You land in Malaga at one in the morning, and 200 km to Seville is waiting for you after breakfast. You can do all the driving yourself. Or you can add a second person to the rental agreement and swap seats when your eyelids get heavy. An additional driver on a rental car is one of the cheapest lines on the price list, and one of the most often skipped.
The price depends on the rental company far more than you would guess. At one firm you pay €15 for the whole rental, at another a dozen euros or more per day. Below you will find the 2026 rates and four situations where a second driver makes sense. Then how to add one step by step, and what happens when someone outside the agreement takes the wheel.
In this article:
The short answer first:
Your plane lands in Malaga at 1:00 am. Transfer to the hotel, sleep until nine. Granada is pencilled in for eleven: 130 km, an hour and a half on the A-45 and A-92. One person doing all of that on four hours of sleep? Poor plan. With a second driver, one of you drives from the airport and the other takes the morning leg, rested.
Picking up outside the terminal at night: see our guide to renting a car at Malaga airport.
One of you drives, the other hands out water and keeps an eye on the child seats. For short hops along the Costa del Sol that is enough. On the run to Seville (about 205 km, 2 h 15 min) a swap halfway makes a real difference. You get back rested, not with a clenched jaw.
Four people, one car, a week in Andalusia. You split the petrol, the parking and the driving. But everyone who is going to drive has to be on the agreement. “It's only for five minutes” is not much of an argument after a bump in Marbella. At €15 per person, three drivers cost less than one dinner out together.
Distances from Malaga are longer than the map on your phone suggests. Popular destinations, correct as of 2026:
| Destination from Malaga | Distance one way | Driving time | Main roads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ronda | about 110 km | about 1 h 30 min | A-357 |
| Granada | about 130 km | about 1 h 30 min | A-45, A-92 |
| Gibraltar | about 130 km | about 1 h 30 min | A-7, AP-7 |
| Cordoba | about 160 km | about 1 h 45 min | A-45 |
| Seville | about 205 km | about 2 h 15 min | A-45, A-92 |
A week-long road trip around Andalusia adds up to 800 to 1,000 km. A day in Seville alone means over 400 km and four and a half hours at the wheel, plus sightseeing in the heat. Route ideas: 5 scenic drives from Malaga.
The DGT (Dirección General de Tráfico, Spain's traffic authority) keeps it simple: a break every 2 hours or 200 km, for 20 to 30 minutes.
Drowsiness plays a part in 15 to 30% of crashes on Spanish roads. In 2021 it was behind 7% of fatal crashes, roughly 75 deaths and 250 serious injuries a year. A driver who has slept five hours is five times more likely to crash. And 61% of drivers ignore the 2 h / 200 km rule.
Now apply that to your holiday. A night landing, then the twisty A-357 to Ronda in the morning. Tiredness, an unfamiliar road, low sun and, for British and Irish drivers, the other side of the road. With two drivers on the agreement, whoever has the clearer head drives.
There is no standard additional driver fee in Spain. Every chain works it out its own way, and some rates only show up at checkout. Correct as of September 2026:
| Rental company | Additional driver fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Car4Rent Malaga | one-off €15 for the whole rental | same requirements as the main driver |
| Enterprise ES | €12.10 per day, max €121 (from 10 days) | |
| Europcar ES | about €16 per day, max about €99 per rental | drivers aged 21 to 24 pay more |
| Sixt ES | daily fee with a cap, amount shown after login | in practice about €10 to €15 per day |
| Hertz ES | amount shown at checkout | Gold Plus Rewards: spouse or partner free (both need an account) |
| Avis ES | “a surcharge may apply”, amount shown in the booking | separate surcharge under 25 |
| Goldcar | price listed under extras, max 3 additional drivers | historically about €7.95 per day, max about €80 |
The chains change their rates without notice. Before you click “book”, check the amount in the summary.
One week, two people, both driving.
The difference: €70 to €85 on a single rental. A Fiat 500 at Car4Rent starts at €29 per day, about €200 for a week. The second driver adds just under 8% to that. At a chain the same option can climb to half the price of the car. We break down a full week's budget in how much it costs to rent a car in Malaga.
The second driver has to meet exactly what the first one does. No easier terms.
First time renting in Spain? Read through our 10 things to know before your first car rental in Spain.
At Car4Rent Malaga you can sort it out before you fly.
Once you have picked the car and the dates, you reach the extras step. Next to the child seats you will see the additional driver option, described as a one-off fee of 15 euros. Tick it and the amount goes straight into your summary.
The rental terms require the company's consent. In practice you send scans of the second person's passport (or ID card) and driving licence. Email them to car4rentmalaga@gmail.com or send them on WhatsApp to +34 695 715 325, in English or Polish. You get a confirmation and that is it.
Pick-up is outside the airport terminal, or at your hotel if you booked hotel delivery (a paid extra). Both people show their driving licence and ID. Our staff member adds the second driver to the agreement. The paperwork for two takes as long as for one: 15 to 20 minutes.
Plans changed and someone else needs to drive from midweek? Call or message us on WhatsApp, send scans of that person's documents and wait for the confirmation. Only then does the new driver get behind the wheel. With the big chains, adding a driver mid-rental usually means a trip to a branch with both people.
This is where it gets expensive. Three layers.
Layer 1: the rental company's cover stops working. The Car4Rent terms say it plainly, as do those of Sixt, Hertz and Europcar. An unauthorised person at the wheel voids the insurance. The Plus package (€70 for 7 days on a Fiat 500) or the Full package (€98 for 7 days) stops protecting you. Any damage to the car, from a bumper to a write-off, is yours to pay, up to the full value of the car. How the packages work is explained in our guide to rental car insurance in Spain.
Layer 2: the contractual penalty. In the Car4Rent penalty list, “handing the car to an unauthorised person” costs €1,000. It applies even if nothing happened. It is enough that a person outside the agreement is at the wheel during a police check or a bump.
Layer 3: third-party liability. One important point here. The “seguro obligatorio” (compulsory third-party insurance) still works. Injured third parties get compensated whoever was driving. The insurer mainly claims its money back in cases of alcohol, drugs, deliberate damage or no licence at all. A missing name on the agreement is not one of them. Your risk is the damage to the rental car and the contractual penalty.
Then there are traffic fines. A speed camera on the A-7 takes the photo and the rental company names the person on the agreement. The bill comes to you, even if your mate was driving. At Car4Rent that means a €5 handling fee plus the fine itself.
We do not want to sell you an option you will not use. Three situations where the €15 stays in your pocket:
Not sure? At €15 for the whole rental, the option works as a safety net: a headache, a glass of wine with dinner in Ronda. Then the other person takes the wheel, legally.
A one-off €15 for the whole rental, however many days you book. You tick the option at the extras step of the online booking.
Usually about €12 to €16 per day, at some chains with a cap per rental. Enterprise charges €12.10 per day up to €121, Europcar about €16 per day up to about €99. A week comes to between €60 and €120.
No, at most rental companies a spouse is a regular additional driver and pays the same fee. The exception is Hertz with Gold Plus Rewards. Both of you need an account, the rental can last up to 28 days and the car cannot be a premium model.
Usually yes. At Car4Rent Malaga, call or message us on WhatsApp (+34 695 715 325), send scans of that person's documents and wait for confirmation. Until you have it, the new person does not drive. The chains usually ask you to visit a branch.
You lose the cover from the Plus or Full package and carry full liability for damage to the car. The Car4Rent terms add a €1,000 contractual penalty. Third-party liability insurance still works.
The main driver, meaning the person on the agreement. Car4Rent adds a €5 handling fee to the fine.
A second driver for €15 for the whole rental is one of the easiest calls you make when booking with Car4Rent Malaga. You tick the option online and send the scans. Outside the airport terminal, or at your hotel if you booked delivery, both of you show your documents. After 15 to 20 minutes you are on the road. No deposit, no credit card, service in English or Polish, around the clock. More in our article on renting a car in Malaga with no deposit.
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