Flights to, and car hire in, Malaga

anotherbigspender

Evening all,

I have the unenviable task of trying to book flights to Malaga and a car for my family's summer holiday in August this year.

There are 6 of us (all adults) going from Birmingham - 1 week, Saturday to Saturday

RyanAir are coming up cheapest (by about £20 per head) for the flights but am I mad even considering flying with them? I've not used them before but there seems to be endless numbers of stories of sharp practice.

Would Monarch be a better bet? Anyone else?

I'd also like some recommendations for car hire companies - one which have a modern fleet and won't charge me for a full tank of fuel and make me return it empty. I'd be looking for a Galaxy, Grand Voyager or similar. I'd rather book direct than go through a broker so I know who I dealing with and I'm happy to go off site if it means better service and not queuing in that sweaty hall downstairs in the airport!

Thanks all

jen_br

hi have you been to malaga before? the train takes you everywhere and personally its ccrazy driving i wouldn't want to rent a huge car incase someone hit it.

also whats wrong with being charged for fuel then returning empty?

jen_br

Oh and for flights I fly with easyjet really cheap!

anotherbigspender

jen_br wrote: »

hi have you been to malaga before? the train takes you everywhere and personally its ccrazy driving i wouldn't want to rent a huge car incase someone hit it.

There are 6 of us with suitcases who need to travel from Malaga to a Villa about 1hr or so along the coast - a train ain't going to cut it. We want the freedom of a car to explore.

jen_br wrote: »

also whats wrong with being charged for fuel then returning empty?

1. You pay the rental firms inflated price for the fuel, not the price at the petrol pumps.

2. Its very difficult to return a car with a minimal amount of fuel in it, a) because you don't want to risk it running out and you end up missing your flight and b) often its not possible to use a full tank without spending the majority of the holiday driving long distances - there are no refunds for unused fuel.

anotherbigspender

jen_br wrote: »

Oh and for flights I fly with easyjet really cheap!

They don't fly the route but thanks anyway.

anotherbigspender

Cityboy wrote: »

Bmibaby also fly that route so you could try them. You get to choose your seats in advance too.

Car hire - hellehollis.com worth a try. Based just 800m from Malaga airport before you get to the motorway junction.

Good shout - didn't know Bmi flew that route. I'll give them a try.

Have read some good things about Helle Hollis too.

Cheers

melb

hi we went to Malaga in December and booked through Carjet and were allocated Automotive who are 5 minutes drive from the airport near to Ikea. You can also use Bravocarhire who are a broker but you can choose which of their companies to book with and they also use automotive. you return the vehicle with the same amount of fuel it had when you pick it up so you don't even need to leave a deposit for the fuel. There's no hard sell on the insurance for tyres/windscreen but we did take it out as it was 3 euros a day which is one of the cheaper ones. It's really easy to find your way to their depot on the way back as well as they give you a map. don't know if they do larger cars though but certainly worth a try.

bagand96

Try using www.skyscanner.net looking for flights as it will compare all the big carriers on the route. You could consider flying out with one airline and back with another. Nothing to stop you doing this as long as you are fine having two sets of bookings (skyscanner will show you prices for doing this). On your quotes have you taken them all the way to the payment page to get the final price, including bags and credit card charges? (these could eat into that £20 Ryanair saving quickly!)

The differences between Ryanair, Monarch, and bmibaby are few and far between. The main difference is seating. On Ryanair, you do not get an allocated seat. You just get on and pick any seat available. Monarch and bmibaby will allocate you a seat number when you check in. They will also give you the option to select your exact seat when you book (for an extra charge of course!).

On all three airlines the food/drinks are buy-on-board, although Monarch allow you to pre-order a traditional hot airline meal if you wish. bmibaby and Ryanair sell sandwiches etc.

The other difference is check in. On Ryanair you MUST check in online and print your boarding passes before going to the airport. Otherwise its a big charge when you get to the airport. bmibaby offer free online check in but charge for airport check-in (although if you are taking a bag you have no choice but to pay for airport checkin). Monarch are more tradtional, you can check in at the airport without any charge to do so.

You will hear horror stories about hidden charges all the time. As long as you understand, and play by Ryanair's rules you won't have a problem though. Same as any other airline.