Do you need a car at all?
Fuerteventura is the flattest island in the Canary Islands archipelago, and its resorts sit along one long axis — which is exactly what makes a car useful and also what makes it optional. If your week is built around a single town and its beaches, transfers and the bus network may be enough; if you want to move between coasts on your own schedule, a hire car is the straightforward answer.
Judge the decision on the whole trip, not the daily rate. Our getting around guide compares a car with buses, taxis and bikes, and the places by car guide groups the island into drivable sectors so a day out stays in one part of it.
What you are actually hiring
At Fuerteventura Airport (FUE) the hire companies have collection points on site, and the airport’s own car-hire page is the honest place to see who operates there and what is available. What matters more than the brand list is where you collect and where you return: some offices sit at or beside the terminal, while others run a short shuttle to a lot off the airport. That difference quietly changes how long your arrival and departure days take.
So read the collection and return instructions before you book, not on the morning you fly. A car that is “at the airport” is usually the least complicated, and worth a little more than a cheaper offer that is a shuttle ride away.
The documents you must be able to show
You can drive in Spain on a UK photocard driving licence. If you still hold a paper licence you may need to update it to a photocard first, and a provisional licence is not valid for driving in Spain at all. You must carry a valid driving licence and photo ID with you.
There is a minimum age too: 18 to drive a car or a motorcycle over 125 cc, and 16 for a motorcycle up to 125 cc. Hire companies often set their own minimum age or a minimum time you must have held the licence, so check those terms as well — they can be stricter than the law.
Insurance and the excess
Spanish law requires every car to carry third-party insurance, and a hire car comes with it. If you intend to rely on your own UK policy instead, check that it covers you to drive in Spain and for how long: a UK insurance certificate is generally valid for a stay of less than three months, and you should carry the certificate in case you are stopped.
Almost every hire price also carries an excess — the amount you would pay yourself for damage to the car. Companies sell a waiver that reduces or removes it. The trap is not the excess itself but what the waiver leaves out: glass, tyres, underside, mirrors, a misplaced key or a lost deposit are the usual exclusions. Read what is and is not covered before you sign, not after a scrape.
What the headline price often leaves out
The banner price is rarely the final figure. The difference is made up of things that sit in the terms rather than the advertisement: a deposit held on a credit card, a surcharge if the main driver is young, a fee for an additional driver, the fuel policy (return full, or pre-pay a tank), a charge to carry the car between islands or to drop it somewhere else, and any restriction on taking it off sealed roads.
Child seats are the one worth planning ahead: hire agencies can provide them, so ask when you reserve rather than on the day. None of this means an offer is dishonest — it means the number in the advert is the opening bid. Add up the full cost, with the deposit and the waiver, before you decide a car is good value.
The rules that decide your liability
Once you are on the road, a handful of rules decide what you are responsible for. They are the same rules every driver in Spain follows, but they are worth reading before a hire, because a fine or a penalty usually lands on the person named on the hire agreement.
| Topic | What applies in Spain |
|---|---|
| Your licence | A UK photocard licence is valid; provisional licences are not |
| Minimum age | 18 for a car or a motorcycle over 125 cc; 16 for a motorcycle up to 125 cc |
| Carry with you | A valid driving licence and photo ID |
| Your own UK insurance | Generally valid for stays under 3 months; carry the certificate |
| Seat belts | Compulsory for everyone, front and back |
| Children under 1.35 m | Approved child seat on the back seat (limited exceptions) |
| Mobile phone | Hands-free only; an earpiece is also illegal |
| Drink-driving | Strict limits; roadside checks; fines, loss of licence or prison |
Your provider’s terms can add conditions on top of these, especially about unpaved roads and cross-island use, so treat the two together.
Seat belts, children and phones
Seat belts are compulsory for all passengers, in both the front and the back. Children under 1.35 metres in height must use an approved child safety seat fitted on the back seat; they may only travel in the front seat if the rear seats are already taken by other children or the car has no rear seats. Installing a child seat incorrectly is treated as a serious offence, as is not wearing a belt.
It is illegal to use a hand-held mobile phone while driving, even if you have pulled over to the side of the road — you must be properly away from it. Using an earpiece is illegal too; only a completely hands-free setup is allowed.
Drinking, speeding and roadside checks
Spain has strict drink-driving laws, and the police regularly carry out roadside checks for alcohol and drugs. Penalties include fines, the loss of your licence and even a prison sentence, so the safe figure for a driving day is none.
The police can also issue on-the-spot fines for a range of driving offences, speeding among them. If you accept the fine and pay within 20 days it is reduced by 50%. On a quiet island with long, straight roads, the temptation to make up time is real; the speed limits are not advisory.
Driving on the island
Fuerteventura’s main road network is good and the island is flat, so the driving itself is easy. What still adds up is distance: the tourist board’s figures put the airport about 8 km from Caleta de Fuste but 84 km and around an hour 15 from Morro Jable in the far south.
One caveat belongs with a hire car. Not every destination is reached on tarmac — the tourist board describes reaching the wild Cofete beach along an earthen track — and many hire agreements restrict or exclude unpaved roads, meaning damage there may not be covered. Check the terms before you point the car at a remote beach, and group your outings by coast so you are not crossing the island twice in a day.
Before you drive away
A short routine at the collection desk prevents most disputes: walk round the car and photograph any existing damage, confirm the fuel policy and the exact return point and time, check the deposit that will be held on your card, and save the provider’s contact number. Carry the licence, your ID and the hire agreement with you.
In an emergency in Spain, the number for ambulance, fire and police is 112. This page explains how a hire works and what the rules are; it does not rank providers, quote prices or take bookings.
Sources & planning notes
The legal requirements and driving rules on this page — licence and ID, minimum ages, insurance validity, seat belts and child seats, mobile phones, drink-driving, on-the-spot fines and the 112 emergency number — come from GOV.UK’s Spain travel advice and its driving-abroad guidance. The airport collection point and the island’s road distances and Cofete earthen track come from Aena and the Fuerteventura and Canary Islands tourist boards. Prices, deposits, excesses and provider terms are set by the hire companies and change: this page explains how a hire works and gives no ranking, price or booking. Confirm current requirements and your provider’s terms directly before you travel.
- GOV.UK — Spain travel advice: Safety and security (Road travel)
- GOV.UK — Spain travel advice: Getting help (emergency number 112)
- GOV.UK — Driving abroad
- Aena — Fuerteventura Airport: Car hire
- Canary Islands Tourist Board — Moving around within the island
- Fuerteventura Tourist Board — What you can’t miss in Fuerteventura