Hi,

We're thinking of hiring a car for a few days close to Easter (probably when the bank holidays come into effect, to drive out of the city and see some of the surrounding areas: Toledo, Avila, etc while things are closed in the city!)

At the moment we're considering hiring from Avis on Gran Via.

Anyone know if this is a good idea? Anybody have any experiences of this?

Also, what is the driving like in Madrid?

Any advice would be warmly appreciated.

I think it's a great idea. You can go at your own pace and wander into "uncharted" territory. Driving in Madrid is okay if you know where you're going! Are you planning on touring for the day and then returning with the car to sleep in Madrid? If you know how to get from point A to point B, it's not too bad. There are a lot of one-way streets which makes it difficult if you're not familiar with them. You can see where you want to go but getting there is a different story. Madrid traffic can be very bad, depends on the area and time of day. Gran Via is a good place to leave from but make sure you know how to get back. Stick to very large streets such as gran via, alcala, castellana, and you should be somewhat fine. Make sure you get gas before you return to Madrid (unless you know exactly where a station is). Wandering the streets for a gas station will surely get you lost.
If your rental plans include a Saturday night and are for 5 days or less between Thursday and Wednesday, let me know. I have a good offer from Avis and can pass the number on. There are restrictions (such as the aforementioed) and you must have a credit card that covers insurance to make the offer worthwhile. It's not for everyone but if the days fit, let me know. I used to rent cars all the time with Avis and got to know the guy working in the garage where they clean the cars. Living in Madrid, I found it's actually cheaper to rent a car every weekend than to buy and maintain one.

Hi Nevado,

Thanks for your reply and information.
At the moment I am thinking of renting a small car through Avis for £55 (sterling) for 3 days - Wed, Thurs and Fri. I work within the travel industry so have a discounted rate here.

The main plan is to drive off for a day trip each of these days. We are staying close to Gran Via (Hostal Chelo) so hopefully this won't be too much of a problem!

I recently reserved w/Avis for 7 days end of June for US$147 w/AAA discount.I'm chosing to rent the day I LEAVE Madrid after reading similar warnings of driving and parking in Madrid.The car seems to be most useful getting to and from cities and for the photo-ops between.

We rented a car from Avis on Gran Via and dropped it off later at the airport for a small surcharge. It was difficult to find any on street parking so we paid quite a bit to park overnight in a garage. Be better to pick up the car just before leaving the city. Driving in the city is not bad however the scooters weaving between the lanes was *interesting*.

is there any on-street parking near Hostal Chelo, does anyone know?

we are hiring a car from Gran Via Avis too and don't want to pay a lot to park in a garage overnight - how much did you pay in the garage, do you remember?

I think Antonio recently answered that question and the price was either 2100 pts. or 2500 pts. for parking. Street parking is very difficult to find in the center (around Sol) and looking for parking can be frustrating, especially if you don't know the area. Many of the streets have little or no street parking.

There are on-street parking at Hortaleza street but you won't probably find any available space. It's always full of cars. I wouldn't recommend hiring a car / driving within Madrid since there are a lot of traffic jams and it's very difficult to find street parking.

As for the parking, public ones are about 2400 pesetas per day. There are also a few private parkings for 2000 pesetas per day but they are full most of the times.

Use public transportation while in Madrid. Our subway system is really good and it's getting better (and longer) everyday.

We will be heading for a week in Madrid after spending 3 weeks on the coast near Valencia this July. We were thinking about stopping in Toledo on our way to Madrid. We want to find out if it will be safe to spend the day in Toledo with all our luggage (6 people's worth) in our rental minivan. We'd be happy to pay for parking.
Any advice?

vfamily--there is an underground parking garage outside the Toledo town walls, near the Bisagra gate (across from Hostal del Cardenal). It might be your best choice, as it will be more removed from curious passersby. It's staffed, too, so if you park near the pay booth, you might get an extra sense of security from the presence of the employees. Still, I would recommend keeping your money and passports on your body, rather than in your luggage.

Also, regarding the Avis on Gran Via--it's quite near Hostal Chelo (we walked to Chelo from the Avis offices with our luggage). We rented at the airport and dropped off on Gran Via to avoid paying parking charges while in Madrid. Then we just took the metro to the airport a couple of days later. It worked out really well.

Incidentally, the Avis garage is in a regular pay garage, just past the Avis on-street office as you head in the general direction of Sol. You might be able to use that garage if you're staying at Hostal Chelo. But englishboy, if you're renting from Gran Via and staying at Chelo, why not just delay your rental until you will need the car to leave Madrid?

[ 05-02-2001: Message edited by: MadridMan ]