Car rental in Girona for the Costa Brava coves, the Pyrenean foothills and the medieval villages of the Emporda. GRO airport is 12 km south of the city.
.webp?1738576022)
Sample prices for a 7-day rental. Final price, deposit and terms are confirmed on Localrent.
No-deposit options
About a third of cars in Spain come with no deposit hold at pickup - look for the "No deposit" badge.
Full insurance
Zero-excess cover available on most cars - nothing taken from the deposit if something happens.
Airport & city pickup
Desks at the airport and in the city centre.
Free cancellation
Cancel free on most bookings, often up to 48 hours before pickup.
Most driving here is a short motorway run to the coast plus narrow lanes into the old hill towns. Pick by group size and how far inland you are going, not by looks.
Economy
Cheap to run and easy to park in the Empordà villages with their tight medieval streets.
Automatic
Easier in coastal traffic and on the climbs inland. Automatics are limited in Spain, so book early.
7-seater & van
For families or two couples sharing, with room for beach gear on the Costa Brava run.
Luxury
For the coast road and a cross-border day into France. Deposits run higher on premium groups.
Girona's old town is compact and best on foot - the cathedral, the Jewish quarter and the river bridges are all within a few minutes of each other. The real value of car rental in Girona is the coast and the inland Empordà, where buses run a few times a day and a car lets you reach a cove or a hill village on your own schedule.
Payment and deposit
When you book you pay only a small upfront amount - usually 15-20% of the hire cost. The rest is settled at the desk on pickup. The deposit in most cases is fully refundable, and about a third of cars in Spain are handed over with no deposit at all - those are marked in the results. If you only have a debit card, pick a no-deposit rate or a cash-deposit option: nothing gets frozen on your card.
The Costa Brava starts about half an hour east, so most drives are short. Lloret de Mar is around 35 minutes south down the C-65, roughly 24 miles. Tossa de Mar, with its walled old town above the beach, is about 45 minutes, a short hop further along the coast from Lloret. The wider Costa Brava coast and the Empordà wine country sit within a 40-minute radius. Barcelona is roughly an hour and a quarter south on the AP-7.
The point for Girona is that one pickup reaches all of them and you can be back the same evening. That is why many visitors rent here even when they base themselves in the city.
Girona sits close to the border, which is what makes a French day trip easy from here. Perpignan is about an hour north on the AP-7, roughly 60 miles, and the border itself near La Jonquera is closer still. Most suppliers allow you to drive into France, but you should declare the cross-border trip when you book rather than spring it on the desk at pickup - there may be a small fee and an insurance note. Do not cross undeclared.
This is the one local rule to get right. Girona's low-emission zone came into effect on 15 September, and its perimeter runs from Devesa Park to Carrer Emili Grahit, and from Carrer del Riu Güell to Carrer del Carme and the Barri Vell old town. Restricted hours are 7am to 8pm, Monday to Friday, and outside those hours all vehicles may circulate without exception at weekends and on midweek holidays. Twenty cameras at 13 points photograph vehicles without an environmental sticker that have not been authorised.
For a hire car this rarely matters. Cars rented in Spain are modern and carry a DGT environmental sticker (0, ECO, C or B), which is what the zone requires, so a rental can drive into the centre with no extra paperwork. The restrictions target vehicles without a sticker from outside Girona, not a compliant car.
Quick checks at pickup
Most car hire in Girona starts at the airport, where the desks and the cheapest rates are. For terminal desks and the arrivals walk-through, see the Girona Airport car hire page. To collect in town instead, names you will see include Goldcar, Centauro and Drivalia. Either way, an no-deposit rate with full cover built in avoids a deposit hold, and parking in the centre is easier in the underground car parks than on the street inside the ZBE.
Spring (April to June) and early autumn (September into October) are the easiest times to drive - warm enough for the Costa Brava beaches, with quieter roads and rates below the summer peak. July and August are the busiest stretch: prices climb, automatics and 7-seaters go first, and the coast road into Lloret and Tossa gets slow, so book several weeks ahead. Winter is cheapest, and a car still earns its keep for Figueres, the Empordà villages and a France day trip once the beach season is over.
Yes. Central Girona is a low-emission zone, in force 7am to 8pm Monday to Friday, but cars rented in Spain carry the DGT sticker the zone requires, so a hire car can enter.
Check the windscreen sticker at pickup and photograph it. The restrictions only apply to older, non-compliant vehicles.
A credit card is not always required - it is needed to hold the security deposit. At pickup the supplier freezes the deposit amount on the card: the money is not charged and is released when you return the car undamaged.
Without a credit card you still have options: choose a cash-payment rate (the «Cash» filter option) or a no-deposit rate, and nothing is held.
The deposit is an amount the rental company holds as a guarantee for the car. Road fines or damage can be deducted from it.
If the car comes back without problems, the deposit is released in full. It is a temporary hold on your card, not a charge.
It depends on the car class and the supplier - you can see the exact amount on each car's card.
You can set a maximum deposit in the filter and the catalogue shows only matching offers. The lower you set it, the fewer cars remain.
Yes. To see cars with no deposit, use the «No deposit» filter option. There are also cars with a small deposit or cash payment.
Note that "no deposit" means no hold at pickup, not no booking payment - a small upfront amount is still taken when you book. If nothing suits, contact our support team.
The deposit is the amount frozen on your card at pickup and released when you return the car undamaged.
The excess is the part of any damage you pay yourself even with insurance - anything above it is covered by the insurer.
In practice, damage is taken from the deposit up to the excess, so the deposit is often set to match it. A full, zero-excess policy removes both: you do not pay for damage and the hold is usually waived.
Cover comes in levels:
You see the available rates on each car's card when booking.
If you would rather not depend on the deposit and excess, choose the full rate.
Yes, some cars can be paid in cash - use the «Cash» filter option.
You pay a small upfront amount by debit or credit card when booking (usually 15-20% of the total), and the rest in cash at pickup.
Yes, paying for the car with cryptocurrency is possible - contact our support team to arrange it.
The French border is about an hour north on the AP-7, and Andorra around two hours. Cross-border trips must be agreed with the supplier in advance - there may be a small service fee and extra insurance.
To see cars allowed across the border, use the filter option or contact our support team. Do not cross the border undeclared.
Yes. In the search, set a pick-up and a drop-off point - for example collect in Girona and return in Lloret de Mar, Figueres or Barcelona.
By default the car is returned to the same place you collected it.
Most are manual, as across Spain. Automatics cost more and sell out first, especially in summer, so book one early if you need it - it makes the coastal traffic and the inland climbs easier.
You need a passport, a driving licence and the rental voucher - the voucher can be shown on your phone or tablet.
It states the final price with your chosen options and insurance, so the amount due at the desk will not change.
To hire through our rental companies you need at least 2 years of driving experience.
Your question has been sent! We'll get back to you shortly.
Need to add something? Write to us at info@carhire-es.com