- 7%IGIC, the Canary sales tax
- €0Deposit at Autoreisen
- €900–4,000TopCar excess without Super Cover
- 0Toll roads in Tenerife
- 50 minFastest ferry to La Gomera
A Different Market From Mainland Spain
Cheaper tax, cheap fuel, no tolls, and an insurance model that varies firm by firm.
The Canaries run a car hire market that genuinely differs from mainland Spain. Several established local firms build fully comprehensive zero-excess insurance, unlimited mileage, a second driver and child seats into the headline price, and one of them takes no deposit or card pre-authorisation at all. Tax is IGIC at 7% rather than mainland VAT at 21%. There are no toll roads, and fuel is cheap.
But the rule repeated everywhere, that a local firm means all-inclusive, is not reliable. Two well-known Canarian companies operate an excess-and-deposit model much closer to the international brands. You have to check company by company, not local against international. If you're still deciding whether to hire at all, start with is it cheaper to rent a car or take a tour?
Verify before booking. None of the rental companies date their terms pages. Everything below was checked against each firm's own terms on 6 October 2026, and any of it can change without notice.
Check Availability & Prices
If you've hired a car, this is the Teide trip built around it. On the standard option of Sunset and Stargazing at Teide National Park you drive yourself to the meeting point and follow the guides' minibus to a sunset viewpoint and a telescope session. You save the pickup fare, and the evening ends where your car is parked.
What the Local Firms Actually Include
Three Canarian companies genuinely sell the rate the guidebooks describe.
CICAR, Cabrera Medina and Payless
The same company under three brands, often sharing resort offices. Its own terms describe the insurance as fully comprehensive without excess, and state that the price includes taxes, unlimited mileage and an audio guide, that child seats, booster seats and roof racks are free of charge, and that the extra driver is free of charge.
Cabrera Medina was founded in Lanzarote in 1967, and CICAR joined the group in 1989. It now runs more than 15,000 vehicles, with offices on all seven islands. The €200–€400 deposit and two-credit-card rule that appear in CICAR's terms belong to its mainland and Balearic rentals; its Canary Islands conditions mention neither.
Autoreisen
The terms list taxes (IGIC/IVA included), unlimited mileage, a free second driver, free baby and booster seats, and zero-excess CDW, theft protection and third-party cover. Then the line that sets it apart from almost everyone: "no excess amounts are required, and we do not require any cash deposit, or credit card pre-authorization."
PlusCar
Now trading as PlusCar Canarias. Its terms promise full cover with no excess, a free additional driver, free baby seats (request them when you book), unlimited mileage and taxes included. Two catches the others don't have: a three-day minimum rental, and a minimum age of 23. Reviews are more mixed than for the other two, particularly around handovers and post-rental charges, so read recent ones before you book.
A hire car opens up the whole island, but some days are better handed to someone else: sunset and stargazing evenings in the Las Cañadas caldera, the Teide cable car with a guide and hotel pickup, guided hikes in the laurel forest of Anaga, small-group days to Masca and Los Gigantes, and the ferry day trip to La Gomera that leaves your car on Tenerife.
The Exception That Matters
Being Canarian doesn't mean zero excess.
TopCar
Its own conditions state that the base rental rate includes only Basic Protection, which requires an excess deposit of €900 to €4,000. Reaching zero excess means buying the optional Super Cover, after which no deposit is taken on either a credit or a debit card. TopCar also asks for a licence held for three years, and charges a young-driver fee from 21 to 25.
Orlando Rent a Car
Takes a deposit of €300 to €1,200 depending on the vehicle group, and accepts debit cards only if you buy its Total Protection package.
Both are local firms, and neither fits the all-inclusive story.
How the International Brands Compare
The standard mainland European model, at both Tenerife airports.
The international brands work the way they do across mainland Europe: a low headline rate, a substantial excess, a large credit card pre-authorisation, and zero-excess cover sold at the desk. Europcar doesn't publish a Spanish excess figure at all. Its deposit policy shows how the model works: €300 held with reduced-excess cover, €100 once you buy zero excess. (The €1,800–€3,500 excess quoted in many guides comes from Europcar's Irish help pages, not Spain.)
Visitor complaints cluster around a fairly consistent set of operators: Europcar at Tenerife South specifically, plus Goldcar, Centauro and OK Mobility, for aggressive insurance upselling and disputed post-return damage claims. Sixt and Avis reviews are genuinely mixed rather than uniformly bad.
So Which Model Are You Booking?
What each firm's own terms say about excess, deposit and extras.
| Company | Zero excess included? | Deposit | Second driver | Child seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CICAR / Cabrera Medina / Payless | Yes | None in its Canary terms | Free | Free |
| Autoreisen | Yes | None | Free | Free |
| PlusCar | Yes | Not stated | Free | Free, on request |
| TopCar | No: paid Super Cover | €900–€4,000 excess; none with Super Cover | Check | Check |
| Orlando | No: paid Total Protection | €300–€1,200 | Check | Check |
| International brands | No: paid upgrade | Card pre-authorisation, plus the excess | Usually charged | Usually charged |
The reliable test isn't the company's nationality. It's whether the words "sin franquicia" or "without excess" appear in the base rate.
Don't Buy Insurance You Don't Need
Comparison sites such as DiscoverCars, Rentalcars.com and Holiday Autos sell their own excess reimbursement policies alongside the booking. These are a separate contract between you and the broker, not the rental company. DiscoverCars states plainly that the rental desk cannot see its coverage in their system. So the supplier still takes its deposit, and if there's damage you pay the supplier first and claim it back afterwards.
If you've booked a genuinely zero-excess local firm, there is no excess to reimburse. The policy adds nothing. It's only worth considering with TopCar, Orlando, the international brands or the low-cost operators.
Fuel Policies
The local leaders use same-to-same or a deposit-and-refund arrangement. CICAR takes a refundable fuel deposit matched to the level at collection. Autoreisen asks you to return the car with the level you received, or pay the difference.
The problems come with full-to-empty, used by some low-cost operators: you pre-purchase a full tank at above-pump rates and return it empty. You pay for fuel you may not use, at a price you wouldn't have chosen.
Whatever the policy, keep the final fuel receipt. And fill up before you climb to Teide: there's no petrol station inside the park, and the last ones on each road are listed in our guide to the roads up.
Tax, and Why Fuel Is Cheap
The Canaries levy IGIC (Impuesto General Indirecto Canario) instead of mainland VAT. The standard rate is 7%, against 21% on the mainland. Local firms quote IGIC-inclusive prices: CICAR states taxes are included, and Autoreisen lists them explicitly. Check whether a broker's or an international brand's headline price includes tax, because that's where the surprise usually is.
Most guides get the reason for cheap fuel wrong. Canarian petrol is usually cheaper than on the mainland; in early October 2026, 95-octane on Tenerife ran from about €1.29 to €1.62 a litre depending on the station. But before tax, Canarian fuel actually costs more than mainland fuel, because it has to be shipped in. The low pump price is entirely a tax effect, not cheaper supply.
There are no toll roads in Tenerife. The whole TF-1 and TF-5 motorway network is free. The island's mobility plan has floated congestion charges on both motorways for around 2032, but nothing has been decided.
Do You Need an International Driving Permit?
UK photocard licences: no
UK government guidance says you don't need an IDP to drive in the EU, and the FCDO's Spain travel advice confirms you can use a UK photocard licence to drive in Spain. An IDP is only needed for older paper licences, or licences issued in Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey or the Isle of Man. Provisional licences aren't valid. You do need a UK sticker on the car.
Gov.uk doesn't name the Canary Islands explicitly. The guidance covers them because the Canaries are part of Spain.
EU and EEA licences
Accepted as they are.
US, Canadian, Australian and other non-EU licences
Carry an IDP alongside your home licence. Spanish law technically requires one where the licence isn't in an EU language or Roman script, and some desks and traffic police insist on it regardless.
Licences not in the Roman alphabet
An IDP is effectively a requirement, since it works as the certified translation.
Age and card requirements
| CICAR | Autoreisen | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum age | 21 | 23 |
| Licence held | 2 years | 2 years |
| Young driver fee | Free in the Canaries (21–25) | None: the age floor does the work |
| Card | Not set out in its Canary Islands terms; ask when you book | Credit or debit at pickup; no prepaid cards; none needed to book |
The rule you may see quoted, that premium, seven-seat and nine-seat CICAR vehicles need two credit cards, is in the mainland and Balearic section of CICAR's terms, not the Canary Islands one.
Neither company publishes a maximum age limit in its own terms. If an aggregator lists an over-65 or over-70 surcharge, it isn't in the primary terms, so check directly with the company.
Can You Take the Car to Another Island?
Usually not, and never without written permission.
- Autoreisen: the vehicle must not leave the island where it was hired except with specific written authorisation, it can't be returned on a different island, and any costs off the hiring island fall on you.
- TopCar: allowed with authorisation between the five islands where it has offices, but only if you buy Super Cover plus its Multi-Island Cover.
- PlusCar and Orlando: prohibited.
- CICAR / Cabrera Medina: customers report that it's permitted with prior authorisation and no extra fee, provided the car comes back to the island it was hired on, and that you pay any recovery costs off the island. CICAR's own terms don't spell this out, so get the authorisation in writing.
The La Gomera question
The crossing from Los Cristianos to San Sebastián de La Gomera takes as little as 50 minutes, with Fred. Olsen Express and Baleària (which took over the Naviera Armas service in May 2026) each running about three sailings a day, around 42 a week between them. Both carry vehicles, at fares that vary too widely by date and vehicle to quote usefully.
The usual advice is not to take your hire car at all. Travel as a foot passenger and hire a separate car on arrival. CICAR and Cabrera Medina have offices at ferry ports on several islands, so it's straightforward. You avoid the vehicle fare and, more importantly, the off-island recovery risk if anything goes wrong. If you'd rather not drive on La Gomera either, the Guided Tour to La Gomera with Ferry and Lunch includes the Fred. Olsen crossing, a coach and guide on the island and hotel pickup in the south (4.3 from 676 reviews on GetYourGuide, from $123).
Collection, Delivery and Parking
Airports
CICAR, Cabrera Medina, Autoreisen and PlusCar all operate at Tenerife South (TFS) and Tenerife North (TFN), with opening hours that follow the flight schedule. TFS allows 24-hour returns through a key drop box. Some international and low-cost brands run off-airport depots reached by shuttle bus; Avis has been reported to require a shuttle at the Tenerife airports despite being marketed as airport hire, which adds time at both ends.
Resort offices
In Costa Adeje, Los Cristianos, Playa de las Américas and Puerto de la Cruz.
Hotel delivery
CICAR and Cabrera Medina list hotel and off-site delivery and collection as included in the Canaries, subject to availability.
Parking in towns
White lines mean free, blue means paid and time-limited, yellow means no parking. Rural areas are usually free. The hardest places to park are the resort centres and old towns, Puerto de la Cruz in particular, where the underground car parks are paid and often tight. For the national park itself, see parking at Teide.
The Rule That Voids Your Insurance
Rental agreements across the board prohibit driving on unpaved roads. Autoreisen's terms forbid driving on unsurfaced roads, or roads that are surfaced but have severe defects, and its insurance excludes off-road driving. Orlando voids all cover on beaches, forest paths, dirt roads and other unpaved surfaces.
This matters more in Tenerife than people expect, because several of the most tempting scenic detours, parts of Anaga and Teno and various tracks off the TF-21, are unpaved. Damage there is entirely on you. If the forest trails of Anaga are the draw, the Guided Hike in Anaga Rural Park walks them in a small group with pickup available (4.8 from 264 reviews, from $27). For Teno, the Masca, Mount Teide and Los Gigantes Cliffs Tour takes the Masca road with a local driver (5.0 from 464 reviews).
Paved Roads, Free Entry, and a Change on the Way
You can currently drive up to and through the park on the paved TF-21. Park entry is free, and the car parks at the visitor centres, the cable car base and the main trailheads fill by mid-morning in peak season.
- Coming for hire carsThe Cabildo de Tenerife's own statement is clear about the intent and equally clear that the detail isn't settled: rental vehicles will have to reserve parking and pay an ecotasa, currently under study.
- Access controlAt the La Esperanza, La Orotava and Vilaflor–Chío entrances, expected from late 2026. Not in force yet.
- Already in forceA fee on the two summit trails since 19 January 2026, which applies to walkers rather than vehicles. See the summit permit guide.
- Nobody will brief youCICAR provides a free audio guide and map of points of interest, but no hire firm covers the Teide access rules or the coming ecotasa. That's on you, and given the unpaved-road exclusion, so is staying on the TF-21 and in marked car parks.
Where to Drive, Where to Park
Four paved roads, a handful of car parks, and two trips that put the hire car to good use.
The four roads into the park, and the last fuel on each, are in driving to Teide. The car parks and when each one fills are in parking at Teide National Park.
Drive the tracks your hire car can't
Teide Sunset Self-Drive Sightseeing Tour by Jeep Wrangler
Includes: your own Jeep Wrangler in a guided convoy from Costa Adeje, on volcanic tracks a hire contract would rule out, with a sunset stop and pickup. Bring your driving licence; the Jeeps are manual.
Check availability
Or leave the car at the hotel
Mount Teide Tour with Cable Car Ticket & Transfer
Includes: hotel pickup, a guide and the round-trip cable car ticket, sold by the company that runs the cable car. If wind closes it, the tour still runs and the cable car portion is refunded. No parking to find at 10:00.
Check availability
Common Claims That Are Wrong
"UK drivers need an IDP for Spain since Brexit"
They don't, with a photocard licence.
"All Canarian local firms include zero excess"
TopCar and Orlando don't. This is the most repeated error in English-language content on the subject.
"Always buy the broker's excess insurance"
It's redundant on a genuinely zero-excess rental.
"Canarian fuel is cheap because it's produced locally"
It's cheap because of the tax regime. Before tax, it costs more than mainland fuel.
"You can take a hire car between the islands"
Not without written permission, and several firms prohibit it outright.
"There are toll roads in Tenerife"
There aren't.
Car Hire in Tenerife: Your Questions
Which firm, which card, and what to do at the desk.
Which car hire company should I book in Tenerife?
For most visitors, CICAR, Cabrera Medina or Autoreisen: zero excess built into the rate, a low deposit or none, tax included and a free second driver. Autoreisen is the outlier in taking no deposit or card pre-authorisation at all.
Do I need a credit card to hire a car in Tenerife?
For any excess-and-deposit supplier, yes, in the main driver's name. The zero-excess local firms are more relaxed: CICAR's Canary Islands terms set no deposit, and Autoreisen accepts debit cards and needs no card to book at all.
What should I do at the car hire desk?
Photograph or film the car, including the tyres, before you leave. Get any existing damage written onto the contract. Do the same on return, and keep the fuel receipt.
Is the insurance upsell ever worth it?
With an excess-and-deposit supplier, usually yes, either theirs or a standalone policy. With a zero-excess local firm, no.
Can I drive to Teide in a hire car?
Yes, on the paved roads. Stay off unpaved tracks, which void your cover, and watch for the rental-vehicle parking reservation and ecotasa the Cabildo has announced for late 2026.
Can I take a hire car to La Gomera?
Only with written authorisation, and most firms refuse. TopCar allows it with Super Cover plus Multi-Island Cover, Autoreisen only with specific written permission, and CICAR customers report it is allowed with prior authorisation; PlusCar and Orlando prohibit it. It is usually cheaper to travel as a foot passenger and hire on arrival.
More on Planning a Teide Day
The roads, the parking, the costs, and when to book each piece.
- Cheaper to rent a car or take a tour?The worked comparison, with 2026 prices for hire, fuel, the cable car and the ecotasa.
- When to book, and what you can cancelThe permit you can't move, the cable car you can, and the tours you can hold without paying.
- Driving to TeideThe four roads up, what to stop for, the last fuel, and how to build a loop.
- Parking at TeideEvery car park, when each fills, and the €150–600 fine for getting it wrong.
- One day at TeideAn hour-by-hour plan, the cable car timings and one-day car hire.
- Drive or guided tour?Which option suits your party, from nervous drivers to stargazers.