an issue and good prices
I’m actually near Faro now. Based on previous visits can only echo previous comments in this thread. The local firms are (perhaps surprisingly) straight up and honest, and well priced. It’s kind of how a competitive car rental market should work everywhere (but clearly doesn’t!). Cars will be a little older and basic, but do the job well enough – actually feel happier bouncing over Portuguese potholes in something that’s not brand new… Won’t comment on current company as not returned car yet but previously Zitauto have done the job well.
Some good pointers – thanks to everyone who has commented 🙂
Slightly off-topic but there seems to be quite a bit of experience here! We are collecting a hire car in Porto in September (Avis via BA Holidays), but intending to spend most of the trip over the border in Spain. I have a sinking feeling that when I check the small print there might be an issue with taking the car into a different country (didn’t think about this when I booked, duh, OPO is just the most convenient airport for where my Spanish family live) – is there any way to get around this? I think I’ve seen something about paying an extra fee?
@NorthernLass – it’s not an issue taking an Avis car to Spain and there’s no extra cost but see the T&Cs re insurance and roadside assistance – nothing bad, but something to be aware of.
Ah great, many thanks for that!
Just returned a car to Sixt. Hard to say if I’d recommend them. The car was ok, covered in lots of scratches and dents, and they’re very, very thorough in checking. Which made it quite difficult to feel comfortable that all the existing damage was on the rental agreement. Anyway, returned seemingly ok. Not sure if that’s any help. If you’re likely to mark the car, they’ll probably find it. Also, the booster car seat was a total ripoff. But that’s something I should’ve anticipated and come up with a better plan
The cheap local brands like Centauro are usually fine.
I used Sixt at Faro airport Aug 2022 – was fine, decent car and service.
Echo the comments on toll roads – makes arrangements for the charges or avoid them. I expected Sixt to bill me retrospectively but instead got a recovery letter from EPC to try and get me to pay the tolls and admin fees a year later.
Used “MasterKings” at T4 Car Park several times, via Zest Car Rental ( broker ) – nothing but excellent service several years running ( if MK are still trading .. ).
€15 cash for toll road transponder included €5 credit and 0% fx credit card swiped to take care of tolls along Algarve – no problemos !
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