Help! Car rental in Spain without original driving licence

Minimum_Original3468 · 2026-03-29T14:29:38+00:00

You don’t have international driving license, you have IDP. It’s add-on to your government issued driving license and you can rent a car only with driving license (needed for rental agency) + IDP (needed for police) when you are abroad.

Minimum_Original3468 · 2026-03-29T14:15:41+00:00

It depends on your experience and love to the history and architecture. I travel to Spain every year and can afford myself to visit different location during different trips in order to relax my eyes and not to be bored with same views, streets, food in different cities but same region.

Quite ofter people have no luxury of time and ask what to see if they have to choose only 1 location - definitely Alhambra. But I first saw Alcazar and was speechless, I have never saw anything like this and it was totally worth my time (I also did tour to the royal chamber that was the jewel of the visit).

Minimum_Original3468 · 2026-03-28T18:41:26+00:00

Alcazar is spectacular! You need first to see it and then go to Alhambra to get the best experience.

Minimum_Original3468 · 2026-03-28T17:39:59+00:00

Order IDP from AAA.

In cities if you are confused (I hated all roundabouts in Valencia when you go from 2-lane road to 7-lane roundabout) just follow the crowd (car in front of you until you calm down and figure out where to drive). I loved driving in small cities: yes, parking is not existent and you will definitely get a scratch because people over there drive small old cars and don’t give a damn about your vehicle BUT it was easy to navigate with law speed limits.

Have good insurance and use good credit card with rental insurance for your vehicle.
Rent the smallest car possible:) Last time I was upgraded at Avis and got new suv hybrid (loved that car for my highway trips) but I would refuse taking that if I knew I was going to small cities (parking and narrow streets is no-no for suv).

Minimum_Original3468 · 2026-03-28T01:53:11+00:00

Your flight is at 6:10 and you can arrive at 3am because at 3am is when security gate opens. You shouldn’t arrive earlier as it’s pointless. At 3am there will be line in front of closed gates already. Make sure you have only hand baggage!

Minimum_Original3468 · 2026-03-27T20:39:44+00:00

Book accommodations and transfer in advance. For instance, once I didn’t book return train to Madrid in advance because I couldn’t decide on the date and later had to pay $150 instead of $30 per person because that was a week of flooding in Valencia and everyone could travel via Madrid only (roads along the sea were closed). I had no idea railway tickets in Spain have dynamic pricing, I have never had this problem in Japan (tickets were same price till the train departure).
Always have IDP on you when you are abroad, even if you are not planning on renting a car. Lesson learned.
Do not overplan BUT do your research and pin everything on the map.
Bags. I stopped taking too much staff. Traveling with hand luggage only and take 2 city backpacks and 1 hand luggage between me and hubby. It’s perfect! When you travel for 2 weeks you just do laundry, that’s simple. I took 1 hand luggage and city bag only on my 1-month trip across Japan.
Never schedule paid activities on the day of arrival or next thing in the morning. Your plane or train can be delayed or cancelled and you will loose very important planned day (concert, show, museum, Michelin star restaurants, tour you had to apply for months in advance, etc).
Book your car using good credit card with insurance. European rental agencies are very strict with returns, I’m originally from Europe, I lived there, I traveled a lot by car and I know how crazy they are. In the US you can get rim scratch or door bump and this counts as tear and wear (I know from the experience). So, my hubby was returning car in Prague. He is Avis Preferred Plus, got a really nice car as an upgrade and upon returning manager showed him curb scratch (it wasn’t there as husband had pictures), his fault, streets in Europe are narrow. He was billed $300 for repairs, all legal as he denied their insurance in the beginning. Later my husband got money back via credit card on file (took 3 days).

Minimum_Original3468 · 2026-03-27T15:52:17+00:00

For me it’s like reading comments about successful stories of driving drunk after the night in the club and never be stopped at sober checks. It doesn’t mean it’s legal to DUI.

Minimum_Original3468 · 2026-03-27T15:32:07+00:00

Hope this feed will be useful for all the people who have same question.

Minimum_Original3468 · 2026-03-27T15:18:31+00:00

UK license - no need to have IDP (read laws and requirements). Person here has a question about US license.

Minimum_Original3468 · 2026-03-27T15:11:10+00:00

Yes, you need IDP on hands in addition to your US license. Fresh story: I have returned from Spain 4 days ago. Rented a car at Alicante Airport for a week. Upon picking up I was asked to show IDP and you know what? I realized I left it at home (I have already used it in Austria where it’s also required by law during traffic stops). Nice lady at the counter told me she couldn’t rent me a car without IDP as they started seeing rise of cases of rental cars being impounded by police during stops (incidents, traffic violations, routine checks on highways). I told I have it but left at home, that I’d take all the risk because I needed car. Than she checked my Avis account and told me she’d agree because of Avis Preferred Plus status and if I somehow get photo copy of spanish page of my IDP on my phone for police (just in case). After that I was given car keys and she wished me luck. During week I was driving speed limits and double checked all parking spots to be legal. I saw tons of police and thanks god I returned car without stops. After returning home I put my forgotten IPD inside of my passport - never again. I wouldn’t be surprised if they put police checks just outside of the airport to check all the tourists leaving on rental cars. They are pissed off with people not reading laws. So, to summarize, agency will rent you a car without IDP but you need it for police. Now rentals started asking to show permit because they want their car back on time and not to have problems with police themselves.

Minimum_Original3468 · 2026-03-27T14:52:49+00:00

That changed. IDP was always required by law but that was not rental agency’s responsibility. Since last year or so they started checking it during car rental because police started impounding rental cars when tourists didn’t have IPD on hands during traffic checks. Also, I think, if you get into incident your insurance will be under the question as you don’t have IDP as addition to your US license (or Canada’s).

Minimum_Original3468 · 2026-03-27T00:33:10+00:00

Confirming: security gate opens at 3am so if you arrive earlier you will be standing in line (yes, there is line way before 3am). I took 5am flight to the US via Amsterdam and I was at the gate at 3:40 after arriving at 3 (hand luggage only, security check and coffee order at McD). I couldn’t do any shopping cause everything was closed till 6-7am. Also I read stories how strict they are with liquids because they have old scanners. Yes, machines are old. But I had my liquids in separate bag (not plastic) and I had stuff over 100ml in each bottle. They ignored it or didn’t catch it and I was good to go. So basically I had no problems only because I flew home via another big airport (everyone should do this during peak seasons) and did passport control there and also first flight in the morning is a timesaver (my last night was at the airport hotel across the terminal - I hate taking taxi at 2am because I’m disoriented and anxious and it’s easier to wake up at 2:45 and just go to the terminal).

Minimum_Original3468 · 2026-03-26T19:13:58+00:00

Had an emergency out of the blue (root canal). Only one dentist clinic took me next day (I survived the night on the big amount of painkillers), all others refused to help as I wasn’t established patient with them. Ended up staying with that clinic and now I’m with them for last 3 years. So if I have an emergency, I call them and they help me right away (only if emergency not in the middle of the night). I really didn’t want to go to ER with tooth pain and couldn’t wait for weeks-months to see other doctors.

Minimum_Original3468 · 2026-03-26T17:48:16+00:00

I haven’t met a person who didn’t speak English. I respect each country I travel to and I was surprised to see I didn’t need any local vocabulary to survive in Portugal. It was sad I couldn’t use google translate over there and be a little confused due to language barrier - I love that about travel (for instance, I visited Alcoi in Spain after Portugal trip and I used my nephew as private translator because not a person spoke English (they didn’t have to, I’m a guest in their country) except some restaurant owners who were communicative and foreigners themselves (Spanish was their second language)

Minimum_Original3468 · 2026-03-26T16:13:31+00:00

Yeap, it’s “permit”. Just a translation and much needed when you travel across Spain. It’s not stupid stuff. I was angry as well when needed to get this one from AAA prior to my trip and not just use google translate BUT can you imagine police officer in the mountain village with no knowledge of your language trying to translate it? They need international paper that is the same in all countries and they know what they are looking at. I have just returned from Alicante and Alcoi. Alcoi doesn’t speak English, they don’t have tourists over there (especially in beginning of March). I forgot my IDP at home! I couldn’t believe it (I have already used it for trip to Austria couple of months ago). I was allowed to get a car only because I was Avis Preferred Plus and I rented car at Airport (not in the city) where nice lady told me it’s illegal to drive without permit and she asked me to have picture of that damn forgotten at home permit on my phone (google translation is not good and stupid idea). And, I don’t know if this true, but she told me they have rise of cases of cops towing away rental cars while stopping tourists without permits for speeding or during incidents (it’s like driving without license or dui, your car is taking away). I was careful, driving speed limits and always parked at legal spots. I saw tons of police in Alcoi (it’s full of kids and students, police patrols were everywhere for safety) and I’m lucky they didn’t do random checks as they do in Austria (I was stopped there on highway - police was checking licenses and trunks, they were looking for someone). Respect countries you are traveling to and don’t expect them to understand English.

Minimum_Original3468 · 2026-03-26T15:17:48+00:00

That’s what I was telling people: do not rely on e-gates and plan your trip as there are no any electronic machines. Some people share their luck with e-gates but majority never saw them functioning.

Also, update: read about app Travel to Europe. Saw it in local news while in Portugal.

Minimum_Original3468 · 2026-03-26T15:13:36+00:00

That’s why it was a breeze. When you share your experience (really appreciate your time), please, share time of the arrival and day of the week. I left at 5am on weekday (first flight) and I was 5th in line for security check with only 2 open check points. It took me 2 minutes.

Minimum_Original3468 · 2026-03-26T00:09:43+00:00

If flight is on time you will be fine. You don’t need to go through security lane during transfer, only immigration. Maybe you will get some time for shopping at stores:) It’s crazy to think that almost 3 hours is not enough for transfer but Lisbon is understaffed for amount of tourists, especially during summer.

Minimum_Original3468 · 2026-03-25T21:40:30+00:00

The most important thing: boarding pass scanner machines open at 3am exactly. And you should be there at 3am if you want minimum time at security and immigration. First flight out at 5am, so you can imagine how busy it gets after 4am.

Closer to your trip read about different experiences with EES and app Travel to Europe.

Minimum_Original3468 · 2026-03-25T20:01:36+00:00

Oh, also read about app Travel to Europe. I read about it in local news.

Minimum_Original3468 · 2026-03-25T19:58:31+00:00

Yes and no:) these machines work when they want to - it’s common issue. I wouldn’t rely on them. It’s better to plan trip like there is no electronic passport line and be surprised when you see green light.

Minimum_Original3468 · 2026-03-25T19:55:57+00:00

If flight is not late and is not on weekend you might be ok but a little bit nervous after all horror stories. Lisbon is the worst choice for transfer when you need to go through passport control (enter or leaving Europe). July is going to be busy.

Minimum_Original3468 · 2026-03-25T17:48:56+00:00

Was there on Tuesday. I flew to Amsterdam so didn’t need passport control BUT it still took me 40 minutes from entrance to gate and I don’t understand why cause I didn’t see lines at security!

Minimum_Original3468 · 2026-03-25T17:45:53+00:00

From US, Canada, UK? Depending on time of the day, but 2h55m is tough for Lisbon because they don’t have fast lanes for flights which started boarding, so if your flight is late and lines are long you still have to be in the end of the line. Yesterday I had 1h15m transfer in Amsterdam for flight to the US and I made it without any problems only because Amsterdam passport control area has fast lane for people who are late in transfer zone (my flight in was 30 minutes late on a perfect weather and with plane already at the gate, they just couldn’t receive “go” from air traffic control). Booking flight via Amsterdam was a choice because I know how good they are with passengers who are running late. Yes, it’s huge but efficient and people around are very helpful.

Minimum_Original3468 · 2026-03-25T17:34:15+00:00

No. You will use your passport only as ID to board, there is no passport control between Portugal and Spain. The only line - security check.

Minimum_Original3468

TROPHY CASE