Car hire in Spain

Now that you've booked your hotel or villa and got your flight sorted, you need to think about booking a rental car as I said in the intro, you do need to book early these days to get the best rate, the longer you leave it, the more likely you are to pay more for your vehicle, unlike with flights!

There are several things you need to think about before you even begin your search, the first is, how many are in the party and how many drivers are there. By drivers I don't necessarily mean how many people hold a driving license, I mean how many in the party will want to be able to drive.

Let's say your party consists of two couples and no children and during the day, the guys are going to spend a lot of time golfing and the girls are going to be hitting the beaches. Then at night you'll all be sampling the nightlife together. What you want to work out is........are the girls going to want to be able to go to and from the beach independently from the guys, or are they happy to be dropped off and picked up around the golf?

Already you can see that there is a possibility that a small hire car may be needed to supplement a car that will comfortably carry all four adults, plus golf clubs and luggage.

Believe me when I tell you that sorting all this out before you go will make a huge difference to how much you enjoy the holiday, think about it, you guys can go off playing golf and not have to worry about getting back on time to pick up the beach party. The beach party don't get bored and decide they really want to hit the shops but can't because 'sigh' they have no car, the men have it 'growl' and so on and so forth. I'm sure you get the picture!

So to get the best car hire deal for you needs some thought before you look, so you know exactly what sort of hire car or cars you want. Get agreement before you go so that everyone is clear on what's planned. If golf is only going to be played twice a week, then it's reasonable to say that for those two days you can drop the others off somewhere, or leave them to enjoy the pool at the villa. But it's still safer to get everyone to agree before you book the car.

So now you have made the decision about what size car you want and how many extra drivers you'll need on the contract, now you can start to look, many people assume that if they go direct to the supplier (Avis, Europcar, Atesa, Hertz) they'll get a better deal, not always true and very time consuming so the best way to get the right price is to use a car hire comparison site where you can fill in just one form and get rates from all the major suppliers and brokers, who because of their buying power can offer the best discounts.

The car hire rates on a comparison site will normally be shown with the cheapest at the top and get more expensive as you look down the results. Now you have to check what's included in that rate.

Remember that you decided beforehand how many drivers you wanted to include on the car hire contract so that they can drive legally, you need to check that the supplier who offers you the best rate also either includes extra drivers free (and how many) or you have to check how much an extra driver will cost (remember that even with one car the driver will always be 'designated driver' so will not be able to take turns in not drinking!)

Using a car rental broker site gives you the best pick of the major suppliers and also save you time!

Have you ever been to a Spanish village fiesta? You don't know what you're missing let me tell you! Food, music, dancing and of course the horses, incredible animals, ridden by everyone from the very young to the very old and every age in between.

The Spanish ride with one hand on the hip and the reins held in the other hand, the men wear traditional costume as do the women. You'll see many a horse with it's rider sat straight and tall, with a flamboyantly costumed woman riding behind him, she doesn't have a saddle of course, just a blanket to sit on, so she has to have amazing balance as well as confidence in the rider.

It's a family occasion full of warmth and tradition, even teenagers of both sexes join in as well as toddlers and those in between. To enjoy them you need a hire car so you can get to the smaller villages, then of course you need to find somewhere to park! But if you do, you won't be disappointed!