Stretching from north of Barcelona all the way to the French border, the Costa Brava in north-west Spain is a beautiful section of the Mediterranean coast. Less developed and generally quieter than beaches further south, you’ll find lovely coastal paths, secluded coves and pretty fishing towns. It’s also home to stunning beaches such as Sa Caleta in Lloret de Mar (pictured above). Girona Airport is the main gateway to it and a car hire is the best way to get around. In this post, you’ll find our guide to collecting a Girona Airport car hire. Our blog also features a guide to returning a car hire to Girona Airport.

Collecting a Girona Airport car hire

Inside Girona Airport

Girona Airport’s full name is Girona-Costa Brava Airport. It’s located 13kms south of the city of Girona and about 30kms from the coast. Whilst there is public transport available to Girona’s city centre, Barcelona and several beach towns along the coast, having a car is the most convenient way to get around.

The airport is also handily close to several motorways including the A-7 (toll road) and A2 (which isn’t a toll road). If you want to avoid using the toll roads, route planners such as Via Michelin and Google Maps have route an option so you can avoid tolls.

On-airport car hire

Girona Airport seem to have lost a few on-airport car hire companies recently. The suppliers who do have a desk inside the airport include: Goldcar, Hertz, Thrifty and Firefly. The latter three all being part of the same group. Their desks are located in the same part of the airport and usefully have windows facing out into the Baggage Reclaim Hall as well as the Arrivals Hall. We’ve got some information on off-site Girona Airport car hire companies at the bottom of the post. ‘Off-site’ means they don’t have a desk within the airport and the cars aren’t parked in the airport’s car parks.

Here’s Goldcar’s desk in the airport:

Goldcar at Girona Airport

If you’re collecting a Girona Airport car hire after flying into the airport, you can ‘kill two birds with one stone’ and sort out the paperwork whilst you wait for your baggage. But if you’re already in town and coming to the airport to pick up a car hire, just head to the Arrivals Hall for the desks. There isn’t a lot in the Arrivals Hall so they’re hard to miss!

Car park for car hires

Once you’ve sorted the paperwork and picked up your keys, head on out of the terminal building. The crossing for the car park is towards your left.

All on-airport car hires are parked in a separate car park to the general car park. But you’ll need to walk through the general car park to find it. So first, follow signs to P for the general car park, which is located directly opposite the airport terminal and you should see the entrance by the crossing from the terminal. From the car park, follow the signs to Car Rental. They’ll take you through the general car park where you’ll find another crossing to the car park for car hires.

Exit the airport terminal and head towards your left for the car park

Crossing from the terminal to the general car park

Follow signs to Car Rental for the right car park

Car hires are parked on both floors of the car park. There are also cabins for the car hire companies within the car park so if you do have a problem once you’ve got your car, you shouldn’t have to head back to the airport terminal.

Off-site Girona Airport car hire

There are other companies serving the airport but they’re not located directly on-site. They include Avis, Budget, Europcar (who also service InterRent cars), Drivalia and SolMar. Their offices are about 5 minutes walk away. However they each offer a shuttle service to take you from the airport terminal to their office. If you want to make the most of that service, do make sure you book your car in advance so they know to expect you. The shuttle will certainly be easier to deal with if you’ve got lots of bags! And if you are booking an off-site car hire, do make sure you check your booking voucher for instructions.

Before you drive off into the sunset…

Don’t forget to check the car for scratches and the paperwork reflects everything it should. Happy driving!