Cicar vs PlusCar vs AutoReisen: Which Canary Islands Car Rental Is Best? (2026)

If you have started pricing a Canary Islands car rental for 2026, you have probably hit three names again and again: Cicar, PlusCar and AutoReisen. These are the big local Canarian firms, and travellers who know the islands tend to trust them over the international chains. The question is which one to pick, and whether the local route actually saves you money.

The honest answer up front: all three are genuinely good, the differences between them are small, and the smartest move is to compare them side by side for your exact dates rather than loyally booking one on reputation alone. This guide explains what makes the local firms different, breaks down each one fairly, and shows you how to put them head to head in one search.

Why local Canarian firms are different from the international chains

This is the part most first-timers miss. With a global brand like a budget international chain, the headline rate often looks cheap because it strips almost everything out. You arrive at the counter to find a high excess, an expensive insurance upsell, a "fuel up front" policy and a mileage cap, and the real price you pay can be double what you booked.

The well-run local Canarian firms generally work the opposite way. Their advertised price typically already includes:

• Full insurance with a low or zero excess (CDW). Instead of leaving you liable for 700-1,500 EUR and then selling you a 15-25 EUR/day waiver, the local firms tend to build proper cover into the rate. Far fewer nasty surprises at the desk.
• Unlimited mileage as standard. You can drive across the whole island, every day, without watching a meter — which matters enormously when the point of a car here is chasing the sun from coast to coast.
• Full-to-full fuel (collect full, return full) rather than the marked-up "pre-purchase a tank and return it empty" trick.
• Friendlier counter service with less aggressive add-on selling, because their margin is in the rate, not in the upsell.

That is the real reason seasoned visitors recommend Cicar, PlusCar and AutoReisen: the price you see is much closer to the price you pay. To understand the insurance and fuel traps in depth, read our honest car rental money-saving guide — it pairs perfectly with this comparison.

Cicar (Cabrera Medina): the islands' household name

Cicar is the most recognisable local brand on the Canaries — the bright cars are everywhere, and the firm has decades of history on the islands. It is the default "safe choice" that locals and repeat visitors name first.

• Where it operates: the widest local footprint. All the main islands, every major airport, plus a large number of resort and town offices. If you want a desk in your specific resort rather than only at the airport, Cicar is the most likely to have one.
• Insurance: known for fully inclusive cover with no excess and no deductible to chase, which is exactly the reassurance most holidaymakers want.
• Fuel: fair full-to-full style policy; unlimited mileage included.
• Fleet: broad, well-maintained and modern, from small city cars up to larger family vehicles and people carriers.
• Reputation: consistently strong; the firm's scale means stock availability is good even in busy periods, though at the very peak of winter and Easter everything on the islands gets tight.

If you value the biggest office network and the most "you cannot really go wrong" reputation, Cicar is the natural pick.

PlusCar: the value-focused local challenger

PlusCar is the smaller, keenly priced local option that often undercuts the bigger names while keeping the local-firm advantages travellers care about.

• Where it operates: focused mainly on the busiest tourist islands and their airports and big resorts rather than every corner of the archipelago. Coverage is excellent where most visitors actually go, but check it serves your specific island and pick-up point.
• Insurance: typically all-inclusive cover with low or zero excess built in, in the same spirit as the other locals.
• Fuel and mileage: full-to-full and unlimited mileage are the norm.
• Fleet: solid range of economy and compact cars, which is exactly what most visitors want; fewer exotic or premium options than the largest firms.
• Reputation: generally good value with straightforward terms; as with any smaller operator, double-check counter location and opening hours for your flight time.

PlusCar tends to shine when you want a simple economy or compact car at a sharp price on a mainstream island, and you are happy picking up at a major airport.

AutoReisen: the German-favoured, low-deposit specialist

AutoReisen has a long Canarian history and a particularly strong following among German and Northern European visitors — partly thanks to a deposit policy that is unusually traveller-friendly.

• Where it operates: all the main islands and their airports, with a well-organised, efficient pick-up process that frequent visitors praise.
• Deposit / card: AutoReisen is best known for a low or no large deposit hold on the card at pick-up — a real plus if you dislike having 1,000+ EUR frozen on your credit card for the trip. Always confirm the exact terms shown at checkout, as policies vary by car class and add-ons.
• Insurance: inclusive cover with low excess in the local tradition.
• Fuel and mileage: full-to-full and unlimited mileage as standard.
• Fleet: reliable, well-kept cars across the usual economy-to-family range.
• Reputation: very strong on the German-speaking forums and review sites, with a reputation for smooth, no-drama handovers.

If the deposit hold is your main worry, AutoReisen is the firm that most often eases it.

Side-by-side at a glance

Notice how similar these three are. That is the point: on the things that cause holiday headaches — excess, mileage, fuel — all three local firms behave well, which is exactly why they beat many international chains. The differences come down to office network, deposit style and a few euros a day.

One-way rentals between offices and islands

Planning to pick up in one place and drop off in another? Within a single island, returning to a different office of the same firm is sometimes free or low-cost — easiest with Cicar's dense network. Returning on a different island is a different story: a genuine one-way across islands usually involves a meaningful fee, or is simply not offered, because the car has to be ferried back. If you are island-hopping, the cheaper and simpler plan is almost always to hire a fresh car on each island and return it where you started. Plan a loop route and you avoid one-way fees entirely.

How much does each cost in 2026?

Resist anyone quoting exact 2026 prices for a specific firm — rates move daily with demand, car class and how far ahead you book. As a realistic ballpark for an economy manual car from a local Canarian firm with insurance included, expect roughly 12-25 EUR/day in low season booked well ahead, climbing to 40 EUR/day or more in peak winter and Easter, when automatics in particular sell out first. The only reliable number is the live one for your dates, so always check current prices rather than guessing.

The honest verdict: compare, don't guess

Here is the truth a single-brand fan page will not tell you: there is no permanent "best" among Cicar, PlusCar and AutoReisen. All three are solid, all three include the cover and unlimited mileage that make local firms worth choosing, and which one is cheapest changes from week to week and island to island. Booking one purely on reputation means you will sometimes overpay a perfectly good firm when one of its rivals is cheaper that day.

So the genuinely smart move is to put all three local firms — plus the international chains — into one search and sort by total price including insurance. That is the single number that decides your real cost, and it is the only fair way to see which firm wins for your exact dates.

The easiest way to do that is a broker. Compare Cicar, PlusCar, AutoReisen and the international chains side by side on DiscoverCars — it lists the local heroes alongside the global names, shows the real total with the deposit and fuel policy, and most rates have free cancellation so you can lock in early at no risk.

A quick recipe that consistently wins:

• Search early with free cancellation the moment your dates are fixed — Canary fleets are tight year-round.
• Sort by total price with insurance, not the teaser daily rate.
• Filter to the local firms when prices are close, for the inclusive-cover peace of mind.
• Re-check closer to travel and rebook for free if a cheaper deal appears.

Run a live Canary Islands car rental comparison now and you will see in seconds whether Cicar, PlusCar, AutoReisen or a chain is the winner for your trip.

Per-island car hire guides

Once you have decided how to book, dive into the island that fits your holiday — each guide covers the local driving character and the best pick-up strategy:

• Tenerife — biggest roads and the most dramatic north-south weather split, so a car earns its keep here. See Tenerife car hire, the Tenerife weather page and the high-altitude Tenerife mountains weather.
• Gran Canaria — a "continent in miniature" with an easy motorway to the sunny south. See Gran Canaria car hire and Gran Canaria weather, or compare the two giants in Gran Canaria vs Tenerife.
• Lanzarote — flat, quick and easy to drive. See Lanzarote car hire and Lanzarote weather.
• Fuerteventura — long distances between huge beaches make a car close to essential. See Fuerteventura car hire and Fuerteventura weather.

And whichever firm and island you choose, check the sunniest island today ranking and our winter sun guide each morning, then point the car straight at the sunshine. Start with the live "where is it sunny today" homepage to plan the day.

Data source: AEMET (Agencia Estatal de Meteorología). Car rental prices, deposit rules and policies are 2026 estimates for guidance only and vary by firm, car class and season; always confirm the exact terms shown at checkout.