Reus International Airport (REU) is located 8km inland from Tarragona in the Spanish region of Catalonia. It principally serves the nearby beach resorts of Salou and Cambrils, as well as the city of Barcelona which is situated 88km further north. It’s also a popular airport for those holidaying at nearby PortAventura, one of Europe’s largest theme parks.
A plane after taking off from Reus International Airport (Photo: Mike McBey via Flickr)
Most of the leading rental car companies have offices in and around REU Airport, including Avis, Sixt, Europcar and Hertz. However, if coming from the US, you’ll also come across car rental companies that you’ll probably be unfamiliar with, e.g. Firefly, Gold Car, Rhodium and InterRent.
To pick out which of these deserve the top spots across three separate categories (Most Affordable, Best for Luxury and Best for Minivans), TravelMag.com has conducted extensive researches across all the agencies operating from the airport and come up with the following results.
On paper, Goldcar consistently had the best offers on cheap car rentals. Their cheapest car, the Fiat Panda, was being rented out at an economical $43 per day – a car that gives further value for money by returning 43 miles per gallon. Featuring the popular Fiat 500 and the Opel Corsa, Firefly has a better selection, but it’s slightly more expensive. It’s worth taking note that cheap car rental companies tend to be aggressive, pushing customers to purchase ‘extras’. Getting insurance through a rental car company often means paying up to $40 per day, which is why it’s advisable to see if your credit card or existing car insurance already covers you. Either way, it’s worth reading terms and conditions thoroughly before renting from any agency.
Wherever you go in Spain, competition in the car rental business is fierce. Even in the luxury category, this intense competition helps keep pricing down. For an understated premium car, Goldcar rents out the Ford C Max for £59 per day and the compact multi-purpose Dacia Lodgy at $96. For a vehicle that manages to combine space with a certain degree of sophistication, Rhodium’s Opel Mokka was being rented out at $56 per day on our sample dates.
As is the case all over the world, major car rental companies often trade under subsidiaries, so working out who’s who can be quite complicated. At Reus airport, the cheapest minivans were being rented out by companies like Goldcar, InterRent, Rhodium and Firefly. On our sample dates, Rhodium (part of Goldcar) had a Volkswagen Touram, a recent winner of the MPV (Multi Purpose Vehicle) award, at $130 per day, while Goldcar’s Opel Zafira was being offered at an economical $85 per day. For the ecologically-conscious, the Opel Zafira scores well on CO2 emissions (137g/km). As aforementioned, in order to avoid any nasty surprises, we strongly advise you to do your homework before making a reservation from any of these agencies.
