Travel Question - Car rental and driver's license

[JLV]

Hello ALL

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
I want to rent a car In Porto and drive to Santiago de Compostela.
Do you need an International Drivers License ?
Also the prices I see online to rent a car are so cheap I can't believe they are correct.

Thanks JLV

 

[Amachant]

Please get an international driver’s license. We had a very very hard time renting a car in Spain without one last May’23. It will save you a lot of money and headaches.

 

[J Willhaus]

Can't say on Portugal, but in Spain we could rent a car, but we're told the IDL was for if we were stopped by the Guardia Civil. Other forum members have mentioned being stopped at safety check points and never been asked for it though.

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

Hello ALL

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
I want to rent a car In Porto and drive to Santiago de Compostela.
Do you need an International Drivers License ?
Also the prices I see online to rent a car are so cheap I can't believe they are correct.

Thanks JLV

An IDP is recommended to bridge any language gaps and ensure smooth interactions, especially at border controls and for car rentals, as most agencies require.

 

[Tincatinker]

Hello ALL

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
I want to rent a car In Porto and drive to Santiago de Compostela.
Do you need an International Drivers License ?
Also the prices I see online to rent a car are so cheap I can't believe they are correct.

Thanks JLV

The prices you see online are unbelievable and should not be believed. Add in insurance, collision wavers, cleaning charges and the “you’re a foreigner; open your wallet and repeat after me “help yourself”” and the bargain becomes less of a bargain.

If you’re thinking of a one way pick up and drop it’ll probably be cheaper to buy a car in Porto and sell it in Santiago. Or you could just catch the bus

 

[naplesdon]

I have traveled often in the Eurozone with an IDL and never once was I asked for it to rent a car. Be aware there are very expensive drop-off charges for a rental car when you return it to a country different than the one you rented it in. Check with your auto insurance company to make sure you are fully covered for all hazards by your policy when driving in a foreign country, the added cost of insurance sold by the rental companies can be a deal killer.

 

[Kathar1na]

Also the prices I see online to rent a car are so cheap I can't believe they are correct.

I had a look on Avis.com for Porto to Santiago just out of curiosity. On the first page, in small print and at the bottom, it says "Fees and taxes are not included in the car rates displayed above". On this version of the website you will see the one-way fee and a surcharge only at the very end when you are about to pay. Be ready for a very big surprise because pick-up and drop-off location are not identical and they are in two different countries.

 

[Stephan the Painter]

Hello ALL

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
I want to rent a car In Porto and drive to Santiago de Compostela.
Do you need an International Drivers License ?
Also the prices I see online to rent a car are so cheap I can't believe they are correct.

Thanks JLV

I rented a car in 2022 in Spain. Also for me, car rental prices were much cheaper in Spain then in North America or many other places. But just make sure that you read all the fine print and extra charges so you don’t get any surprises. A foreign country drop fee could be high.

You don’t need an international drivers license to actually rent a car (in Spain at least, they only asked to see my resident country drivers license) . I don’t know if they’ll check in Portugal. However, you do need one if you are stopped by the police. And you’ll get a really nasty ticket, at least a few hundred euros. This happened to someone I know. So get it.

Also, I did use my credit card as the insurance.

And I did damage the car to the tune of €1200 by accidentally parking on the side of the road where there was a ditch! They charged me this when I dropped off the car, but eventually, six months later, the credit card insurance company paid me back(after a lot of back-and-forth with paperwork).

 

[J Willhaus]

In 2017 it was cheaper for us to rent a car for a couple of weeks to volunteer than it was to take the train or bus from Madrid to Zamora. Also due to lack of trains and buses on the Jan 1 holiday, we couldn't get back to catch our early flight on Jan 2. It was very reasonable then costing less than a couple hundred dollars.

Last summer rented and returned a car in Pamplona as we needed one for shopping in our remote volunteer site. It was almost 5 times that much. Prices have gone up.

 

[Stephan the Painter]

In 2017 it was cheaper for us to rent a car for a couple of weeks to volunteer than it was to take the train or bus from Madrid to Zamora. Also due to lack of trains and buses on the Jan 1 holiday, we couldn't get back to catch our early flight on Jan 2. It was very reasonable then costing less than a couple hundred dollars.

Last summer rented and returned a car in Pamplona as we needed one for shopping in our remote volunteer site. It was almost 5 times that much. Prices have gone up.

In 2022 when I rented a car, the prices were all over the place. I was in santiago trying to rent a car for a month and it was usually at least €2000. But I started checking other cities and saved €1000 by taking a train to Leon and picking up a car there. So I think there’s some demand algorithm? Some places are cheaper.

 

[Kathar1na]

On this version of the website you will see the one-way fee and a surcharge only at the very end when you are about to pay

If you use Avis.es you will see the fee for a one way car rental between two countries straight away but it is more or less the same as on Avis.com, namely in the region of $500-$600 / €500-€600. That's for a one day rental and a tiny car (Peugeot 208) for a trip from Porto to Santiago !

If it is one way inside Spain, the fee is much smaller and depends on the distance between the two locations, for example Madrid-Santiago €150 or Leon-Santiago €25.

Many people are not aware of these steep fees for a one-way car rental between two locations in two different countries because they never rent a car for such trips.

 

[JLV]

Thank You For the info, We would be returning it to Porto and flying back home to USA.

 

[Kathar1na]

We would be returning it to Porto

That's different then. And, wow, renting from a town in Portugal in January for example looks really cheap. Quite a bit cheaper than renting from Santiago. Not to mention from where I live (further north).

 

[davejsy]

Hello ALL

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
I want to rent a car In Porto and drive to Santiago de Compostela.
Do you need an International Drivers License ?
Also the prices I see online to rent a car are so cheap I can't believe they are correct.

Thanks JLV

Definitely not needed to rent the car, all you need is a valid driving license.

 

[Kathar1na]

Definitely not needed to rent the car, all you need is a valid driving license.

Whether an international driving license is needed, at least in theory, depends on the country that issued your driving licence and the countries you want drive in, in this case in Portugal and Spain.

The rules are different for holders of driving licenses issued in the EU including the UK and for holders of driving licences issued in the USA which I guess it is the case for the OP.

That you can rent a car without presenting an IDP may also be different from whether you have to have an IDP while driving in the foreign country and present an IDP when you happen to end up in a police control.

 

[Tincatinker]

To drive a car in the UK all that is required is a car and sufficient competence to start the engine, engage the gears and steer. To drive a car in the UK lawfully a license and insurance is compulsory. I guess similar rules apply in other places

 

[peregrina2000]

Do you need an International Drivers License ?

Spanish law requires drivers with US licenses to have an international drivers license. These are available, as you probably know, at the American Automobile Association offices. If the Guardia Civil stops you, and you do not have an international drivers license, they have the authority to fine you €250 if you are driving a passenger car. Fines are higher for a truck.

Having said that, I have never been asked to show an international drivers license by any rental car company, by any car dealer (I have bought two cars in Spain), or by the Guardia Civil during the 3 random highway stops I have been stopped in over the years. So I guess it’s a question of how important following the rules is to you and what your risk tolerance level is.

 

[Saint Mike II]

Hello ALL

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
I want to rent a car In Porto and drive to Santiago de Compostela.
Do you need an International Drivers License ?
Also the prices I see online to rent a car are so cheap I can't believe they are correct.

Thanks JLV

I agree you need an International Drivers Licence - it tells the car rental company what type of licence you have. You will also need a physical copy of your regular licence which includes a photograph. As I understand it, electronic copies of your licence (those saved to your mobile phone or tablet) are usually not accepted. Also tell the car rental agency that you will be leaving Portugal. Cheers

 

[davejsy]

Whether an international driving license is needed, at least in theory, depends on the country that issued your driving licence and the countries you want drive in, in this case in Portugal and Spain.

The rules are different for holders of driving licenses issued in the EU including the UK and for holders of driving licences issued in the USA which I guess it is the case for the OP.

That you can rent a car without presenting an IDP may also be different from whether you have to have an IDP while driving in the foreign country and present an IDP when you happen to end up in a police control.

Correct. However, you do not need an IDL to "hire" a car which I understand was the question.

 

[dick bird]

I was once refused a hire car because I didn´t have an IDL, so it can happen. Finding another company involved time, stress and money because the other company were more expensive. You can get one from your national motorists' association very easily. Car hire in Spain is cheap, I suspect this is because companies have a very high turnover, it is also very competitive. This may explain why picking up a car from the airport is often cheaper, sometimes a lot cheaper, than downtown. If you collect a car from company X at Santiago airport and drop it off at Madrid airport, they will keep it there until a new customer comes along and hires it - not very long. But if you drop the same car off in Porto, they can´t hire it because it is not registered in Portugal so they will probably charge a hefty drop off fee. ´Upselling´ extra services such as insurance is something car hire companies do all over the world, Spain is no different. The other thing to mention is that road tolls in Portugal are quite expensive. Good luck.

 

[Kathar1na]

Again, out of sheer curiosity, I had a look at the small print from Avis and their Location Specific Conditions:

• for Spain
• for Portugal

Scroll down to Driving licence and ID requirements.

Whether they actually do require what they state in their Location Specific Conditions for Spain and for Portugal and what other car rental companies do is a question that I can't answer. I've rented a car in Spain several times but I have an EU driving licence and therefore never needed an International Driving Licence.

 

[Sweething]

We hired a car from Santiago for 6 weeks June/July this year (Alamo I think), and we DEFINITELY needed a IDL. For the nominal cost of the IDL (at least in Australia), it's worth saving yourself a massive headache if things go wrong.

 

[boski]

Hello ALL

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
I want to rent a car In Porto and drive to Santiago de Compostela.
Do you need an International Drivers License ?
Also the prices I see online to rent a car are so cheap I can't believe they are correct.

Thanks JLV

I live in Porto. They recognize US drivers licenses. So you don't need one. That said it's super easy to get one in the US if you want one. Just go to triple A. The prices are cheap but they don't usually include the insurance that is mandatory for foreigners. I highly recommend using a car company that is also in the US. Like Enterprise or whomever. That way when there is a problem (and there will be a problem) you can handle it when u get home. Also you absolutely can take flixbus to Santiago and save yourself the headaches. Just food for thought.

 

[FLEUR]

You could drive to the Portuguees / Spanish border, drop off the car in Portugal. Cross into Spain by taxi then use a Spanish car hire.

Assume you're still young enough to be eligible for car hire. Over 75s this isn't possible.

 

[pjacobi]

Travel works differently in Europe!

In the US, I travel with a rental car. In Europe, I follow the locals and use public transportation. In Europe, public transportation on trains and buses are often a better option than a car. Public transportation in Europe is modern, faster and more efficient than the antiquated system in the US.

Try to use public transportation in Europe unless you have a specific need for a car.


-Paul

 

[t2andreo]

Hello ALL

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
I want to rent a car In Porto and drive to Santiago de Compostela.
Do you need an International Drivers License ?
Also the prices I see online to rent a car are so cheap I can't believe they are correct.

Thanks JLV

I believe you can get one from your local AAA office.

Also, BEWARE of drop-off fees for picking up a car in one place/country, and dropping it off in another place/country. These charges could easily exceed the cost of rental.

I recommend you take the full insurance cover offered by the renting agency at the time of renting. Yes, it costs more. But, you basically only have to return the parts to the rental agency. I had this happen to me in Belgium about seven years ago. I had the near-totalled car towed back to the airport rental location. They simply gave me a new car. A dump truck side swiped me and tore off the partially open driver's door while I was properly parallel-parked. THAT was an interesting explanation.

I had another instance in Spain about five years ago where I backed into a parking bollard and damaged the rear bumper cover. In that instance, my credit card company picked it up, but I had to pay a large flat fee on the credit card to return the car. It all worked out, but it is a hassle.

Remember that you will need a different set of driving skills in old Europe (non limited access highways) than in the US. The roads are far narrower, with more blind corners, and drop offs. In most places, once you leave downtown, there is not a lot of night street lighting, except on limited access roads.

I always rent the smallest possible car consistent with my needs, to increase my separation for other vehicles and immovable objects. Finally, do drive slower and more deliberately than you would at home. Just sayin'

Hope this helps,

Tom

 

[trecile]

It's only $20 to get an International Driving Permit.

AAA IDP International Driving Permit

Planning an international trip where you will be driving? Get your international driving permit through AAA. When accompanied by a valid US driver license, an IDP allows you to drive abroad. Your IDP is a valid form of identification in 150 countries worldwide and contains your name, photo and...

www.aaa.com

 

[Molly Cassidy]

When hiring a car in Portugal, you will need to let them know you intend to drive in Spain. When I hired a car back in 2017, there was a €30 extra charge to have insurance in Spain, which isn't very much, but you need to make sure you get it.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

More on car rentals and the International Drivers Permit is available on this thread from earlier this year.

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/dont-forget-your-drivers-license.80131/

 

[Philtration]

Spanish law requires drivers with US licenses to have an international drivers license. These are available, as you probably know, at the American Automobile Association offices. If the Guardia Civil stops you, and you do not have an international drivers license, they have the authority to fine you €250 if you are driving a passenger car. Fines are higher for a truck.

Having said that, I have never been asked to show an international drivers license by any rental car company, by any car dealer (I have bought two cars in Spain), or by the Guardia Civil during the 3 random highway stops I have been stopped in over the years. So I guess it’s a question of how important following the rules is to you and what your risk tolerance level is.

I've been considering extending my time in Spain when I do my next camino and have thought about buying a car. Is the process of buying/selling significant? You did it twice, so I assume it must have been worth it for some situations. Your thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[peregrina2000]

I've been considering extending my time in Spain when I do my next camino and have thought about buying a car. Is the process of buying/selling significant? You did it twice, so I assume it must have been worth it for some situations. Your thoughts would be appreciated.

Both times we were living in the country for a year, so it was kind of a no-brainer. The process wasn't terribly complicated, but I confess my husband did most of it. In Madrid in 1994 we bought a 1979 Peugeot, best car we ever had, for about $1000 US (no euro yet). We put about 35,000 kms on it, just on the Iberian peninsula on out of town trips. Never drove it in the city. At the end of the year, we couldn't find anyone to give it to, much less sell it. The manager of our apartment building took it to a scrap yard. That made me very sad, because it was such a great car, except for the fact that you had to turn on the heat and open the windows to take some of the heat off the motor when driving in the Picos or Pyrenees. The other time was in Portugal and it was also very straightforward. We were able to sell that car for a little more than what we paid for it, which was a treat, that was in 2004. It was a small VW.

I surely wouldn't do it if I were going to be there for less than a year because there is a fair amount of bureaucracy involved with the title transfer, getting insurance, etc.

 

[Marus99]

The prices you see online are unbelievable and should not be believed. Add in insurance, collision wavers, cleaning charges and the “you’re a foreigner; open your wallet and repeat after me “help yourself”” and the bargain becomes less of a bargain.

If you’re thinking of a one way pick up and drop it’ll probably be cheaper to buy a car in Porto and sell it in Santiago. Or you could just catch the bus

Don’t entirely agree. The prices you see online (for Spain at least) are accurate so long as you have a credit card that provides insurance coverage. I have used my Amex Platinum card for decades and have rarely paid more than $30 a day. The car rental companies will always try to upsell you on car size and insurance and imply that you need to pay for more coverage. Make sure you understand your credit card coverage properly and ignore the upsell. Avoid the companies you have never heard of who will try and charge you for non-existent damage. Take dozens of photos of the car when you pick it up.

 

[ThompsonRG]

Hello ALL

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
I want to rent a car In Porto and drive to Santiago de Compostela.
Do you need an International Drivers License ?
Also the prices I see online to rent a car are so cheap I can't believe they are correct.

Thanks JLV

I looked intoa car rental going from Santiago to Porto two months ago. The rental car web sites are somewhat deceiving. The car rental was very cheap, but as you walk through the reservation process you see a one way drop off fee of about $800.
We took the bus which worked out fine.

 

[Stephan the Painter]

Don’t entirely agree. The prices you see online (for Spain at least) are accurate so long as you have a credit card that provides insurance coverage. I have used my Amex Platinum card for decades and have rarely paid more than $30 a day. The car rental companies will always try to upsell you on car size and insurance and imply that you need to pay for more coverage. Make sure you understand your credit card coverage properly and ignore the upsell. Avoid the companies you have never heard of who will try and charge you for non-existent damage. Take dozens of photos of the car when you pick it up.

I ended up making a claim On a credit card for about €1200 of damage to a car in Spain. It took about six months but eventually they paid.

But what you want is to use a credit card that lists it as “primary“ car rental insurance, as opposed to secondary. If it’s secondary, they’re going to want you to run it past your home insurance Before they will pay. It’ll probably still work, but it’ll be an extra layer of paperwork and time consuming.

I suspect an AMEX platinum has a very good car rental coverage. I had a united business card. But for others, it might be worthwhile researching and applying for a new credit card just for peace of mind.
And I agree with you, @Marus99 , If you have a credit card for the insurance and you don’t accept any extras usually it’s pretty cheap. Might have to try a bunch of companies, usually cars at airports ( there are often locations in the downtown of major cities) are more expensive because of an extra tax, etc.

 

[naplesdon]

Unless you limit your driving to the back roads, you will find out that the road tolls are equal to a bus or train fare.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Unless you limit your driving to the back roads, you will find out that the road tolls are equal to a bus or train fare.

I remember one toll road we took in '88. They wanted us and the two other drivers that afternoon to pay the entire construction cost and the toll taker's annual salary.

 

[JLV]

Thanks to all for your info JLV

 

[Gary94123]

Try using the car rental sites booking.com costco.com (travel) and skyscanner.com

We are renting next January 8-29 with costco in A Coruna and it is very reasonable for an SUV. IDL is necessary and extra driver is included free.

 

[natcire]

Two summers ago, I shopped for rental car from Seattle, and had actually found a great deal directly with Enterprise. A couple days later I decided to check again by using Google and decided to try Expedia which came up with a crazy low price of $307 for 11 days. That was less than 50% off directly from Enterprise. And this was pick-up at Barcelona and returning at Madrid. Of course, I made sure not to transact the rental at either city's airports since it could really escalate the price. For that price I decided to include the collision insurance. I was worried that Enterprise would not honor the reservation made in US, but that worry was unfounded. The whole process went very smoothly picking up the car and dropping it off. While I was walking around the car to inspect it before driving off I asked if I could drive the car to Perpignan in France or to Lisbon and was told I the rental allowed me to drive in any part of the EU.

Yes, I had provide my IDL which I got from AAA (valid for one year).