Where to compare prices, what to check before you sign, and the island’s best drives.
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Eight things that decide what you really pay.
Most companies hold a deposit on a credit card in the main driver’s name. Debit cards are often refused, or only accepted if you buy their extra cover. Check the card rules and the deposit amount before you pay.
Online prices usually include basic insurance with an excess: the amount you pay if the car is damaged. At the counter you’ll be offered cover that cuts it to zero, and it can cost more than the rental. Decide before you land: an all-inclusive rate, or a separate excess policy bought in advance.
Pick the car up full and bring it back full. With “full to empty” you pay for a whole tank at the company’s price and get nothing back for what’s left.
Before you drive off, film the whole car with your phone: bumpers, wheels, windscreen, roof and interior. Do it again when you return it, ideally with a member of staff. Damage you didn’t cause is one of the most common complaints in car hire.
Some local companies ask for drivers aged 22 or over with two years’ licence; others add a young-driver fee. If your licence wasn’t issued in the EU, check whether you also need an International Driving Permit.
Most contracts don’t let you take the car on the ferry to La Gomera or the other islands. Ask before you book if you plan to island-hop.
In Spain, children up to 135 cm tall must travel in a child seat. Book one with the car or bring your own.
Speed-camera fines go to the rental company. It passes your details on to the authorities and may charge a handling fee, sometimes months after your trip.
Access rules on Tenerife’s mountain roads change often. Check the latest before you set off. Updated: November 2026.
Lava fields, the Roques de García and the cable car station at around 2,350 m. Set off early: car parks fill up, and it is much colder up there than on the coast.
Roads can close for snow, ice or special events. The summit trail needs a permit booked in advance, and the Cabildo is bringing in access controls for cars during 2026.
Laurel forest, ridge-top viewpoints and the black-sand beaches of Taganana and Benijo. The roads are narrow and twisty, and often in the clouds.
The Cabildo and the DGT have agreed to limit rental cars and large coaches in Anaga and Masca, so the rules may change. Weekday mornings are the quietest.
Hairpin bends down to the village of Masca, with the green valleys of Teno and the Atlantic below. Some stretches are too narrow for two cars to pass, so take it slowly.
During wildfire-risk alerts, rental cars can be banned from the Masca road. The road to the Punta de Teno lighthouse is closed to private cars during roadworks; TITSA bus 369 runs from Buenavista.
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