Car rental from Madrid in less than 6 hours be in Bayonne

[WldWil]

I am looking at so many options to get from Madrid to SJPDP and for under $100 you can rent a car from Madrid and in less than 6 hours be in Bayonne. Am I missing something here as this being an option?

 

[shefollowsshells]

Please keep us posted on how this works out , or what you find.
I fly into Paris and the fly down to Biaritz ... that is going solo.
Next trip I am going to have a little entourage...this might be a nice option and would allow us to enjoy Madrid.

 

[William Marques]

The only problem could be cross border hire and return which some companies charge extra for. Otherwise car hire is often a much cheaper option than many people expect especially if there are a group of pilgrims.

 

[wayfarer]

You may not be able to drop off hire car outside of Spain but you could drop it in Pamplona or Irun, there will be a surcharge for this. Check all options with the Hire company. You may even meet some pilgrims in Madrid Airport who could share the cost.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Don't forget the taxes, insurance, tolls, and gas (at about 1.46E per liter).

 

[peregrina2000]

Either you got a spectacular deal or you are missing something. I have looked at one way rentals between Spain and Portugal many times and the drop off fees for leaving it in another country are usually in the multi-hundreds of euros. I can't imagine it's that different in France. In fact, I've found the one way drop off fee to be very high even with one way rentals totally in Spain. As falcon says, tolls and gas are very high by US standards, too.

But let us know what you learn, I'd jump on it if the cost includes the drop off fee! Buen camino, Laurie

 

[WldWil]

Research last night showed that you need a $15 International License you can get from AAA. I do enjoy driving. My main drawback would be jet lag after flying in and then driving. Here is a screen shot of the quote. It seems like if you had a couple people to split cost it would be even better. I will try to find out more on the other fees as well as insurance. This quote is a manual transmission. I am thinking Compact. My only luggage is my backpack. A big advantage I see is getting to SJPDP earlier to have extra rest before beginning the journey. I have allowed 4 days for travel and 14 days for walking.

 

[peregrina2000]

Go for it!

 

[PANO]

Research last night showed that you need a $15 International License you can get from AAA. I do enjoy driving. My main drawback would be jet lag after flying in and then driving. Here is a screen shot of the quote. It seems like if you had a couple people to split cost it would be even better. I will try to find out more on the other fees as well as insurance. This quote is a manual transmission. I am thinking Compact. My only luggage is my backpack. A big advantage I see is getting to SJPDP earlier to have extra rest before beginning the journey. I have allowed 4 days for travel and 14 days for walking.

You may want to check out about the need for an international license; as far as I know and experienced, all a tourist requires is a valid national license. I have rented cars with my Swiss license all over the world for many years, in Europe (incl. Spain), in the USA, in Japan, etc. What works one way should work the other. Best is to ask a rental car company.

And while I'am at it: After accomplishing my Camino in SdC last year, I rented a car to drive to Finisterre and Muxia, divided the cost of 45 € plus 20 € gas between the four of us....cheaper than the bus and freeing us from schedules to see the sights leisurely in a single day. Also note that they count the rental on basis of 24 hours, so I kept the car 'til the next morning to drop it off at the airport before departing, all included in the price. A perfect treat after a long walk.

 

[Thomas1962]

Looks like a very good offer indeed.
For some reason it seems like renting a car is getting cheaper, especially in Spain.

Last year I flew back home from Madrid, took a 2 day & 1 way Hertz can rental from SdC to Madrid. Was a perfect way to get back and, with the 2 of us, a little cheaper than other means of transport.
Looking for 1 way rentals looks like a very good option to travel for anyone.

 

[peregrina2000]

You may want to check out about the need for an international license; as far as I know and experienced, all a tourist requires is a valid national license. I have rented cars with my Swiss license all over the world for many years, in Europe (incl. Spain), in the USA, in Japan, etc. What works one way should work the other. Best is to ask a rental car company.

My experience is the same as Pano's. I regularly rent cars in Portugal and Spain and have never been asked for an International Drivers License, neither by the car rental agency nor by any police officer. In the US, it's just a document produced for a fee by the American Auto Assoc., not the government, so it's hard to think it would have more validity than a government-issued license. Anyway, I've shown my US license to the police on occasions like a random alcohol check driving to the airport in Madrid at 6 am on a Sunday morning, or when the Guardia Civil is just standing on the road pulling over cars and checking up on papers and never had a problem. And besides, it's just one more cumbersome piece of paper to carry!

 

[peregrina2000]

Well, I was just trying to rent a car with a one way rental between Spain and Portugal for next spring and kept coming up with the hefty drop fees. So I checked your dates on the Hertz web site, and though the rental rate you posted is what I saw, there is an 840 euro drop fee. I think you just haven't clicked your way far enough through the online rental process to get to the point where they add that fee. I can't imagine that AutoEurope is waiving that fee!