Renting a car in Barcelona: the honest guide

To rent a car in Barcelona you have three real options: Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat airport, the area around Sants station, or a neighbourhood branch. The airport has the biggest fleet and the longest opening hours; a city branch is calmer and saves you the terminal surcharge, though it means driving in and out of the city.

The decision that really matters, though, is not where you collect the car: it is understanding what the price includes before you pay. Nearly every unpleasant surprise happens at the counter (a deposit blocked on your card, insurance bought in a hurry, fuel), and nearly all of it can be headed off by reading the terms.

Where to pick up the car: airport, Sants or a neighbourhood

El Prat has the widest choice and is easiest if you arrive by plane, but it is also the busiest: in summer and over long weekends the queue at the counter drags on. The two terminals are some distance apart, with a free shuttle between them, so check which one your branch is in before you drag suitcases anywhere. Watch out too for off-terminal offices: they are nearby, not inside.

Sants is the natural alternative if you arrive by train, and branches in the Eixample, Gràcia or Poblenou are the best idea if you live here and only need a car for a weekend. If you plan to leave the same day, collecting near one of the Rondas, the city's ring roads, saves you half an hour of inner-city traffic.

What the advertised price has to include

A price you can compare contains, as a minimum, the compulsory insurance and the mileage you are going to cover. Everything else is extras, and that is exactly where two apparently identical offers stop resembling each other.

• Compulsory insurance and damage cover, with the excess clearly stated.
• Mileage: unlimited or capped. If you head up to the Pyrenees, a cap shows.
• Fuel: the sensible arrangement is to collect and return at the same level.
• Extras and surcharges: additional driver, child seat, snow chains, drop-off in another city.

On DRIVO the full price is shown before you pay, with the service fee on its own line, and you see the deposit and what the rental includes before you book. Confirmation is instant and cancellation is free up to 48 hours before pick-up; within that window, or if the agency cancels, the fee is refunded. It is a European marketplace for renting directly from trusted independent local agencies and from private owners, with support in five languages.

Deposit and excess are not the same thing

The deposit is an amount the agency blocks on your credit card and releases when you bring the car back without incident. The excess is the most you would bear if the car suffers covered damage. They often match, which is why people confuse them, but they are different things.

1. 1Check whether the deposit is blocked or charged, and with which type of card.
2. 2Check whether the card has to be in the main driver's name: it almost always does.
3. 3If you want to reduce the excess, DRIVO lets you add an optional full-protection cover at checkout.
4. 4Take photos and a video at pick-up and drop-off, with the plate visible, and keep the signed damage report.

Parking in Barcelona: blue zone, green zone and car parks

Parking in the centre is the most awkward part of having a car in Barcelona. On-street spaces are run by the AREA service of the Ajuntament, the city council: the blue zone is for turnover and anyone can use it by paying and respecting the maximum stay, while the green zone favours residents registered in the neighbourhood, so a visitor pays more and stays less. Hours and rates vary by district, so always read the meter and the sign.

• If the car will sit still for several days, a weekly rate in an enclosed car park makes more sense.
• Never park across a vado driveway, in a loading bay, in a bus lane or on yellow paint: the tow truck is quick.
• If you are heading to the beach or to Montserrat at the weekend, leave early: the car parks fill up.

The Rondas low-emission zone and the DGT label

Barcelona has a low-emission zone covering everything inside the Rondas and part of the neighbouring municipalities: it is a large area, not a few streets in the old town. Access depends on the vehicle's DGT environmental label, that is, whether it is 0, ECO, C, B or has no label at all. Foreign-plated cars must also register with the metropolitan register so their type approval can be matched to that classification.

The rules, the timetable and the penalties of these zones change often, as does the list of Spanish cities applying them. Before booking, ask the agency which label the exact car you are being given carries, and check the DGT website and the Ajuntament's for the current position.

Getting out of Barcelona: tolls, the Costa Brava and the mountains

The point of renting here is what lies around the city: the Costa Brava, with coves public transport simply does not reach; Montserrat, a there-and-back morning; the Penedès, out among the vines; and the Lleida Pyrenees or the Cerdanya for a weekend.

• Many motorways with an AP designation are tolled, while other high-capacity roads designated A are free.
• Tolls are paid by card or with a VIA-T electronic toll device; ask whether the car has one.
• In winter, heading for the Pyrenees, ask about winter tyres or chains and whether they are included.
• Check whether the contract allows you to leave Spain: Andorra or southern France usually needs express authorisation.

Rules worth revisiting before you set off

For cars, the limit is 120 km/h on motorways and dual carriageways and 90 km/h on conventional roads outside built-up areas. In town it is 50 km/h on roads with two or more lanes in each direction, 30 km/h on roads with a single lane, and 20 km/h on single-surface streets shared with pedestrians, which describes much of central Barcelona. On roundabouts, traffic already on the ring has priority.

The alcohol limit is 0.5 g/L in blood, equivalent to 0.25 mg/L of breath; for novice drivers with less than two years' licence and for professional drivers it drops to 0.3 g/L in blood and 0.15 mg/L of breath. You must carry a high-visibility reflective vest reachable from inside the cabin, not stowed in the boot.

Spain's emergency warning system is in transition: the traditional triangle coexists with the illuminated beacon device, placed on the roof and visible from a distance. Ask the agency what the car carries and check with the DGT, the Spanish traffic authority, to know what is compulsory when you travel.