Car hire prices down by half

Consumer champion Which? has some good news for holidaymakers.

The cost of car hire has fallen in many destinations this year compared to 2023, according to analysis.

It examined data supplied by car hire broker Zest Rental, a Which? Recommended Provider, for over 3,000 rentals at airports in 13 popular holiday destinations.

These included Orlando, Alicante, Lanazrote and Corfu.

It looked at rental prices for the forthcoming Easter and summer holidays. The data covers all car types, for week-long rentals.

Eleven of the 13 destinations Which? checked have seen average prices drop over the Easter holidays compared with the same period last year.

It found nine of the destinations have seen prices fall over the summer break.

Over Easter, Funchal in Madeira saw the biggest price drop of £146, which is 35% less than last year, when travellers spent £412 on average.

A week’s rental now costs £266.

Palma, Mallorca is close behind with the average rental costing £92 less than last Easter, a 29% drop.

Corfu currently has the cheapest average rental costs over Easter, with a week’s rental coming in at just £84 on average, with prices dropping 47% on last year, when the average price paid was £158.

Rhodes and Nice were the only destinations to buck the overall trend over the Easter break, with prices up 36% on average in Rhodes, and a huge 97% in Nice.

Of the 13 destinations checked, slightly fewer destinations have seen prices fall for the summer.

However, where prices have declined, they are generally more significant.

Five destinations have price reductions of more than £100 on average.

Rhodes Airport has seen the biggest summer price decrease, with the average rental costing £160 less than last year.

Next with a price drop of £146 is Funchal, Madeira Airport, where a week’s rental now costs £350 on average, compared with £496 last summer.

Alicante meanwhile has seen prices fall by £116 to £223 a week.

Of the destinations Which? looked at, Lanzarote has the cheapest average rental costs over the summer holidays, at £190 a week.

This is 27% less than last summer.

Just four airports Which? checked have seen prices rise this summer.

These are Malaga, Malta and Nice with single digit rises.

However, at Larnaca rates are up by one-third.

Now that many of the Covid era supply chain issues have eased, companies have finally been able to replenish their stocks.

However, rental costs are still higher than travellers were used to pre-pandemic.

They are still more expensive by over 50% on average compared with 2019

Which? urges travellers to use a reputable car hire firm or trusted broker to secure their rentals this year.

Naomi Leach, Deputy Editor of Which? Travel, said: “While it’s encouraging to see car rental prices finally starting to ease, travellers should nonetheless be cautious if they’re quoted a rock-bottom price that sounds too good to be true.”

“Even when prices are low, the worst companies might still employ dodgy tactics like adding on unfair fees or pressuring you to purchase extras.” 

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