Car hire Murcia – Almeria car hire

Located at the South-East corner of Spain, between the regions of Valencia, Andalusia and Castile-La Mancha, the region of Murcia borders the province of Alicante in the East, the provinces of Granada and Almería in the West, the province of Albacete in the North and the Mediterranean in the South-East. From the geographical point of view, the region of Murcia stands out because of its multiple contrasts, which can no doubt be attributed to its location in a transitional area between the Sub-Baetic mountain range and the northern Sub-Meseta. Murcia has one of the most important airports in Spain, San Javier lies about 45 km outside of the city and handles national and international flights. San Javier is perfectly situated to serve the Costa Blanca as it lies just in between three major cities: Murcia , Cartagena and Torrevieja and is therefor ideal for La Manga or Mar Menor visitors, as it has become more and more popular amongst various airlines and car hire companies.

On Hispacar, the online specialist for affordable car hire in Spain, you can find the best prices for car rental Murcia as they work with several companies specialized in low-cost car hire Murcia airport and other popular tourist resorts of the province like Cartagena, where the visitor can practice numerous water sports offered in countless clubs, leisure ports and schools.

Almeria, in the West of Murcia, is located to the west of the river mouth of Almeria, also called Andarax and it is the Spanish city with more sunshine hours per year. The city’s citadel, cathedral and the narrow streets with whitewashed façades are elements of its picturesque historic quarter. In addition to history and culture, Almeria offers gastronomy, mountains, beaches and coastal nature reserves that will make a journey to this corner of Spain unforgettable.

Almeria airport is situated in the bay of Almeria and located approximately 10 Kilometres east of the city centre at the end of a dual carriage way with excellent connections to other tourist destinations in the province, such as Aguadulce, Cabo de Gata, Roquetas de Mar or Mojacar. Numerous European airline companies fly to Almería, making it the second most important airport in terms of foreign tourist arrivals in Andalucía and the third most important Andalusian airport in terms of passenger numbers, after Malaga and Seville. A three-level terminal building caters for all domestic and international flights at Almeria airport. Almeria car hire is recommended if the visitor would like to discover the impressive coastline of Almeria dotted with almost virgin beaches and semi deserted ecosystems.

Car hire operator Dollar Thrifty in pact with Ford for vehicle supply

Car rental company Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc (DTG.N) said it agreed to source a portion of its annual vehicle purchases from Ford Motor Co (F.N) until August 2012 as part of an agreement.

The agreement would provide access to a broader array of product offerings, such as long wheel based vans, and also supplement its supply deal with Chrysler LLC [CBS.UL], the company said.

Purchases will begin with the 2009 model year, the company said.

Since last year, the three U.S. automakers — in an effort to return to sustainable profitability — decided to cut back on fleet sales to the car hire chains. Selling the cars en masse at reduced prices had undercut their value.

Car hire companies like Dollar Thrifty, Avis Budget Group Inc (CAR.N) and Hertz Global Holdings Inc (HTZ.N) have also been trying to cut their fleet size or keep it in service for a longer period to trim costs and offset the drag in rental demand.

Dollar Thrifty said its agreement with Chrysler, which remains in effect through the 2011 model year, requires it to buy at least 75 percent of its vehicles from Chrysler to obtain certain volume incentive payments. Shares of Dollar Thrifty closed at $1.13 Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange.

Holiday Rentals in the Sierra de Cazorla

The municipality of Cazorla is located in the region of the Upper Guadalquivir River in the Jaen province. In a natural setting of great beauty, this town marks the entrance to the Sierra de Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas Natural Park. Due to its extraordinary beauty this is a popular holiday destination for rural tourism and and a wide selection of holiday rentals Cazorla is available, from bed and breakfast, small hotels and country houses to typical Andalusian fincas and cortijos.

The earliest traces of human presence in Cazorla can be found in the natural rock shelter of Valdecuevas and date back to the 6th millennium BC. During the times of the Iberians, Cazorla belonged to the important city of Toya. Romans, Visigoths and Arabs settled these lands, which gained importance after the 13th century. During this period the town was conquered by Rodrigo Ximénez de Rada, archbishop of Toledo, who founded the region of Adelantado de Cazorla. For centuries to come, the archbishops of Toledo were the lords of the region of Adelantado, until a decree from the Court of Cadiz in the 19th century brought an end to the period of ecclesiastical rule. During the French invasion, residents of the town and guerrilla forces ended the occupation. For this reason, Court of Cadiz awarded Cazorla the title of Very Noble and Very Loyal. Declared a Historic-Artistic site in 1972, Cazorla is at present a great tourist destination not only because of its Renaissance heritage, but also because of its location at the heart of the Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas Natural Park, which protects important flora and fauna.

Over 200,000 hectares of incredible beauty spots make up the Cazorla, Segura y las Villas Nature Reserve, where species which are unique in the world live. This is the largest protected area in all of Spain. We are talking about 200,000 hectares of mountains, situated to the Northeast of Jaén, with luxuriant forests of pine groves with unique species, such as the Cazorla violet, the Valverde wall lizard, a daffodil which claims to be the smallest in the world and a unique carnivorous plant. The Guadalquivir rises here (in Cañada de las Fuentes, at a height of over 1,300 metres) as well as the Segura. The reserve includes lands belonging to 23 townships of the regions of Cazorla, Segura, Quesada and Las Villas.

The reserve has the privilege of being home to species such as the mountain goat, the deer and the wild boar, as well as muflones, which can be contemplated in a partially free state in the ‘Collado del Almendral’ hunting reserve. The flora of the Park is one of the richest in Spain, with over 1,300 catalogued species. Of these, at least 24 are exclusive to this territory, among which the Austrian pine, an indigenous species which can be found at heights above 1,200 metres. Besides this, there are also numerous river species, such as the common trout, barbels or bream.

The best way to find holiday rentals Cazorla in this fascinating natural Park is to use the internet where you can find hotels, holiday appartments or typical rural accommodations like fincas, haciendas and cortijos.

Holiday Accommodation Andalusia

The province of Granada is a perfect holiday destination if you want to get away from it all. From rural cottages and country hotels to apartments in converted farmhouses and restored haciendas, and rural accommodation in Andalusia is normally situated in picturesque villages, spectacular national parks and unspoilt countryside.

Many of these traditional Andalucian houses have their own pool and situated close to mountains or natural parks of extraordinary beauty. The holiday accommodation Granada is diverse, but has one thing in common: an authentic atmosphere, well equipped, comfortable and up to modern standards country houses and holiday apartments.

Caseria el Pozo is one of these holiday accommodations in Granada. A rural country house with gardens and private swimming pool located in Andalusia, in the Western region of the Granada province, a priviliged spot to spend your holidays.

This country house is situated close to the Sierra Nevada mountain range. If you’re spending your holidays in Granada in the winterseason it is definately recommendable to visit the Sierra Nevada ski resort. With more than 65 kilometres of skiable pistes, the Pradollano winter resort in the mountains of Granada offers a wide range of leisure activities.

The Sierra Nevada ski resort falls within the municipal area of Monachil, which is just 8 kilometres from Granada. The village has many areas of great natural value and stunning landscapes. The Sierra Nevada National Park forms a breathtaking backdrop, and special mention should be made of the Mulhacén (3,481 m) and Veleta (3,394 m) peaks, Los Cahorros gorge and La Cortijuela botanical gardens. The typical holiday houses in Granada are the so-called cortijos and fincas which can also be found in other parts of Spain. There is a wide choice of holiday accommodation in Granada, your will find rural holiday houses, cottages or rural village houses. A converted watermill, a restored farmhouse and a cave house are just a few examples of the rental accommodation you can find in Granada.

Caseria el Pozo is also situated close to the city of Granada and even the bustling Costa del Sol. In fact, Caseria el Pozo offers guests a priviliged location in the center of Andalucía which makes it easy to discover places like Cordoba, Seville, Malaga, Ronda, the Sierra Nevada or the Alpujarras. Even the nearby Costa el Sol can be visited, with interesting places like the Caves in Nerja or the Axarquia.

Car rental groups try to catch car sharers

It began as Green politics was becoming fashionable in Europe, taking root in France, the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland; then America got the bug, in the liberal coastlands of Boston, Massachusetts, and Portland, Oregon; now the car rental giants are jumping on the bandwagon and setting up car-sharing clubs.

Hertz is among those laying down a challenge to the likes of Zipcar, Streetcar and City Car Club, with plans to place hundreds of rental cars in local neighbourhoods in London, Paris, New York and New Jersey over the next year as it tries to offset falling revenues from its traditional rental business.

The US-listed company is launching its service – Connect – next week and hopes to expand into new markets, including Germany and Spain, as early as six months later. In doing so, it will be the first big car rental company to launch a car-sharing service in the UK since Avis dropped its Urbigo club two years ago because of a lack of interest.

The economic and political climate has changed markedly since then. The boom years are being replaced by a global recession and chaotic oil prices have made people think more seriously about environmental issues. Membership of car-sharing clubs – which allow members to pay an annual fee for a smart card that gives them access to cars parked close to their home that can be rented by the hour – has more than doubled in Britain this year. Car taxes have risen, too, as have parking fees and fuel costs.

The clubs are also being promoted by local authorities, especially in big cities such as London, as a way of beating congestion. Research has shown that for every car club vehicle, up to 20 private cars can be taken off the road.

There are more than 60,000 people using more than 1,500 club cars in the UK. Streetcar, Britain’s biggest car club operator, has 1,000 cars and vans in seven cities. It says that since March membership has risen from 27,537 to 50,000. Similarly, City Car Club has reported year-on-year growth of more than 93 per cent this year and now has more than 8,000 UK members in seven cities, including London, Edinburgh and Bristol.

Scott Griffiths, chief executive of Zipcar, the biggest international car club, which has more than 250,000 members, believes that there will be two million car club members in North America and a further two million in Europe within ten years. “This is a multibillion-dollar industry unfolding,” he said. “Having seen some of the growth we have seen in the last few years, rental firms are trying to get into the game – albeit a bit late.”

Better late than never, though. The car club market’s rapid growth is highly attractive to Hertz, which said that it was suffering “unprecedented volume contraction” in its traditional rental markets at its third-quarter results this month.

Neil Cunningham, general manager of Hertz in the UK, who has responsibility for the development of the company’s Connect car club in Europe, said: “We are really ambitious for Connect. At this early stage it is about proving the concept, being competitive and having the best offer and then growing rapidly.”

Hertz’s car club service will start in Britain with 15 cars placed in public car parks in Central London and on a housing development in Ealing, West London. The car hire company is in negotiations with a number of local authorities in the capital to secure on-street parking bays. Hertz expects to have “hundreds” of cars around London within a year.

According to Mr Cunningham, Hertz will be able to use its existing infrastructure, such as call centres, relationships with car manufacturers, insurers and marketing partners, to grow quickly. “If I decided to open in a large city in Spain tomorrow, I could probably do it in a couple of weeks,” he said. Hertz is also talking to some of its corporate customers about offering them its new car club service to meet some of their car pool or short-term rental requirements. “I think it has huge potential, as it is so convenient and quick,” Mr Cunningham said.

Source: The Times Online

Visitor shortage slows Avis Europe

Car rental prices are to soar, leading car hire outfit Avis Europe said today. With a lack of tourists boosting car rental volumes, Avis said it is having to increase rates to offset falling profits on their cars.

It added that the number of days its vehicles were going out on rental during the summer months fell because fewer Americans were coming to Europe.

Though Avis had kept its business together on the back of increased corporate and insurance-replacement rentals, that has now also fallen to the financial crisis. The company said: ‘Volumes have noticeably weakened in the fourth quarter to date.’

Car rental firm Avis Europe also said it plans to jettison 5% of its workforce -equivalent to 315 jobs. It will look to close some rental locations and save costs by moving staff from its UK head office in Hayes to its European HQ at Bracknell. Avis, which operates Avis and Budget in Europe, said volumes were weaker in the car hire industry in the final quarter of the year.

Source: Daily Mail

Rent a Car for an Hour

For many city dwellers, owning a car is both a blessing and a curse. Some urbanites get around mostly by public transportation, but occasionally need a car for shopping or for trips out of town. Maintaining a car is expensive, and finding parking on crowded city streets can be a nightmare.

Two women looked at this problem and saw a business opportunity, as well as a way to help the planet. In 1999, they founded Zipcar Inc., which has grown rapidly to become the world’s largest car-sharing business. Driven by high oil prices, Zipcar is now averaging 10,000 new members per month, triple the number joining at this time last year.

A new survey claims that at current membership levels, Zipcar will lead to a saving of 16 million gallons of petrol and 150 million pounds of carbon dioxide annually.

Traditional car rental companies rent cars by the day. Car-sharing allows drivers to rent by the hour, and without having to wait in line at a car rental counter. Instead, cars are left at reserved places all over urban areas. Many customers have to walk only a few blocks to pick one up.

Zipcar stresses its contribution to saving the environment. It says surveys of its customers indicate about a third would have kept their car or purchased one if they could not use Zipcar.

Robert Deyling, a lawyer who lives in Washington, DC, says not having a car encourages him to walk and take buses more. He uses Zipcar about twice a month to go places he cannot reach by public transportation, like evening events at his daughter’s grade school.

“Not having a car is definitely saving me money,” he says. “My costs for the occasional car rental, car-sharing and taxis probably wouldn’t even be the cost of [petrol] if I owned a car.”

Source: The Business Standard

Make the most out of your stay in Valencia

Valencia is the third largest city of Spain. Valencia is not only famous for its impressive cultivation of lemon and orange groves, it is also the original birthplace of paella, one of Spain’s favorite natives and of course visitor’s dishes. With its huge groves of rice, it is not surprising that almost all the classic Spanish rice dishes originate from Valencia. The traditional Paella Valenciana is made with rabbit, snails, green beans and of course rice. The variety of different paella dishes in Spain is as diverse as the local ingredients.

The most important square in the city of Valencia is the Plaça de l’Ajuntament, where we can find the City Council and numerous bars and restaurants that offer all type of Valencian typical food. It is in the Plaça de l’Ajuntament where the noisy firecrackers and fireworks of the Mascletá catch on during the famous Fallas every year in Spring.

Las Fallas is one of the best-known and emblematic festivals in Spain that continues growing in popularity every year. Fallas are giant figures of papier mache, wood and wax, representing personalities and current events. Popularly known as the “Ninots”, these stunning works of art are burned in the night of San Juan. They may be of symbolic or satirical theme and realistic or comic strip in style. Las Fallas are realised with extreme respect in the different workshops scattered throughout the city, this development gets to take up to one year. Thousands of visitors join the people of Valencia in this festival of fire and color.

Another very popular tourist festivity is the traditional La Tomatina, a tomato fight that takes place every year on the last Wednesday of August in Buñol, a town near Valencia. This event has become one of the most important festivals in Spain, with thousands of people who come year after year to this small town of Valencia to celebrate with the people of Buñol the traditional battle of tomatoes (La Tomatina).

L’Oceanographic is the largest aquarium in Europe, with a multitude of water species such as beluga whales from the Arctic to the most common fish from the Mediterranean. Located in Valencia’s City of Arts and Sciences, L’Oceanographic uses the most modern technology to recreate marine life from around the world. The aquarium has ten different geographic sections where visitors can enjoy the beauty of many marine species such as butterfly fish in the auditorium of the Red Sea, Patagonian sea lions and Antarctic penguins. Visitors can follow their unforgettable experience from the underwater restaurant and enjoy a good plate of Paella surrounded by multicoloured fish behind a glass.

Not far from Valencia we find one of the biggest amusement parks of Europe. Terra Mitica is located near the popular tourist resort of Benidorm and has five areas inspired on the Mediterranean civilisations: Greece, Egypt, Rome, Iberia and the Islands. The most striking attractions are the Magnus Colossus, the largest wooden roller coaster in Europe, which reaches speeds of 100 km per hour and the Flight of the Phoenix, which has an acceleration of 100 km per hour in his spectacular 54 m free fall. All in one, a multitude of attractions which will leave the visitor speechless, with over 20 live shows and 300 actors and specialists.

Valencia car hire is strongly recommended if you want to make the most out of your holidays in Spain. You will find a large choice of car hire companies in Valencia or online car rental brokers offering cheap car hire at Valencia airport.

Hybrid Car Rentals

With the choking price of gasoline these days, the demand for hybrid car rentals has shot up. Consumer Reports wanted to see how tough it was to reserve one—and whether it’s the money saver you’re expecting.

Hertz says it’s seen a 40% increase in requests for hybrids so far this year. Car rental agencies have been adding hybrids like the Nissan Altima, the Toyota Prius. But when you go to try to rent one of those hybrids, they can be hard to find.

Consumer Reports did some booking. It tried to reserve a hybrid a few days in advance of a three-day stay in Los Angeles. Checking six agencies, only three—Alamo, Hertz and National—had a hybrid. Booking two months in advance was a bit better. The same three agencies plus Avis had a hybrid.

Consumer Reports found calling the rental companies was a more successful strategy for renting a hybrid than going online. Enterprise wouldn’t rent a hybrid through its Web site. National said there were no hybrids available online, but when Consumer Reports called there was one.

And Consumer Reports found renting a hybrid won’t necessarily save you money. For instance, Avis quoted a rate of $253 for a three-day rental of an Altima hybrid versus $111 for the Chevy Impala. Agencies charging more for fuel efficient cars can cancel out any savings on gas.

So, Consumer Reports says when you’re renting a car, look not just at the type of vehicle you’re getting but also the rate, so you can get the best deal. You may be able to get a better rate on a non-hybrid fuel efficient vehicle.

Rental car straight to your door

AVIS Home Delivery now brings your rental car straight to your door, helping you get your journey off to the best possible start.

The company will deliver to all 12 million households on the UK mainland, putting them right on your doorstep!

“For the last few years consumers have been demanding more convenience from retailers,” says Daniel McCarthy, commercial director of Avis Rent A Car.

“Many goods can now be delivered direct to customers – in fact a study in 2005 showed that over 79 per cent of us shop online and have goods delivered to our homes – from pizza, to weekly groceries and DVDs – and now Avis cars!”

So, instead of hauling your luggage and passengers to your nearest rental location, or taking public transport miles out of your way, you can save time with the new Home Delivery option, and start your journey from your door.

Source: Avis Rent a Car