Bilbao Airport (BIO) is an international airport located 9km north of the city of Bilbao. Despite it’s relatively small size, it’s still the largest in the Basque Country and northern Spain. Best known for the Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao and its surrounding area has a distinctive culture, traditions and even language, making it a fantastic destination for a short trip.
Bilbao (Photo: Phil Fiddyment via Flickr / CC BY 2.0)
In order to get around the area, we’d recommend renting a car at BIO Airport. With just five major car rental companies operating in the terminal, the choice of vehicles is slightly limited. However, we have carefully studied each of the options, narrowing the choice down so that the best three companies according to customer satisfaction, fleet availability and price are recommended in the following categories.
Most Affordable: Alamo
Alamo was consistently cheaper than its main competitors across multiple vehicle classes, including economy, compact, intermediate and even small SUVs. Although the difference was often minimal,for travellers looking for cheap rental cars, every euro counts. The lowest price we found on our selected dates (mid-summer) was a Toyota Aygo and an Opel Corsa at under €100 per day (before taxes and add-on fees).
It’s worth noting that all the rental car companies listed at RentalCars.com are trustworthy, so it’s quite safe to just pick the lowest rental for your dates. However, we would recommend that you stick with a company that is located at the airport terminal.
Best for Luxury: Sixt
Our pick for the luxury category at BOI airport was Sixt which offers a good balance of affordability, choice and positive customer service. They’re never cheap, but Sixt includes collision damage waiver, theft protection and will even allow under-25s to rent their cars. As for car selection, Sixt’s fleet of cars is diverse and dynamic with German classics from the Mercedes C-Class and BMW 5 series as well as an Audi A5 convertible for hotter days. While not the most economical option, Sixt also rents out the sporty Jaguar XF, an ideal car for cruising through the Basque countryside.
Best for Minivans: Alamo
With high user ratings, top-notch customer service and efficient pick-up and drop-off procedures, Alamo takes the top spot as the best car rental company for minivans at BOI airport. Although pricing was similar to other rental companies, Alamo often runs discounts on pre-bookings which can save you as much as 10% off the total deal. On our selected dates, the ever-reliable Seat Alambra and the 9-seater Opel Vivaro were being offered at €150 per day.