I plan to travel to Spain from August 22 till September 9, 2001, a total of 17 days. I planned the trip because I have exchanged my timeshare for the week of August 30 til September 6 2001 at the Club Marbella between Marbella and Fuengirola.

I am spending two nights in Madrid, I made my reservations at the Westin Palace. You can save 20% on their rate under "internet specials" at their website, http://www.westin.com/main.taf . If you are a Starwood Preferred Guest member you get upgraded to the best available room in your class. Then two nights in Cordoba at the Hotel Amistad Cordoba, three nights in Sevilla at the Casas de la Juderia before I move on to the timeshare. After a week in Costa del Sol, I made reservations at the Parador in Jaen for two nights, then on to Madrid for one final night.

Should I rent a car and drive? I do not want a car while in Madrid. I am considering taking the train to Cordoba. Once I get there, I thought I could rent a car but I can't find a car rental website with pick up and drop off in Cordoba. Can anyone help me? Or what car rental agencies offer fair rates to pick up and drop off at diferent cities?

This website and the Lonely Planet travel guide for Andalucia really helped with my planning.

Thank You
Gary
A graduate of the Clark Griswold School of Vacation Planning.
[This message has been edited by gsobotta (edited 01-26-2001).]

[ 04-08-2001: Message edited by: gsobotta ]

[ 05-06-2001: Message edited by: gsobotta ]

[ 05-06-2001: Message edited by: gsobotta ]

[ 05-06-2001: Message edited by: gsobotta ]

[ 07-23-2001: Message edited by: MadridMan ]

I have decided to take a train to Cordoba and Seville, it's not economical to rent a car. I can't justify paying for a car while it is parked, and paying for parking too.
I will rent a car in Seville and drive to Malaga Airport to pick up my two daughters for the second half of our journey. I will drop it off in Madrid. I found a rental car agency in the UK called Carjet, their offer is very reasonable. Has anyone rented a car from Carjet? I would like to know if they are a good company.

Hello gsobotta,

You don't need to pay for parking a car in Spain if parked in the street, unless it is very downtown, and when you do, it so much cheaper than the USA, that you wouldn't believe. When I was to Chicago I was furious by the prices I had to pay. In the discos (in Spain), there is sometimes a valet parking, but you only give a tip which is as much as you want to give (usually half a dollar or one dollar).

Of course, this means that it is difficult to park downtown, unless you go to a parking, sometimes VERY difficult, but the prices of the most expensive ones I recall in Madrid are about 250 ptas. an hour (1.12$) and 15$ a day.

As for hiring cars, I think you will find cheaper prices here no matter wether you hire with Jetcar, besides, if there was any problem, you could easily claim personally.

I have found these links:

Hiring in Andalucia - a directory of rent-a-car services in the area you will be at:
http://www.nuvisystem.es/coches/andalucia.htm

Other:
http://www.eol.es/avis/

if you fly with Iberia:
http://www.iberia.se/iberia/ofertas/productos/fly_drive_esp.html

You might want to consider the bus or train from Sevilla to Malaga and pick up your car at the airport. (That doesn't sound right, but you know what I mean!) You will definitely need a car to enjoy the coast fully.

Have a look at this link, because it may prove a good saving for you http://www.madridman.com/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=3&t=000361 .

[ 07-18-2001: Message edited by: Anchovy Front ]

We rented a car in Marbella through a travel agency and it was very cheap. For 12 days we paid $240 for a Seat Cordoba diesel which gets INCREDIBLE gas mileage. We filled the tank twice and we drove from Marbella to Alicatne area then on to Madrid with lots of added driving around in between.

It was very easy to drive there and the highways are well marked. I myself drove into Madrid from Alicante and had no problem following the provided map to the train station to drop the car off. In Madrid you dont need the car, just rent it on the way out of town.

We went through a travel agent who got us a great rate from Europcar, but when we called the agency directly we didn't get as good a rate.

Good luck!
Silvy

Gracias Ignacio,Anchovy Front,SilvyinLA

I choose the Hotel Amistad Cordoba in Cordoba, and the Casas de la Juderia in Seville because they appear within walking distance to many of the main attractions. The descriptions of the neighborhoods will give my wife and I the opportunity to discover restaurants and shops we will miss by traveling in a car. I can’t justify paying for a car sit in a parking lot, even if it is free. My wife and I are avid hikers. We will enjoy our journey more by walking.

Hola Ignacio. If you think Chicago is expensive, New York is highway robbery. I can’t understand when you’re a guest at a hotel, why do you have to pay for parking separately?

I have visited http://www.hellehollis.com/eng/index.html and their cars are attractively priced but I am unable to drop the car off in Cordoba or Madrid after our visit to Jaen. Thanks Anchovy Front, I will send an email to crown@costanet.es before I make a decision.

SilvyinLA, I need a car that will fit 4 adults with luggage. Carjet offered a 406 Peugeot at $ 286.00 for a 9-day rental. I will call a travel agent to compare their prices.

Adios

The Peugot may be bigger but we were 4 adults(two women!!) and we fit a little tight but OK for the 5-6 hour drive to Alicante. The Seat may have a bigger trunk...not sure you can go the car company website and see if you can find the dimesions of the trunk.

The travel agency gave us these coupons from www.taloncar.com that we used like cash. See if the website can help you, I dont read Spanish so I didn't understand what it says.

Silvy

My Spainish is limited. But the website www.taloncar.com is affiliated with Bancotel. Apparently you can use checks or coupons to pay for rentals, and the rental rates are excellant. What I can not decipher is the insurance requirements, insurance language is hard enough in english.

Avis, Hertz, Budget, and National all partnered in Spain with the Spanish agency Atesa. yet there rates are different. The website www.carjet.com provided the best rate, but it is a prepaid all inclusive rental.

gso,

Oh, no!! The Clark Griswold school of vacations... It sounds like Spain might close their borders to Americans after you tear through their country leaving a wake of destruction that only Clark could match.

I'm going to try for a Canadian passport before my trip, just in case they're laying for us USers to arrive, so we can be arrested.

Wolf (Who is now practicing his "'ey?s" so he'll at least sound Canadian... )

Wolf -

In Spain, would that translate into......

Ol-ey?

Pookita

Pookita & Wolf:

I think 'ey' is more of the 'oo-ey' that I heard SO much and ended up picking up from Andalucians. (NO I didn't get a great accent, NO I didn't come back with killer vocab, but when I'm struggling to reach something or leaning over to tie my shoes, I do come out, unbeknownst to me, with a nice big 'oo-ey'like a true Granadina!!)

Sorry to the original poster, I don't know anything about car rentals though!! (Does the fact that I mentioned the word 'car' in this response qualify this for "ON TOPIC"?)

Oh, and Wolf, there's nothing wrong with going on a Griswold family vacation- in fact that's what I did 2 years ago in Italy, as long as they don't twirl with arms out to the side on the hills in La Mancha, by the windmills, in full 'gitana' garb singing 'The hills are alive with the sound of Griswold...'

Granada"Just call me Ellen Griswold"Girl

[ 07-25-2001: Message edited by: GranadaGirl ]

You guys have all wrong! The Clark Griswold School of Vacation Planning trains an individual to prepare family vacations.

My three daughters gave this distinction because our vacations are not the average. Have you ever taken a family camping trip out west without driving on the freeway? You miss alot scenery! We have pitched our tent, or spent the night in some of the most interesting spots in the USA, especially if it is not near a major road. Have you ever spent the night in a haunted house? We like to walk off the road a few miles to picnic, and we avoid the crowds as much as possible. Did you know there is a small stand of Giant Sequoias 1.5 miles off the main road in Yosemite, very few people visit. I will plan our activites for every day, some quite unordinary.

Our family vacations are made for quality time for my wife and my three daughters. They must enjoy it, because all three are coming to Andalucia with me. My daughters ages are 23, 21, and 21, and they pay there own way too.

What do they look forward to? Where is he going to take us next? Like Clark, I'm a man obsessed with my family enjoying their vacation.

[ 07-26-2001: Message edited by: gsobotta ]

[ 07-26-2001: Message edited by: gsobotta ]

Ahem! Topic: "To drive or not to drive?: Should I rent a car and drive?" (in Spain) <tapping foot and strumming fingers on desk>

gso,

Your plan actually sounds great. My wife and I have found that the real Spain is located in all the small towns and villages far from the tourist tracks. These are the places and people that reflect what Spain really is, and the food is about as good as it gets.

Renting a car and paying the parking in the major cities doesn't make sense. But renting them on a day basis, or even a couple of days, to get off the beaten path works well.

In fact, you might find that being able to travel around specific areas will give you a wealth of information about future trips. Places you can stay that are not only reasonable, but downright inexpensive. Just don't leave behind a wasteland like Clark Griswold. I wanna go back and enjoy the countryside!

Wolf (Putting on his tape of "Der Yoopers" singing "Rusty Chevrolet," & "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer," in honor of our members from Michigan.)

GS-

Clark Griswold did drive (NOTE to MM: ON TOPIC!!) across country, and that sounds like a great idea for Spain too. I have always wanted to do that myself, but have been too chicken to go it alone or my companions are too wimpy! (But I can't drive standard cars! But I don't want to get pulled over by the guardia civil!) I'm not implying that you'll get pulled over by the Guardia Civil, but that's always been a fear of ours for some reason.

Buena suerte!!

GG

[ 07-26-2001: Message edited by: GranadaGirl ]