Yes, you can rent a car in Tenerife with no deposit, and at Tenerife South Airport it can cost only a few euros more. On 6 November 2026, Discover Cars showed 207 deposit-free offers for a January week at the airport, from €116.86 for 8 days, just €12.38 more than the cheapest car. Two local firms, Cicar and AutoReisen, never take a security deposit. The catch is timing: for the week of 8 to 16 November both were sold out, and only 20 of 287 offers on Discover Cars came without a deposit.
We ran two searches on Discover Cars for 8 days at Tenerife South (TFS): one for a week in November, in Tenerife’s busy winter season, and one for a week in January. The difference tells you most of what you need to know.
8 days at Tenerife South Airport, searched on 6 November 2026
Discover Cars, pick-up and return at 11:00, driver aged 30 to 65
| 8 to 16 Nov 2026 | 10 to 18 Jan 2027 | |
|---|---|---|
| Offers found | 287 from 14 companies | 1,006 from 22 companies |
| Cheapest car | €192.90 | €104.48 |
| Cheapest with no deposit | €415.97 (20 offers) | €116.86 (207 offers) |
| Cheapest with no payment card | none | €276.97 |
| Cheapest automatic | €286.22 | €119.33 |
| Cheapest with a desk in the terminal | €324.61 | €105.69 |
| Cicar on Discover Cars | not offered | from €197.26 |
In January the deposit-free cars came from at least eight companies and cost about €1.55 a day more than the cheapest car. For the November dates, when Cicar and AutoReisen were sold out, only TopCar, Budget and Avis still had deposit-free cars, and the cheapest was a TopCar VW Taigo at €415.97. For a fuller picture of prices by brand, see our guide to car rental in Tenerife.
What does skipping the deposit cost at Tenerife South?
Pick a week, your rental length and the card you will bring. Totals are scaled from the 8-day prices we found on 6 November 2026, so treat them as an estimate.
| Option | You pay | Blocked | Excess |
|---|
“No deposit” means different things depending on who you book with. In Tenerife there are three routes, and they differ in price, availability and the card you need.
€0 security deposit
Cicar and AutoReisen include insurance with no excess and take no security deposit under their standard terms (Cicar asks for a fuel deposit). Both have desks in the arrivals hall. The downside: they sell out in high season.
from €116.86
Prepaid offers marked “No deposit” from TopCar, Cicar, Turisprime, Budget, Avis and others. At Tenerife South nearly all of them also had no deductible. Price for 8 days in January.
varies
TopCar Super Cover, Record go Just Go and Goldcar Super Relax remove the security deposit when they are part of the booking. Goldcar needs a credit card either way.
Aena lists seven rental companies with desks in the Tenerife South terminal: AutoReisen, Cicar, Europcar, Goldcar, Hertz, Record Go and TopCar. The other companies we checked take you by shuttle to an office outside the airport or hand the car over in the car park. This is how each company handles the deposit, from its own terms and from the offers we opened on 6 November 2026.
| Company | Deposit | Excess | Card | Driver | Pick-up | Trustpilot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AutoReisen | None | None | Credit or debit | 23+, licence 2 yrs | Terminal desk | 4.9 (15,966) |
| Cicar | €0 security deposit, fuel deposit applies | None | Credit on the DC offer | 21+, licence 2 yrs | Terminal desk | 4.5 (53,067) |
| TopCar | €900 to €4,000, or €0 with Super Cover | Same as deposit, or €0 | Credit or debit | 21+, licence 3 yrs | Terminal desk | 4.1 (3,040) |
| Record go | €1,100, or €0 with Just Go | €1,100, or €0 | Credit or debit (debit is charged) | 19+, licence 1 yr | Terminal desk | 2.2 (28,101) |
| Goldcar | €950 on our offer, €300 with Relax, €0 with Super Relax | €2,300 on our offer | Credit only | Fee under 25 | Terminal desk | 1.3 (54,856) |
| Canarias.com | €100 (€300 premium) | None from 23 | Credit for the deposit | 21+ with a fee | Airport car park | 4.2 (64) |
| ClickRent | €1,000, €350 or €200 by cover | €1,000, or €0 | Credit | 21+, licence 2 yrs | Shuttle | 3.3 (13,303) |
| OK Mobility | €1,300 on our offer | €1,200 on our offer | Credit | 18+ with a fee | Shuttle | 3.6 (34,626) |
Trustpilot scores were read on 6 November 2026, with the number of reviews in brackets. Cicar’s terms do not mention which cards it accepts. The Cicar offer on Discover Cars asked for a credit card at the desk even with a €0 deposit, so bring a credit card if you book Cicar through Discover Cars.
Our pick is AutoReisen, then Cicar. Both include cover with no excess, charge nothing for a second driver and take no security deposit. AutoReisen has the best Trustpilot score of the companies we checked and takes debit cards, but rents only from age 23. Cicar rents from 21. Their weakness is availability: for 8 to 16 November both showed every car as unavailable. If that happens to you, the no-deposit filter on Discover Cars is the next best route, and TopCar is worth checking first, because its deposit-free cars come with no excess and a desk inside the terminal.
Deposit checker: pick a company
Twelve companies that rent at Tenerife South Airport, with the rule from their own terms or from the offer we opened on 6 November 2026.
TopCar sold the same VW Taigo for 8 to 16 November in three ways. It shows why the deposit-free version is often the better deal in Tenerife:
€402.20
€1,600 blocked on your card and an excess of €1,600. Most of the price is paid at the desk.
€528.27
Discover Cars Full Coverage at €15.76 a day. The €1,600 hold stays, and you claim money back after damage.
€415.97
Nothing blocked and no excess, debit card accepted. Only €13.77 more than the version with the hold.
If you book a regular offer, this is what the companies blocked at Tenerife South in our November search. Most of them wanted a credit card in the main driver’s name.
| Company | Car | 8 days | Deposit | Excess | Card |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Click&Rent | Toyota Aygo | €302.55 | €1,000 | €1,000 | Credit |
| OK Mobility | Fiat 500 | €318.67 | €1,300 | €1,200 | Credit |
| Goldcar | Kia Picanto | €324.61 | €950 | €2,300 | Credit |
| Record go | Fiat 500 | €333.69 | €1,100 | €1,100 | Debit or credit |
| Budget | VW Caddy | €389.63 | €400 | €2,150 | Debit or credit |
| Avis | Audi A3 | €390.76 | €500 | €2,350 | Debit or credit |
| TopCar | VW Taigo | €402.20 | €1,600 | €1,600 | Debit or credit |
| Flizzr | Cupra Leon | €451.96 | €300 | €1,500 | Debit or credit |
| TenerifeCar | not shown | €470.43 | €800 | €800 | Credit |
The excess is generally the most you pay for covered damage or theft. With Goldcar, Budget and Avis it was more than double the deposit, so the hold on your card is not the limit of what you could owe.
At many destinations, skipping the deposit is expensive. Tenerife can be an exception, because the local firms include cover with no excess in the rental price. Still, there are cases where a standard booking makes more sense:
A no-deposit rental is worth the extra cost when you only have a debit card, when your credit limit is low, or when you do not want to wait for a release. Discover Cars says holds are usually released within 21 business days and can take up to 30 calendar days.
Which no-deposit route fits you?
Four answers, one recommendation.
Pick-up checklist for a no-deposit rental in Tenerife
Tick each point at the desk. It takes a few minutes and gives you evidence if a dispute arises.
A no-deposit car with no excess takes most of the worry out of damage, but fines are still yours. Spain’s DGT sets 120 km/h on motorways and fines speeding from €100 to €600. If police stop you and you have no address in Spain, the fine must be paid or deposited on the spot, by card or cash, or the car can be immobilised. The 50% discount for prompt payment still applies.
Two places need planning. The Masca road (TF-436) can close to tourist cars from 09:00 to 16:00 on days with a fire risk alert, and the Masca trail is reached by TITSA bus 355 from Santiago del Teide. In the Teide National Park, non-residents have paid to use the two summit trails since 19 January 2026 (€15 for trail 10), while the Cabildo’s plan for paid parking and quotas for rental cars was still under study when we checked.
The deposit-free offers compared above are for collection at Tenerife South Airport. If you are staying in Costa Adeje or Los Cristianos and only want the car for a few days, TITSA line 40 runs from the airport every 30 minutes for €3.70, and you may be able to collect a car in town later. See car hire in Costa Adeje and Tenerife airport transfers for that route, and parking in Los Cristianos if your hotel has no car park. Arriving at the north airport or staying in the capital? Our page on car hire in Santa Cruz de Tenerife covers it.
Yes. Cicar and AutoReisen, the two big Canarian firms with desks in the Tenerife South arrivals hall, take no security deposit under their standard terms. On Discover Cars, 207 of 1,006 offers for a January week at Tenerife South Airport were marked “No deposit” on 6 November 2026, from €116.86 for 8 days.
Often very little. For 10 to 18 January 2027 the cheapest car on Discover Cars cost €104.48 and the cheapest no-deposit car €116.86, so €12.38 more for 8 days. In the November week we checked, TopCar charged €402.20 for a VW Taigo with €1,600 blocked and €415.97 for the same car with no deposit and no excess.
Cicar and AutoReisen never take one. TopCar, Record go and Goldcar waive it only with their top cover (Super Cover, Just Go and Super Relax). On Discover Cars we also found no-deposit offers from Turisprime, Budget, Avis, Orlando, Canarias and TenerifeCar.
Not always. AutoReisen accepts debit cards and blocks nothing. TopCar and Turisprime no-deposit offers on Discover Cars accepted a debit card. The Cicar and Orlando offers asked for a credit card at the desk even with a €0 deposit, and Goldcar takes credit cards only.
Usually, but check. Every Discover Cars no-deposit offer we opened at Tenerife South also had no deductible, except TenerifeCar, which kept a €400 excess. Cicar and AutoReisen include insurance with no excess in the price. Discover Cars itself says the no-deposit option is not insurance.
Yes, with a narrow choice. The “No card required” filter on Discover Cars showed TenerifeCar from €276.97 for 8 days in January, with no deposit and a €400 excess. You pay online in advance, and Discover Cars takes cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Revolut Pay for that. Canarias.com takes cash for the rental but still wants a credit card for its €100 deposit.
No. Discover Cars says the local supplier will still place a standard security deposit on your card. Full Coverage refunds what you pay after damage. In our November search it cost €12.64 a day with Goldcar and €15.76 a day with TopCar.
Only with some companies. AutoReisen, Record go, Canarias.com and PlusCar do not allow it. TopCar needs Super Cover plus its Multi-Island Cover, and ClickRent charges €110 per contract. On Discover Cars, tick “Ferry allowed” and read the conditions of the offer.
Discover Cars says a hold is usually released within 21 business days and can take up to 30 calendar days. Record go warns that with a debit card the amount is charged, not just blocked, and refunded later.
Sources: Discover Cars searches for Tenerife South Airport, its location page and help centre (6 November 2026); cicar.com and autoreisen.com booking searches and terms; terms and airport pages of TopCar, Record go, Goldcar, Canarias.com, ClickRent, OK Mobility and PlusCar; Aena list of car hire desks at Tenerife South; TITSA line 40 leaflet; Spanish Ministry fuel price data (6 November 2026); DGT and BOE (Real Decreto Legislativo 6/2015); Cabildo de Tenerife notices on Teide and Masca; Trustpilot profiles.
Disclosure: some links on this page are affiliate links to Discover Cars. If you book through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Cicar, AutoReisen and the other companies listed here do not pay us.
Last updated: 6 November 2026
