Car Rental Fuengirola: Pick-Up, Driving and Booking Tips

For a classic beach week, perhaps not. Fuengirola's own sands, Playa de Santa Amalia, Playa de San Francisco and Playa del Castillo, are all within about a mile of the centre, and so are Bioparc Fuengirola, the Bullring and the Castillo de Suel with the Roman site of Suel beside it. With the airport transfer at just 17 minutes, plenty of British travellers on a package simply walk everywhere.

Car hire in Fuengirola starts to make sense when you want the coast beyond the town. Playa de Torreblanca and the Roman baths at Torreblanca del Sol are around 2 miles out, Calaburras Lighthouse about 2.5 miles, Playa del Chaparral 3 miles, La Cala Resort around 5.5 miles, Calahonda 6 miles and the protected dunes of Artola o Cabopino about 8 miles. Several of these are awkward to string together without your own wheels. For anyone staying a month or more over winter, long term car rental in Fuengirola is worth comparing too, as the shoulder months from December to March are mild.

Málaga Airport (AGP) is the obvious pick-up point. It has direct flights from the UK and sits 17 minutes' drive from Fuengirola, so you can collect the keys after landing and be at your hotel before a coach transfer has finished its first drop-off. Gibraltar (GIB) also has direct flights from the UK and is around 69 minutes away by road, a useful alternative if fares or flight times suit you better.

If you would rather rent a car in Fuengirola, Spain, only for a few days mid-holiday, collecting in town lets you skip parking costs on the days you are on the beach. Arriving by sea is possible too: Málaga's ferry port is about 17 miles away, Algeciras about 54 miles and Motril around 62 miles. The comparison on this page shows airport and local options side by side.

Distances are short and largely coastal. Nothing in the list of nearby sights is more than about 8 miles from the centre, so a day out rarely involves more than a quarter of an hour behind the wheel, and Gibraltar at just over an hour is the longest drive most visitors will consider. Remember that Spain drives on the right, so take the first few junctions from the airport gently.

Weather shapes the driving more than terrain. July and August average highs of 33°C with barely any rain, so a car left in the sun gets very hot; air conditioning is worth checking at pick-up. October is the wettest month, with around 117mm falling over about ten days, and March is also damp, so allow extra time on wet roads. April, May, June, September and November offer the most comfortable mix of warmth and dry days for exploring.

If you are after cheap car hire in Fuengirola, the headline daily rate is only part of the story. Choose a full-to-full fuel policy, so you collect the car with a full tank and return it full, rather than prepaying for fuel you may not use on such short trips. Check the excess carefully and decide in advance whether to take cover, either from the hire company or a standalone policy bought at home.

Families heading to Bioparc Fuengirola or the beaches should reserve child seats when booking rather than at the desk, as numbers can be limited in busy school holidays. Prices tend to rise in the UK summer and Easter breaks, so book early for those dates. Car hire in Fuengirola, Spain, can be compared live on this page, alongside package deals, hotel prices and tours and tickets if you are still planning the rest of your trip.