Drive on Holidays in Faro

I had a terrible experience renting from this company. They charged me twice for insurance (lost ~160 EUR because the teller said I had to tap twice) and have not responded to my claims. They push aggressive upsells right before handing over the car keys. Although we had already purchased insurance through Expedia, we were told it wouldn't cover certain aspects (X & Y), basically forcing us to pay more for additional insurance and upsells than for the car itself. To make matters worse, we waited 45 minutes in line to pick up the car. It's 2024 -- I expect transparency in pricing before booking and a smoother process overall. This company is just an outdated business disguised with a modern facade.

Efficient collection and return, very good quality vehicle. Good price. Though not on the airport itself there is a very frequent shuttle bus to take you the short distance to the depot. Deposit returned quickly. All in all an excellent experience.

I recommend this car rental company. As soon as we left the airport where the buses wait, we found the rental point. A minibus was waiting there. In 5 minutes, we were at the location. The paperwork took a maximum of 10 minutes. No problems when returning the car either. The cars are new and well-maintained.

You are enticed by the cheap cost to hire a car initially, but BEWARE there are several hidden costs which you must pay upon collection. You might depart the airport and catch a shuttle bus to the location - please note it is not located where the other car rentals are in the airport, you must head to the car park area in the opposite direction. The service is slow for collection and I was waiting over 30 minutes. I was required to leave a deposit for tolls of EUR70 , which I was promised the difference would be refunded to me, it was not. Was required to take out additional insurance despite taking some with Booking.com . Return process was straight forward.

The check in process was very slow. The staff was friendly but they took 5-10 minutes to rent one car, so with a queue of 10 people you get the picture. Our process actually was faster as we had checked in online, so part of this was the fault of other customers - however there was no special counter for people who had already checked in. The car was OK once we had it. Tank was at 40% which will make it hard to return the car with the same amount. In essence it's probably a case of you get what you pay for - their rates are very competitive but I would probably pay a little extra next time.

BEWARE OF THE EARLY RETURN POLICY - My original flight was cancelled subsequently I had to book an earlier one on a different airline. I returned the vehicle 48 minutes earlier than I had originally reserved (yes early) and was charged EUR33 which is more than the cost of a whole day rental. The agent explained that she hates working the early shift because of this money grabbing policy (at least 3 other customers were also contesting this charge). Surely returning the car early is better for the company???. Many flights leave Faro airport early requiring you to be at the airport before 8am however I believe they bake this policy into their contracts to inflate the rental prices. Do your research for other car companies that open earlier and do not inflate prices.

Great experience so far from shuttle pick up at P4. We arrived at the pick up to see the shuttle just leave so we were worried we'd be waiting a while but 5 mins later another came. The driver was very nice and assisted an elderly couple on to the shuttle with a step assist. We arrived at the office and was served quickly with several counters open to help new customers. The whole building is orange and looks quite professional as we pulled up. Check in is quick and the CSR was very helpful!

The staff at Drive on Holidays is exceptionally friendly. Despite our flight being delayed by four hours and arriving around midnight, they were there to pick us up. The car we received was in excellent condition, and we've consistently had positive experiences with their services. We've used Drive on Holidays several times and remain very impressed with their professionalism and reliability.