Malaga is a very popular destinations for individual travellers. If you're planning to rent a car at Malaga airport  it is important to know, that there are well over 150 car hire companies registered in the province of Malaga, but only 10 car hire companies have a desk inside the airport terminal. All other rental companies will service from the public car park or offer a free courtesy bus service to there local offices, which are normally close to the terminal building.

A collection at the rental desk inside the terminal building seems to be the most convenient option, but occassionally there may be long waiting queues at the counter of the local car hire company. Depending on your arrival day and time and the season you're travelling ther may be dozens of other clients waiting to collect a vehicle. The reason for this is, that most online brokers like www.hispacar.com, www.spain-travel-car.com or www.travelsupermarket.com and many tour operators are associated with the same local car hire companies, summing up a lot of bookings which on one hand helps to keep the prices low (much lower than the rates offered by multinational car hire companies at Malaga airport), but on the other hand may cause a larger collection time.

Depending on your personal circunstances sometimes you may be better of or quicker on your way with the service of an off-airport car hire company. You will loose a bit of time during the ride in the courtesy bus to the local office, but in many cases you will be the only client picking up a vehicle.

Bear in mind that most on-aiport car hire companies offer a wide network and normally cover all airports in Andalucia, like Seville, Jerez, Granada, Almeria and even Gibraltar airport. In case of a breakdown this can be an advantage as they will be able to resolve this problem quicker than a local company with just one office in Malaga, Torremolinos, Benalmadena or Nerja.