Car rental at Tenerife South Airport (TFS) - main gateway for the south resorts. Rental desks in the arrivals hall. Compare 15+ operators.
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Sample prices for a 7-day rental. Final price, deposit and terms are confirmed on Localrent.
Desks in arrivals at TFS
Most suppliers sit inside the terminal opposite the baggage carousels at Tenerife South.
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.
Free cancellation
Cancel free on most bookings, often up to 48 hours before pickup.
You will be driving motorway to the resorts and a long climb if you head up to Teide. Pick by group size and how far you are going, not by looks.
Economy
Cheapest off the plane and easy to park in Los Cristianos. Fine for two with cases.
Automatic
Easier on the climb up to Teide. Automatics are limited on the island, so reserve before you fly.
7-seater & van
For families or two couples sharing, with boot space for the airport run.
Luxury & convertible
For the coast roads of the south-west. Deposits run higher on premium groups.
Tenerife has two airports, and which one you land at changes where you collect the car. Tenerife South (Reina Sofia, TFS) takes nearly all the international charter and low-cost flights and sits next to the southern resorts. Tenerife North (Los Rodeos, TFN) is smaller, handles mostly mainland and inter-island flights, and sits up near the capital.
Tenerife South works from a single three-level terminal. The car rental offices are located in the arrivals hall on level one and in the baggage reclaim area on level -1. In practice the desks cluster opposite the baggage carousels, so you can sort the car before you even leave the hall.
The big names with counters inside the terminal include Europcar, Sixt, Hertz, Goldcar, Avis, Enterprise, Cicar and AutoReisen. Some companies, such as Avis and Budget, organize the pick-up procedure outside the airfield although their offices are based inside the terminal, and after signing the agreement, they deliver drivers to their vehicles via a complimentary shuttle.
Smaller budget brands sit just off the airport. A smaller number of budget or local companies operate from lots located just outside the airport grounds and do not have a desk in the main hall; instead a representative meets you in the arrivals hall, or you take a free shuttle bus to their off-site office. Your voucher names the exact desk or meeting point - read it before you land.
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.
Tenerife North is the quieter pickup and sits in San Cristobal de La Laguna, beside the capital. A few suppliers keep a counter in the small arrivals terminal - Goldcar, for example, works from office T54 in the arrivals zone - while several others run a free shuttle to a nearby branch off the airport road. The island's capital is in the north of Tenerife, like Los Rodeos, so you can quickly get from the airport to the city in your rental car.
If your flight is into TFN and your hotel is in the southern resorts, you can still collect here, but expect a longer drive south. For a south-coast stay, TFS is the closer pickup.
Quick checks at pickup
Most car rental companies at Tenerife South operate from 7am to 11pm. If your flight lands after that, check the closing time on your supplier before you book, or pick an off-airport company with later hours, as a missed pickup is hard to recover. Returns usually go back to the same point - at TFS, follow the signs for "Rental Car Return" and the P1 garage for a simple drop-off.
The minimum age is generally 21, and a daily surcharge of 23.00 EUR applies to renters between 21 and 24 years of age at most suppliers. Most desks run a full-to-full fuel policy, so fill up before you return and keep the receipt.
Out of Tenerife South you join the TF-1 motorway within a minute or two. Los Cristianos and Costa Adeje are both roughly a 15 to 20 minute drive west; Playa de las Americas sits between them. Out of Tenerife North you are on the TF-5 fast, with Puerto de la Cruz around 30 minutes west and the capital about 15 minutes away.
There is no low-emission zone to worry about at either airport - the ZBE rules you may have read about apply to mainland cities, not the Tenerife airport roads. The one island-specific point: a hire car stays on Tenerife. Suppliers authorise use only on the island where you rented, and taking the car to another Spanish island needs written permission. If you want to take it on a ferry, ask before you book rather than at the desk.
Tenerife South (TFS) has one terminal. The rental desks are in the arrivals hall on level one and in the baggage reclaim area on level -1, mostly opposite the carousels.
A few budget brands meet you in arrivals or shuttle you to an off-site office - your voucher names the exact point.
Tenerife South (Reina Sofia, TFS) takes nearly all international flights and sits next to the southern resorts. Tenerife North (Los Rodeos, TFN) is smaller, handles mostly mainland and inter-island flights, and sits near the capital.
For a south-coast holiday, TFS is the closer and busier pickup.
Most desks at TFS run roughly 7am to 11pm. If you land later, check your supplier's closing time before booking, or choose an off-airport company with extended hours, so your pickup is not missed.
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 in the terminal.
Yes, paying for the car with cryptocurrency is possible - contact our support team to arrange it.
Taking the car by ferry to Gran Canaria, La Gomera or other islands must be agreed with the supplier in advance, and not all of them allow it.
It is often simpler to hire a separate car on the second island. If you plan a ferry, check the terms with our support team.
Yes. In the search, set a pick-up and a drop-off point - for example collect at TFS and return in Puerto de la Cruz or at TFN.
By default the car is returned to the same place you collected it.
Most are manual, as across Spain. Automatics are in shorter supply and cost more, so book one well ahead if you need it - an automatic also makes the climb up to Teide easier on the steep bends.
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.
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