Where a car can be handed over in Tenerife
Every place on Tenerife where a hire car is handed over or delivered, what each one actually offers, and whether you meet the car there or it comes to you.
The deposit and the cancellation terms are shown on each car before you book.
Hire cars on Tenerife are handed over in one of two ways. At Tenerife South Airport and Tenerife North Airport, you are met in the arrival area, which is the named handover place in the booking system; there is no desk, counter or numbered bay. In the towns, the car is delivered to the address you give in that town.
Puerto de la Cruz is the only town on Tenerife with named predetermined points: a free parking area, the Parque Taoro car park and the Guaguas bus station. They are meeting places, not rental offices. Delivery to an address in Puerto de la Cruz is offered as well.
Most points can be chosen as a drop-off as well as a pick-up. The pick-up point sets where the search starts, and a different drop-off point makes the rental one-way, with any one-way charge shown with the price on each car. Golf del Sur and Guía de Isora return no cars one-way in either direction, so they appear in the pick-up list and not in the drop-off list.
Two kinds of place, and why the difference matters
At Tenerife South Airport and Tenerife North Airport, the handover place is the arrival area. At both airports the car is handed over in the arrival area; there is no desk, counter or office. The rental terms require the phone number given at booking, with the correct country code, to be reachable on the day before pick-up and throughout the rental. Tenerife South Airport has one general car park, P1, open 24 hours, with 2.2 metres of headroom on the covered spaces. Tenerife North Airport has a general car park a minute from the terminal, open 24 hours with 2.1 metres of headroom, and a long-stay car park, P4, four minutes away, with 4.5 metres of headroom and prior booking. The PCAN station on the TF-152, about 440 metres from the Tenerife North terminal, is open 24 hours.
At a town point, as with car hire bookings in Golf del Sur, the car is brought to an address you name inside that town, such as a hotel or an apartment. Los Cristianos, Playa de las Americas, Costa Adeje, Playa Paraiso, El Medano, Los Gigantes and Santa Cruz de Tenerife offer city delivery only. Arona, Golf del Sur, Guía de Isora and Las Chafiras are also bookable in the search. An airport handover takes place at the terminal, and a town handover takes place at the address you give.
How does delivery to an address actually work?
For a town pick-up, the car is delivered to the address you give when you book. The address can be a hotel, an apartment or any other place you are staying in that town. The delivery is made inside the town chosen as the pick-up point, to the address on the booking.
Each car's listing shows whether delivery is free and, where it is not, the delivery price. Delivery charges are set per car. The documents at a delivery are the same as at an airport: the licence card itself in the main driver's name with its details in Latin script, and the payment card named on the voucher. The deposit is shown during booking. Standard insurance does not cover damage to the wheels, the undercarriage, the windscreen or the interior.
The one town where you can name the spot
Puerto de la Cruz is the only town on the island with named predetermined points in the booking system: Free parking Puerto de la Cruz, Parking Parque Taoro and Bus Station Guaguas Puerto de la Cruz. They are meeting places, not rental offices. Delivery to an address in the town is offered as well. For one-way rentals from Tenerife South Airport, only Tenerife North Airport and Playa de las Americas have more cars than Puerto de la Cruz.
Puerto de la Cruz is on the north coast, eighty-one minutes and 97 kilometres from Tenerife South Airport. From the town, La Orotava is nine minutes by road, Icod de los Vinos twenty-seven and Teide at El Portillo thirty-eight. From Tenerife North Airport, Puerto de la Cruz is twenty-six minutes and 30 kilometres. Cepsa and BP stations stand on the Carretera del Botánico, 0.4 to 0.7 kilometres from Plaza del Charco. The TF-31 Martiánez false tunnel, 292.7 metres long, is unlit.
Can I leave the car somewhere other than where I collected it?
Yes, at most points. Choose one point as the pick-up and a different one as the drop-off, and the rental becomes one-way. Any one-way charge is shown with the price on each car, not added afterwards. Golf del Sur and Guía de Isora return no cars one-way in either direction, so they can be chosen as a pick-up and not as a drop-off.
The widest choice of one-way cars is between Tenerife South Airport and Tenerife North Airport, by a wide margin and in both directions. The southern strip and Puerto de la Cruz have more one-way cars than the smaller points. The search shows what is available for your dates. The rental conditions are the same whatever the drop-off point: the car goes back with the fuel level it had at pick-up and clean enough to be inspected, and an extension needs the rental agent to be informed in advance.
Your dates. Your starting point.
Compare the cars available for your trip, then check the payment card and deposit requirements for the one you choose.
Find a carFree-flow driving times from Tenerife South Airport.
Which point should I choose?
Tenerife South Airport is the default pick-up point in the search, and the handover there is in the arrival area. A town pick-up is a delivery to the address you give in that town. From Tenerife South Airport, Playa de las Americas and Costa Adeje are thirty minutes by road and Los Cristianos thirty-three minutes. These are estimates that leave out traffic; check a live map on the day.
Tenerife South Airport has the widest choice of cars on the island, and Playa de las Americas has the widest choice among the towns. The cheapest cars in the southern towns are priced close to the cheapest at the airport. Automatics and seven-seaters are a minority of what is listed at Tenerife South Airport. Covered car parks in the south have height limits: 2.2 metres at the airport's P1 and on Calle Valle Menendez in Los Cristianos, and 2.10 metres at El Mirador in Los Gigantes.
the cars we can put in the arrival area Tenerife South Airport car hire, with the deposit shown before you book
the arrival area at the south terminal Collect a hire car in the Tenerife South Airport arrival area
Costa Adeje and the streets above it Car hire in Costa Adeje, delivered to your address
Los Cristianos and the harbour Los Cristianos car hire, 19 km by road from the south airport
Playa de las Americas Hire a car in Playa de las Americas, brought to where you stay
Puerto de la Cruz on the north coast Puerto de la Cruz car rental from named pick-up points
Los Gigantes under the cliffs Rent a car in Los Gigantes, 45 km from the airport
the capital at Santa Cruz A hire car in Santa Cruz, delivered in the island's capital
El Medano and its wind For car hire in El Medano, the nearest town to the terminal
Playa Paraiso Hire cars delivered to Playa Paraiso, between Costa Adeje and Los Gigantes
Golf del Sur, for collection only Car hire in Golf del Sur, 7 km by road from the south airport
the older airport above La Laguna Tenerife North Airport hire cars, handed over at arrivals
Airports
Tenerife South AirportArrival area
Tenerife North AirportArrival areaThe south
Playa de las AmericasBrought to your address
El MedanoBrought to your address
AronaBrought to your address
Los CristianosBrought to your address
Costa AdejeBrought to your address
Playa ParaisoBrought to your address
Golf del SurBrought to your address Collection only
Las ChafirasBrought to your addressElsewhere on the island
Puerto de la CruzNamed points
Santa Cruz de TenerifeBrought to your address
Los GigantesBrought to your addressGuia de IsoraBrought to your address Collection onlyUseful answers
Puerto de la Cruz is the only town on Tenerife with named pick-up points. In every other town on this list, the car is delivered to your address.
Is there an office at any of these?
No. At the airports the car is handed over in the arrival area, and in the towns the car is delivered to the address you give. Puerto de la Cruz also has named meeting points, and none of them is a rental office.
Does delivery cost extra?
It depends on the car, not the town. Each listing shows whether delivery is free and, where it is not, the delivery price, before you book.
Can I collect in one place and leave the car in another?
Yes, at most points. Golf del Sur and Guía de Isora can be chosen for collection only. The widest choice of one-way cars is between the two airports, with fewer at the smaller towns, and any one-way charge is shown with the price on each car.
Which point has the most cars?
Tenerife South Airport, and it is the default pick-up point in the search. Playa de las Americas has the most among the towns. The cheapest cars in the southern towns are priced close to the cheapest at the airport.