Africa > 🇪🇸Melilla
Should You Hire a Car in Melilla? This can be broken down into two similar questions - do you need a car in Melilla (in other words, will your holiday be ruined without one), and is it worth hiring a car in Melilla - i.e. is a car better value than using public transport? We'll weigh up both questions and give you a response generated by Chat GPT, together with our own curated opinion before finally giving a yes or no verdict at the end.
Should you rent a car in Melilla? Short answer: almost certainly not. Melilla is very small, walkable, and easy to navigate without a vehicle. And crucially, you cannot freely drive a rental car across the border into Morocco, and there are virtually no rental cars available within Melilla itself.
Melilla is compact, pleasant, and shaped by its unusual position on the Mediterranean. Because of its size and layout, walking is the main way visitors explore. The old fortress city (Melilla la Vieja) is entirely pedestrian-friendly, and the modern district is low-traffic with short distances everywhere. 🚶♂️🌞
Public transport is limited, but the city is small enough that you don’t really need it. Taxis are affordable and reliable for anything beyond walking distance.
🚫 Car Rental in Melilla — Why It’s Basically a “No”
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No major car hire agencies operate in Melilla itself.
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The airport shows no mainstream rental desks (Hertz, Avis, Europcar, etc.).
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Local search results return tiny agencies with limited vehicles, and nothing reliably bookable online.
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The border with Morocco is NOT open for rental cars in any practical sense. You would face insurance invalidation, administrative complications, and extremely slow foot traffic queues.
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Even if crossing were hypothetically possible, Nador is a much better entry point into Morocco, with full rental facilities at the airport and railway station.
Therefore, renting a car in Melilla simply doesn’t make sense for most travellers.
🚶♀️ Best Way to Explore Melilla
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On foot — perfect for the old citadel, the Libertad Plaza area, and the Modernist architecture.
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Taxi — cheap and useful for the beaches or the border zone.
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Bus — basic but functional for crossing town, though rarely needed.
🇲🇦 What If You Want a Car for Morocco?
In that case:
✘ Don’t rent in Melilla
There are no major providers and no practical cross-border driving.
✔ Do rent in Nador
Fly or ferry directly to Nador (NDR), pick up the car there, and continue into Morocco with full insurance coverage. This avoids:
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border formalities
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walking queues
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paperwork issues
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the complication of Spanish licence plates in Morocco
Entering Morocco via Melilla only makes sense if you’re staying in Melilla, not if you’re planning a Morocco road trip.
🏁 Summary: Should you rent a car in Melilla?
No.
Melilla is too small to justify one, cars are hard to find, and crossing into Morocco with a rental vehicle is essentially impossible. Walk, taxi, or — if you want to explore Morocco — go straight to Nador and rent there instead.
