Would you like to explore the entire island by car? Are you planning to stay here for an extended period of time and would like to travel with comfort? If you answered «yes», then this article is for you.

1. Have your car delivered anywhere you need

If you want to pick up and drop off your car at a specific location, you don’t need to pay to have it delivered to you. But if you want to rent it, say, in Limassol and drive it to the airport or any other location on the island and leave it there, you would have to pay the cost of delivery. The price depends on the distance (30-40 euros if you are driving from Limassol and dropping the car off in Larnaca). Many tourists prefer to book their car online before arriving to Cyprus and pick it up at the airport. This brings down the cost and solves the problem of airport transfer. If you plan to drop off the car at the same airport, then you don’t need to pay for delivery.

2. What comes with your car?

For an additional price you can rent a car seat (1.5 - 4 years old), which would cost you 3-5 euros a day; a booster seat for older children (4-7 years old) — 3.5 euros a day; a GPS navigator — 5-10 euros a day as well as a portable Wifi router for 10 euros a day.

3. What documents do you need to rent a car?

• A driver’s license
• A passport
• A credit card (even if the car company doesn’t «block» your credit card, it might still ask for it for damage protection, accidents, etc.)

Attention: if you are over 25 years old, you should have a pretty easy time renting a car. If you are under 25, but your driving experience is at least 3 years, you shouldn’t have any problems either. But if you are under 25 and you’ve been driving for less than 3 years, it is unlikely that you will be able to secure a comprehensive insurance policy and your deductible will mostly go up.

4. Rental rates

Your rental cost will depend on a number of factors:

1. The car itself — type of class, size, type of transmission (automatic is more expensive) and most importantly — how old the car is. Older vehicles are considerably cheaper (but don’t go too far with that, since a really old car is more likely to break down in the middle of the road). The best option is a car that is 3-5 years old.
2. Number of days you plan to use the car. The longer you plan to drive it — the less you will pay per day. Just one extra day can make a huge difference in how much you pay. Ask your sales agent about different rates for different rental periods.  
3. The season: peak season (May-October) has scorchingly high prices in store for us. Off peak season offers far more moderate prices. So don’t be surprised when you find out that your friends got a much better deal on their rental car in April than you did in July.
4. Pricing — large rental chains are rarely willing to offer discounts, whereas smaller local companies are often able to compromise in order to secure a customer.

Some numbers for 2018:

During the peak season, a small-engine car that has been in use for 3-5 years that can accomodate 4-5 people will cost about 40-50 euros if you rent it for 3 days. During the off-peak season, it will cost 18-27 euros per day. If you rent it for two days — the price will be significantly higher.

Attention! It is not advisable to rent a car just for one day. It is very unlikely that any company would agree to provide you a vehicle for such a short period of time.

All of the rates can be found on the car rental company’s website.

Long-term rental (more than a month): a new, small engine car will cost about 560-600 euros in the summer. An older car will cost about 500 euros a month. In the winter you should be able to rent the same car for 300 euros a month. And if you rent for several months, your price will be even lower.

5. Car insurance

Your rental cost will usually include the cost of third-party insurance. You will have to pay extra if you want to get more coverage. Prices range between 7-15 euros a day. This type of coverage does not include damage to tires, windshield and car bottom. Some agencies will offer the option of buying this type of coverage separately (prices will range from 5 to 12 euros a day). Without comprehensive coverage you are responsible for damages within the amount of your deductible, which is usually no more than 800 euros for a small car (price will increase with vehicle class).

Always inquire about your insurance policy and whether or not it covers damage to tires, car bottom and windshield. Check your rental car before accepting it to see if there is any damage. If so, document it by taking photographs and mentioning it in your contract.

6.  What is a deductible?

It is the cost of damages that are you responsible for if you don’t have a comprehensive insurance policy. Usually this amount is «blocked» on your credit card during the rental period. You will sometimes be asked to leave a deposit in the amount of your deductible, even if you have comprehensive insurance, in case there is damage to the windshield, wheel covers, etc. Your deductible will range between 200-1000 euros for smaller vehicles. Large and luxury cars will have a much higher deductible. 

7. Gas

There are usually two options when it comes to rental companies’ gas policies in Cyprus.

1. Your rental car comes with a full tank. You pay for it the day you rent your car based on current gas rates and return your car with an empty gas tank (you will not get a refund for the gas left in the tank).
2. Your rental car comes with a full tank, which you must fill up when you return your car.

The most popular octane rating in Cyprus is 95 (1.16 euros per liter) and diesel (1.15 euros per liter). One tank is 35 liters and will be enough to get you around the island.

Some things to keep in mind:

Rental cars have red license plates, which the police are quite lenient toward. Cars drive on the left side of the road.

Don’t forget to buckle up lest you want to incur an 80 euro fine.

These are some of the rental cars in Cyprus:

See the full list here: www.cypruscarrental.com

Larnaca Airport has the offices of Sixt, Europcar, Budget, Astra&Petsas.

Paphos Airport has Sixt, Europcar, Budget, Dollar, Alamo, Easycar, Thrifty.

Attention! If you have any questions or issues with your rental car, you should contact your rental company directly.

We wish you to the best and most reliable vehicle and a safe trip!