Agadir Al Massira airport sits about 25 kilometres south east of the city, on the road running towards Aït Melloul and Taroudant. Between the terminal and the seafront, allow half an hour by car on the airport road, a little more at the Inezgane rush hour.
Collecting the car on arrival is the most common choice, and in most cases the most sensible one: you pay no transfer, you load your luggage once, and you can head straight for Taroudant or the coast without going back through Agadir. It helps to know how it works, and when it is not the right choice.
How it works on arrival
After passport control and baggage reclaim, you come out into the arrivals hall. The rental desks are there, and some agencies also meet their customers outside the terminal, holding a sign with the driver's name, before walking to the vehicle in the car park.
The order of events is always the same:
- Documents presented and contract signed.
- Imprint or debit of the security deposit on the bank card.
- Keys handed over and walk to the car.
- Joint condition check, before you leave.
That fourth point is the only one entirely in your hands, and it is the one people rush after a night flight. It deserves ten minutes.
The documents to have ready
- The driving licence of the main driver, valid. A national European licence is enough for a tourist stay; an international permit is asked for with some licences issued outside the European Union, and it always goes with the original licence, it does not replace it.
- An identity document or the passport, the one you entered Morocco with.
- A bank card in the driver's name for the security deposit. A card in another name, even a spouse's, stops the keys being handed over.
- The booking confirmation, on paper or on your phone, with the category chosen and the agreed rate.
The amount of the security deposit and the level of the excess depend on the model and the protection chosen: they appear on the vehicle page when you book. That is the thing to check before confirming, not at the counter at one in the morning. How the deposit works is explained in deposit and excess: how it works.
The condition check: the ten minutes that count
The classic dispute at the end of a rental is about a scratch nobody can date. The defence is simple and costs nothing:
- Walk round the car with the agent and have every dent, scratch and chip written on the form, however small.
- Photograph all four sides and all four wheels with your phone, timestamp on. Add the windscreen, the roof and the underside of the bumpers.
- Check what you cannot see: spare wheel or puncture kit, jack, warning triangle, high visibility vest. Their absence will be held against you on return.
- Note the fuel level and which rule applies: full to full, or return at the same level.
- If you arrive at night, do not rely on the car park lighting. Walk round again in the morning and report anything you find the same day.
A note on sills and bumpers: most of the damage found on rental cars in the Souss comes from speed bumps, not accidents. Look under the front and rear bumpers when you leave, because that is exactly where marks will be looked for on return.
When it is better to collect in town
Three cases where the airport is not the best starting point:
- A night flight. You drive tired, on a road you do not know, with no lighting once you leave the airport area. A transfer in the evening and the car the next morning cost little and avoid a lot.
- You are staying three days in Agadir before moving. There is no point paying for the car while it sleeps in the hotel car park.
- You are more than four people with bulky luggage. Better to see the car before loading than to discover too small a boot in the car park.
Returning to the airport
Plan to be there three hours before an international flight, half an hour more than the recommended check in time: the return inspection and the paperwork take their time, especially when several flights leave in the same slot.
Fill up before you arrive, not at the station nearest the terminal: the last stations before the airport are the dearest in the region. Keep the pump receipt, it is your proof if the level is questioned.
When you hand back the keys, ask for a signed document stating that the vehicle was returned undamaged, and keep it until the security deposit has actually been released on your account.
The drive back to the airport uses the same axis as the Taroudant road. As for the local driving habits you will meet as soon as you leave the car park, they are set out in driving in Agadir.
Book before you land rather than at the counter. You choose the model, you see the deposit and the excess in advance, and you are not negotiating on your feet with a suitcase. The available cars are on the car rental in Agadir page, and the terms in the complete guide to renting in Agadir.
Photo: Werner100359 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
