Auto Europe Car Rental in Spain

Auto Europe Car Rental in Spain

 

Freedom to go Wherever the Road Leads is Priceless!

 

Auto Europe Car Rental Experience by WAVEJourney

At first the idea of relying on public transportation was what we thought would be just fine for our 12-day trip to the Costa Brava region in Spain. But once we started to look into the actual schedules of buses and trains to go from Barcelona to Tossa de Mar to Figueres to Roses to Cadaques to Girona, plus a multitude of smaller locations, it was evident that we would completely miss out on so many fascinating places that are either difficult to access (only possible to reach in a car) or the timing would impede our flexibility.

The more we discussed driving in Spain with others that had rented cars there, the more we were convinced that it would not only make our lives much easier for getting around, but would save money, too. Distances in Spain and other parts of Europe are much closer than in Canada or the USA – and they drive on the same side of the road (which is a bonus to North Americans). We immediately contacted Auto Europe Car Rental and had them arrange for us to pick up a car at the train station in Barcelona, and then we could make the drop off at the train station in Girona. Auto Europe arranged a compact car rental for our 10 days in Spain with Avis – they were open on the days and times we needed in the locations we wanted. Perfect timing and excellent service!

Picking up the Audi A1 rental car in Barcelona was a simple process that took about 50 minutes from arriving to driving out of the parking lot. The staff spoke excellent English, gave us a city map, and even suggested driving tips for our journey to the Costa Brava coastal town of Tossa de Mar – where we stayed for 4 nights. Having a car was so much better than schlepping our luggage and ourselves to the train station and waiting for that; taking a one-hour train ride and changing to a bus that would then change to another bus before reaching our final destination of the day. And once we were at our apartment in Tossa de Mar, we were free to explore the surrounding coastal villages and towns as we wanted – and did not need to rely on a much less convenient bus schedule.

Apart from booking our first few nights of accommodations, we decided to wing it with where we went and what we did once we made the decision to get around by rental car. This was the best part of this particular trip as we had an unexpected invitation come our way to visit a couple that lived near Besalu – to stay with them and use their home as a base for a few days. Not only was meeting them and becoming fast friends the highlight of our entire time in Spain, but we would not have been able to visit their lovely home and surrounding area without a car. Spontaneity is definitely one of the many bonuses of a car rental.

One day we even drove across the border to France – just because we could. The freedom to go wherever the road leads is priceless.

In total, we drove over 900 km/550 miles during our 10-day Auto Europe Car Rental in Spain. There is no way we would have had the fabulous experiences and seen the hidden gems in the Costa Brava region that we did if we weren’t self-driving.

Auto Europe makes renting a car in Spain and other parts of Europe very simple and stress-free. Go to their website, just plug in the places you want to pick-up and drop-off the car from, enter your dates, pick the size of the car, decide your insurance requirements, and voila… the rental car will be waiting for you as you asked for in your reservation. It couldn’t be easier!

TIPS FOR RENTING A CAR:

• • Is it big enough? Make sure the size of the car is adequate for the number of passengers and the amount of luggage. Many European cars have small trunks (known as a boot in England), so you want to be certain that all your luggage and bags can be stowed out of sight in the trunk. Plus, do not leave anything visible in the car at any time (smash and grabs are a common occurrence by people on scooters).

 

• • Manual or automatic transmission? If you can drive a manual (stick shift) transmission and are comfortable travelling in one, you will get a better rate on the rental and also much more impressive fuel efficiency.

 

• • Diesel or gas? At the time of writing, diesel was approximately 1.10-1.15 euro per liter and gas was approximately 1.25-1.33 euro per liter The fuel efficiency of diesel can often times be twice as much as gas. You figure out the math on the savings there!

 

• • Tips for Auto Europe Car Rental in Spain.

 

• • Click here to view the Auto Europe website

 

RENT A CAR IN FRANCE

• Take a look at WJ’s Car Rental Tips in France.

 

Note: WAVEJourney was provided with a rental car through Auto Europe to experience their services. Read our full disclosure statement to see that this has no effect on our opinion and/or recommendations and/or reviews.