The cost of car hire has fallen at many destinations this year, according to research.
Consumer champion Which? analysed data covering more than 3,000 rentals at airports in 13 destinations for the forthcoming Easter and summer holidays.
Eleven of the destinations have seen average prices drop over the Easter holidays compared with the same time last year, while nine have recorded price falls for the summer period.
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The data, covering week-long rentals for all car types, revealed that Corfu has the cheapest costs over Easter, with a price of £84 on average. This is 47% cheaper than last year, when the average price was £158.
Naomi Leach, deputy editor of Which? Travel, said: “While it’s encouraging to see car rental prices finally starting to ease after the sky-high rates of the last few years, travellers should nonetheless be cautious if they’re quoted a rock-bottom price that sounds too good to be true.”
Broker Zest Car Rentals supplied the average daily rate across all car categories in Alicante, Corfu, Faro, Funchal, Lanzarote, Larnaca, Malaga, Malta, Nice, Orlando, Palma, Pisa and Rhodes.
Funchal has seen the biggest price drop over Easter, with this year’s average cost of £266 being £146 less than last year’s price of £412 (fall of 35%).
In Palma, this year’s average Easter rental cost is £92 less than last year. Travellers this year will pay an average of £227, compared with last year’s £319 (fall of 29%).
The only places where Easter prices have risen are Rhodes and Nice, with costs up 36% on average in Rhodes and 97% in Nice.
Although fewer destinations have recorded price drops for the summer, Which? said the reductions have generally been more significant.
Five destinations have seen prices fall by more than £100 on average.
Rhodes has recorded the biggest summer price decrease, with the average rental costing £160 less than last year. The price is down from £419 a week to £259 (a drop of 38%).
In Funchal, there has been a price drop of £146. A week’s rental has fallen from £496 last summer to £350 this year (a fall of 29%).
Alicante has seen prices fall by £116 to £223 a week (a 34% drop), while Corfu’s prices are down by £107 to £296 (a 27% drop) and Palma’s have fallen by £106 on average to £270 a week (a fall of 28%).
Of the destinations analysed, Lanzarote has the cheapest average rental costs over the summer holidays at £190 a week. This is 27% less than last summer, when travellers paid £262 on average.
The four airports with price rises this summer are Malaga, Malta, Nice and Larnaca.
Malaga and Malta have seen increases of 4% and 5% respectively, while prices are up 9% in Nice, and by 33% in Larnaca from £190 last year to £252 this summer.
Which? said that while it is welcome to see prices falling, rental costs are still higher than pre-pandemic.
Easter prices are up by 51% on average compared with 2019, with summer prices up by 53%.
Leach said: “Even when prices are low, the worst companies might still employ dodgy tactics like adding on unfair fees or pressuring you to purchase extras that you don’t need.
“Book with a reputable company or use a trusted broker to ensure you’re getting a fair deal.”
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