Gran Canaria Airport car rental

What actually happens when I land?

You meet the car in arrivals. Meeting instructions differ between suppliers, and the voucher carries the ones for your car together with the rental agent's contact details.

The driver's licence must be the original document, valid until at least the last day of the rental, with its details in Latin script. Copies and electronic licences are not accepted. Where a licence is valid only in its issuing country, the terms strongly recommend an International Driving Permit, shown on request.

Do I need a credit card?

Each car states whether it needs a credit card. Where one is required, it must be a physical embossed credit card in the main driver's name, brought to the handover. A card held only in a phone wallet does not meet that condition.

Some suppliers accept a debit card instead, and the booking and the voucher say so where they do. That debit card must also be physical, personalised, embossed and in the main driver's name. The booking tool has filters for cars that need no credit card and for cars that take a debit card for the deposit. How the balance is paid, how the deposit is held and when it is refunded are shown during booking and on the voucher.

What if my flight is late?

The voucher gives the rental agent's contact details for a changed arrival time. The phone number entered at booking must carry the correct country code and be reachable the day before pickup and throughout the rental. Service-quality claims are not accepted when the renter could not be reached by phone or by Viber, WhatsApp or Telegram.

Is there a mileage limit?

Mileage is set per car, as a daily cap, a total cap or no cap, and the car's page shows which, with the total for the rental period.

From the airport, Puerto de Mogan and back is about one hundred and ten kilometres, and Roque Nublo and back about one hundred. Both round trips count against a daily cap on the cars that have one.

How long is the drive to where I am staying?

From the airport, Bahia Feliz is about twenty minutes, San Agustin twenty six and Playa del Ingles twenty seven. From the airport, Maspalomas is about thirty minutes, Meloneras thirty one, Arguineguin thirty three and Puerto Rico thirty nine. Puerto de Mogan is about forty five minutes from the airport. These are free-flow routed times from the handover point.

Las Palmas is about twenty seven minutes north, over twenty six kilometres. From the airport, Teror is about forty four minutes and Agaete fifty four.

Roque Nublo is about fifty one kilometres from the airport and takes about sixty six minutes. Puerto de Mogan is about fifty five kilometres and takes about forty five.

What is the driving actually like?

The GC-1, the Autopista del Sur, runs from Las Palmas past the airport to Puerto de Mogan, with a top speed limit of 120 km/h. It is designated a motorway from the airport southward, and not between Las Palmas and the airport. Gran Canaria's interior has unpaved tracks, and rental cars may use only paved public roads when driving beyond the airport.

Blue lines mark paid parking and white lines free parking; green lines in Las Palmas mark preferential parking for registered residents. The sign and parking meter at the space show the conditions for other drivers. Fuel, parking, fines and tolls during the rental are paid by the renter.

The car goes back with the fuel level it was collected with. A lower level is charged at the rental company's rates, and a fuller tank earns no refund. A car returned so dirty that it hinders inspection is washed at the renter's expense.

What does the insurance actually cover?

Standard insurance does not cover damage to the wheels, undercarriage, windscreen or interior. What a higher level of cover adds is stated on each car. The card, deposit and insurance conditions are shown on the car before booking, including on cars that take no deposit.

After an insured event, the renter must tell the rental agent immediately and obtain a police report, unless the agent agrees otherwise. Missing either cancels the insurance and leaves the renter fully responsible. Damage caused deliberately, by intentional vandalism or by neglect, voids the insurance.

Can I take the car somewhere else, or onto a ferry?

A different return point is searched with separate pickup and return places. When supply was measured in August 2026, one-way cars ran between the airport and San Bartolome de Tirajana in both directions, and they were the cars delivered on the south coast.

Some cars are approved for inter-island ferry travel and some are not. Approval belongs to the individual vehicle; ask before booking to choose an approved car. Questions about the crossing itself go to the ferry line.

Rentals have a 24-hour minimum under the chargeable rental period rules, so a car taken on Monday morning and returned on Tuesday afternoon is charged for two full days. To extend, inform the rental agent in advance.

Is there anything that can go wrong at pickup?

Minimum age and driving experience are listed on each car's page and can differ between similar models. The rental agent may refuse the car at any time to a driver who does not meet them, and the search filters narrow the results to cars that fit the driver.

A required credit card that is not at the handover is the most common reason a pickup fails. Only small pets may travel in the car, kept in their carriers throughout.