Collecting the car in Agadir and returning it in Marrakech, in Essaouira, or at the airport rather than in town: that is what is called a one way rental. It is possible, it is common, and it costs something. Here is why, and how to plan it without a surprise.
The reason is simple and not at all abstract. A car returned three hundred kilometres from where it started does not come back on its own. Someone has to go and fetch it, or it has to wait for a customer making the journey in reverse. That cost of return is what the surcharge covers.
How the amount is worked out
The surcharge is not a single flat fee. It depends on the distance between the pick up point and the drop off point, because that distance determines the vehicle's journey back.
Three practical consequences:
- Returning the car in the same city costs nothing extra. Collecting at the airport and returning in town, or the other way round, stays inside the same conurbation.
- The further the drop off city, the higher the surcharge. Essaouira is not Marrakech, and Marrakech is not Tangier.
- The amount is shown before you pay. It appears as a separate line in the booking summary, with the route concerned, and not as a surprise at the counter.
On the booking page the line is headed one way surcharge and carries the names of both cities. It is added to the total, in the same way as the options you have chosen.
When it is worth it, and when it is not
A one way rental earns its place when it saves you an empty journey. Three cases where the sum is quickly done.
You fly home from a different airport. If you arrive in Agadir and leave from Marrakech, returning the car there saves you two hundred and fifty kilometres back and an extra night. The drive itself is described in Agadir to Marrakech.
You are heading south without coming back. Agadir, Tiznit, Sidi Ifni: the road does not loop, and driving two hundred and seventy kilometres back to return the car where you took it is half a day lost.
You finish with a stay that needs no car. A week on the road then four days in Essaouira on foot: better to return the vehicle on arrival than to pay for it while it sleeps.
Conversely, a one way rental makes no sense if your trip loops naturally. A circuit leaving Agadir and coming back by the coast road should pay nothing extra.
What to specify when booking
The important point is that the drop off place is chosen beforehand, not during. A car returned in a city that was not in the contract creates two problems: the surcharge has not been calculated, and above all the agency has arranged nobody to collect it.
- Enter the drop off city when you book, in the field provided. The amount updates and appears in the summary.
- Check the exact address and the opening hours of the drop off point. An agency closed on Sunday afternoon changes a travel plan.
- Allow time for the return. The condition check on return takes as long as it did on collection, and longer when several customers arrive together.
What the surcharge does not change
A one way rental changes neither the deposit, nor the excess, nor the protection level chosen. These are three distinct things:
- The one way surcharge covers the vehicle's return. It is a line on the price.
- The deposit is held on your card and released at the end. See deposit and excess.
- The protection level decides what stays your responsibility in case of damage. See Essential, Comfort or Serenity.
All three add up on the summary but none replaces another. Taking the highest level does not remove the surcharge, and paying a one way fee does not reduce the excess.
The routes that suit it best
Three itineraries come up often and work well as one way rentals from Agadir.
The southern run that ends at Sidi Ifni. Tiznit, Mirleft, Legzira, then back by bus or shared taxi. You keep the car for the part where it genuinely earns its keep, the coves and the cliff roads described in Agadir to Legzira and Sidi Ifni.
The coast road north to Essaouira. Two hundred kilometres along the Atlantic, stops at Tamri and Tamanar, and a town that is visited entirely on foot once you arrive. Keeping the car to park it for three days makes no sense.
Agadir to Marrakech before a flight. The most frequent case, and the simplest: the car is there to cover the road, not to drive round the medina.
Two habits that avoid trouble
The first: fill up before you arrive, not at the station nearest the drop off point. The last stations before an airport are the dearest in the region, and the pump receipt is your proof if the level is questioned.
The second: when you hand back the keys, ask for the signed document stating that the vehicle was returned undamaged. It is the paper that protects you if a charge appears later, and it counts double when the return happens at an agency you do not know.
For the rest, the return process is the same everywhere, and it is described in detail in renting a car at Agadir Al Massira airport.
Enter the drop off city when you book. The surcharge appears straight away, with the route concerned, and there is no surprise at the counter. Choose your vehicle on the car rental in Agadir page, and find the terms in the complete guide to renting in Agadir. A particular itinerary? WhatsApp on +212 660 499 714.
