travelling to spain for holiday,do many people prebook private taxis for collection at the spanish airport?

Question

i know they are usually ex-pat british drivers, but are they reliable, or is just better getting a normal taxi from the taxi rank

Answer 1

I went to Benidorm last year and we prebooked an expat driver. It cost us a FORTUNE from Alicante to Benidorm. we could have rented a car for the whole WEEK for the prices we paid these people. We just didnt know any better at the time honestly. But we wont be doing that again. My advice is to check around before you go. There are also alternative routes too. Buses and trains... depends on the trouble you want to go through. Make sure that youre not getting robbed for a taxi ride! If you mention WHERE exactly in spain- you may get better info. Good luck anyway.

Answer 2

Hi, i recently went on holiday to Spain (alicante) it was great. Pre-booking taxis costs alot more, as you have to pay a charge for reserving a taxi. I would not advise pre-booking, there are many taxis at the ranks, too many! So you will never be left without one. One tip on the taxis, when you get one be sure to set a up front price, as sometimes they try to overcharge you, so if they do you can go and ask another of the taxis. If worst comes to worst, there will be concierge service at all airports in Spain all with staff speaking in English that will sort out travel arrangements

Answer 3

If you can speak enough Spanish, get a taxi. Prebooked transfers cost about twice as much.

If you can't speak Spanish, prebook your transfer. Shouting at the taxi-driver in English will see the bill trebled.

Answer 4

Hello there, as a travel agent with some 26 years experience heres the absolute truth.

Depending on what airport and when you're travelling, you should think carefully about pre-booking and paying the extra or not.

The travel agent will tell you to pre-book- Of course they will, because their commision is on average 15% of the fare you pay. Thats their payment for doing the booking and the paperwork for you. They will then book the taxi on your behalf through a service provider- for example in the UK, perhaps Holiday Taxis or Med Hotel transfers, who also get big commisions from the suppliers who may be simply a local taxi firm or sometimes if it's a popular destination the companies will have their own cars & drivers, this will put the price of your private taxi transfer up and yes sometimes you find that you've paid twice the price or a taxi from the taxi rank at the airport. It can be a total rip off I agree, but for many, the price paid is worth the peace of mind.

I would say that if you are a regular traveller, perhaps you've been to that destination before, you know where you're going and you know roughly how much it should cost you to get to your destination and you're not nervous of just getting a cab on arrival (or having to wait for one to come along) then yes, save the money and just do it when you arrive- it's always cheaper to do this. But it does have it's drawbacks too. Invaribly the local taxi driver waiting at the airport will try and rip you off, some will tell you it's metered then take you the long way round, or their cars may not always be safe and reliable. Some will also tell you you need 2 cars if you've too many bags!

However, if you are not a frequent traveller and you are nervous about delays, queues or taxis just not being available when your flight is due to arrive then for peace of mind, it's best to pre-book.
I have to say that the pre-bookable service is generally very reliable. You'll be given a voucher with contact details on if theres a problem- most are staffed 24 hours and all firms will be checking to make sure your flight is on time or not before coming to collect you.
If you are delayed they will know this in advance and still be there for you when you arrive. Now this may be well after all the other flights have all gone and there are few taxis available- perhaps youre not arriving till the early hours of the morning. Whatever the circumstances they'll be there. I've used those kinds of companies for years and I have never had a stranded passenger. On the contrary, one of my clients had booked a flight to Paphos in Cyprus and the flight was diverted to Larnaca because of technical problems. They paid £60 for their taxi return pre-booked when it should have been no more than £40 return on arrival. The firm I used had checked on their flight, knew it had been diverted to Larnaca and were there waiting for them in Larnaca- AT NO EXTRA COST!
The price from Larnaca was £180 return prebooked and around £100 on arrival. Everyone who hadn't pre-booked their taxi had to pay for their own transfers. The airline did nothing to help those stranded people which was shocking but it does happen and no matter how hard you argue, most airlines don't care!

Obviously, in an ideal world if you're arriving during the day and you have no delays then you're ok to wait till you get there and jump in a cab, but at some airports- Tenerife for example the taxi queues can be huge on a Friday. Lanzarote is busier on a Thursday etc etc. Who wants to stand in a long queue in the heat after a long flight just to save £20? not me!

The decision is yours to make, yes you are paying much more but there are reasons why it's more expensive- I guess you just have to weigh up the pros and cons against the price. If it's a lot of extra money then you might want to wait but do think about it.

You can always book online yourself direct and save the agents commision-
Try this one....

www.holidaytaxis.co.uk

The service is the same but the price will be less and you'll need a credit or debit card to pay for it.

One last piece of advice is check out how much the tour operator is charging you for transfers by their resort coach transfer. Be careful, because some companies are charging up to £18 per person! You may actually be cheaper pre-booking a taxi transfer, especially if there are more than 2 of you.
Travel agents don't necessarily tell you how much of the total price is for your transfer so I would ask, just in case you are cheaper to opt out and arrange your own.
E.g Say your operator charges £18 per person from Tenerife South to PDL Americas- For a family of 4 thats £72 return to sit on a coach and visit everyone elses hotel before they get to yours and thats after you've waited on everyone boarding the bus/forgetting a case on the carousel/getting on the wrong bus/losing a relative cos they've run to the loo! AND you have to listen to the incessant drivel of the rep on the way trying to sell you their grossly inflated trips!
Direct taxi transfers pre-bookable for 4 is approx £60 return or approx £40 return on arrival.

Good luck

Answer 5

There is a taxi rank at all Spanish airports....

Answer 6

Hi , we are travelling to our resort with a company called
cost-blanca-transfers .com ... they are british run and
were a good bit cheaper , try the net, there were plenty
of them , good luck.