Palma De Mallorca Car Rental Help

I am going to be in Palma on June 28th from 1pm-8pm and I am trying to find a car rental agency located near the cruise port. I want to avoid going to the airport to get the car and needlessly waste what little time we have here.

Avis has a location but it closes at 12:30pm on Saturday.

Can you guys that have been there and done that recommend who you used to rent a car from?

This port is driving me nuts. There are incredible beaches all around us and no easy way to get to them.

Thanks

You have a Europcar office near the port, but you have a 10-20 minutes walk along the promenade, which is not bad.

AV. INGENIERO GABRIEL ROCA, 19 BAJO

PALMA

07014 MALLORCA

It's opened daily, but at the time you mention it states "extra charge". Just try to book in advance with http://www.europcar.com

MALLORCA PALMA AV GABRIEL ROCA

Contáctenos Teléfono : +34 902105055 Fax: +34 913444970[/size]

• Mon - Sat04:00 PM-07:00 PM
  
• Mon - Sat08:00 AM-01:00 PM
  
• Mon - Sat04:00 PM-08:00 PM
  
• Mon - Sat01:01 PM-03:59 PM*
  
• Tue - Sat04:01 PM-07:00 PM
  
• Sun06:00 PM-07:00 PM
  
• Sun08:00 AM-12:00 PM
  
• Sun06:00 PM-08:00 PM
  
• Sun12:01 PM-05:59 PM*
  
• (*) With extra charges
  

Thank you so much. This is what I have been looking for.

I put in a mock booking and it is about $130.00 for the day and that includes the $80.00 "siesta surcharge". It doesn't even look like the pickup is guaranteed as the website recommends that I call the station. That should go well since I don't speak an ounce of Spanish.

This port is still the most maddening port I have ever tried to plan. Everything closes at 1:00pm (if it is open at all) and that just happens to be what time 4000 people are arriving.

Rant over, Sorry. I really do thank you for the info.

Well, it has to do with demand, not with the "siesta". Business owners don't care about siestas and many businesses open all day everyday, as long as it pays off for them. Most people in Mallorca work very hard during the season and for instance a normal hotel employee can easily work 54 hours a week because demand is mostly concentrated on 6 months.

In this particular case, you have to take into account that those rent a car branch serve mostly people staying in hotels of the area, who usually rent a car in the morning and return it in the afternoon, so I guess the midday hours are too quiet to open for them. If you go to the airport every rent a car office is opened any time.

I also find it strange that having dozens of rent a car offices in Mallorca with thousands of cars, no one has opened a branch at the Cruise Terminal.

Out of curiosity, what else is closed at 13:00 on a Saturday?

Looking forward to spending time on your beautiful island again. For me it is worth spending one or two weeks rather than just one port day, although a day will of course give a good frst impression.

A word of caution regarding rental cars: it is always wise to check the fuel policy before booking. Many of the Mallorca rental car companies required us to buy a tank of fuel through them, which is not so much of a problem when keeping the car for an extended period of time, but it's very hard to use up the fuel in one day.

Why hire a car???

Take the bus from outside the port gates to Palma Nova for a couple of Euros each way - two lovely clean, sandy beaches. Even in a taxi it will cost you less than 20€ each way.

Car rental for just a few hours hire is an absolute rip off.

We lived in Majorca for 12 years (we now live in mainland Andalucía) and can highly recommend Palma Nova beaches. If you don' t mind some rocks even nearer are Cala Mayor (small but very clean beach) and S'Illiot - about 10€ each way in a taxi.

Looking forward to spending time on your beautiful island again. For me it is worth spending one or two weeks rather than just one port day, although a day will of course give a good frst impression.

 

A word of caution regarding rental cars: it is always wise to check the fuel policy before booking. Many of the Mallorca rental car companies required us to buy a tank of fuel through them, which is not so much of a problem when keeping the car for an extended period of time, but it's very hard to use up the fuel in one day.

Exactly! It happend to us in the Canary Islands, thankfully I could change the rental company to a local one.

Europcar and Avis, however, are not those kind of companies.

Some companies or "low cost" websites that compare rates, have a horrible policy of making you pay the full deposit at their own rates. That can mean like 100€ in fuel! It's a terrible rip-off. But those are usually not the traditional family run rental companies from Mallorca or the main rental brands.

Well, it has to do with demand, not with the "siesta". Business owners don't care about siestas and many businesses open all day everyday, as long as it pays off for them. Most people in Mallorca work very hard during the season and for instance a normal hotel employee can easily work 54 hours a week because demand is mostly concentrated on 6 months.

 

In this particular case, you have to take into account that those rent a car branch serve mostly people staying in hotels of the area, who usually rent a car in the morning and return it in the afternoon, so I guess the midday hours are too quiet to open for them. If you go to the airport every rent a car office is opened any time.

 

I also find it strange that having dozens of rent a car offices in Mallorca with thousands of cars, no one has opened a branch at the Cruise Terminal.

 

Out of curiosity, what else is closed at 13:00 on a Saturday?

First I want say that the siesta comment was not meant to be mean spirited but instead what I thought to be the reason for the early closure.

I checked Avis as well and they close at 12:30pm.

Why hire a car???

 

Take the bus from outside the port gates to Palma Nova for a couple of Euros each way - two lovely clean, sandy beaches. Even in a taxi it will cost you less than 20€ each way.

 

Car rental for just a few hours hire is an absolute rip off.

 

We lived in Majorca for 12 years (we now live in mainland Andalucía) and can highly recommend Palma Nova beaches. If you don' t mind some rocks even nearer are Cala Mayor (small but very clean beach) and S'Illiot - about 10€ each way in a taxi.

I wanted to hire a car because it was only about 30€ for the day during normal business hours. That is a pretty good rate for a one day hire.

When I cruise, I try to find things off of the beaten path away from the normal cruise crush and was interested in the beaches on the southeast side of the island.

I will instead take your recommendation of Palma Nova and come back for a land vacation at another time to visit other parts of the island.

Thank you all for your help.