Hiring a scooter on holiday

[Rave]

My wife and I are going to see if we can snap up a cheapo last minute deal at the end of Jan for a week in the sun- hopefully the Canaries or Cyprus. I thought a nice way to spend a day would be to hire a scooter and ride around seeing the sights (with my wife on pillion), especially if we end up somewhere like Fuertaventura. My questions are:

Do I need a credit card (as opposed to a debit card)? I don't have one, but I could almost certainly apply now and get one before the end of January.

How much is it likely to cost?

Could I hire a proper motorbike rather than a scooter? Something like an SR125/ Virago 250 with a low pillion seat/ sissy bar would be choice.

Will we get given helmets, are they compulsory, and are they likely to have one to fit someone with a massive head like myself?

Before anyone says it, I know full well that scooter/bike accidents are a prime way to hurt yourself on holiday. I have some experience and a full licence, and the wife and I weigh about 24st combined so we won't be going anywhere in a hurry on a 50cc scooter unless it's down a mountain. Hopefully the roads will be pretty empty in January in any case.

Rich :¬)

[stytagm]

When we were in Crete they would hapilly hire you a very nice bike as long as your licence covered it (Euro-standard driving licences make this easy to check) but the place we looked at insisted on helmets.

I think they took any normal plastic, so my Switch worked because of the old cirrus logo on the back (like the maestro one), although my GF had visa so I might have that wrong.

But..if I remember correctly you could hire a crappy fiat for less than the cost of a decent bike, now a know a cinquicento isn't going to do much for your safety in the event of a crash but a little bit safer is safer!

Have a fantastic time either way, Me an my missus are planning a "dreary months" getaway ourselves, although probably to Barcelona or Madrid, anyone have any suggestions as to which?

[Romanov]

I did this in Greece,Italy and Spain but not in the locations you state - anyway this is what I learnt

- They accept visa debit cards but not switch/solo
- Mastercard is best if you have one
- Alot want cash deposit which can be high (about £100) for the duration of hire
- Hiring can cost as little as £20 a day but you generally find quality is very bad, we picked one which cost £32 a day and was good enuf
- Had to hire helmets at £10 each a day
- Helmets are now mostly compulsory (youre not really gonna ride without one surely?)
- you can hire proper bikes but you'll need to have your license and book in advance they never seemed to want to hire out on the day?? It helps to have your insurance with you.
-Dont do what they all seem to do which is wear shorts and t-shirts I saw some really nasty accidents, not life threatneing but gravel rash can be no joke!

hope this helps

[Rave]

Thanks for the help guys. Stytagm the Mrs reckons that Barcelona is fantastic, she went around this time last year with a couple of friends. Pretty cheap too, she flew with Easyjet (or possibly Go, I forget) and booked a hotel for the three of them through octopus.com. Was about £120 all in (each) for three days IIRC.

I'll make sure she packs a pair of jeans and some sort of sturdy shoes and jacket. How long does it take to get a plastic licence? I only have paper at the moment, and due to the stupidity of the DVLA it reckons that I'm only entitled to ride a 33hp bike although I am in fact entitled to ride anything, having passed my test a mere...um....8 years ago now! Have been meaning to get a plastic one anyway, since my address is no longer correct. Still, I doubt she'd agree to anything more powerful than 33hp anyway. What to do?

£10 helmet hire is a bit steep. I wonder if it's worth digging out my old helmet from the attic....

As for hiring a car instead- you can't beat sightseeing by bike IMO. Looking out of a car window just ain't the same.

Rich :¬)

[DaBeeeenster]

Just try and get the bikes off a reputable looking firm - they can be death traps that are not well maintained.

[Rave]

I'll check any bike over before I hire it- make sure the brakes + lights work, chain is properly adjusted, tyres have tread and are properly inflated etc.

Rich :¬)

[Romanov]

ouch you need the plastic one m8 - they all have piccie cards over there and are very dubious about the paper only one. I sent mine off to get the cat A put on it after DAS and it only took 4 days to get the license back. If you did the restricted test you just need to send the certificate in witht he date you passed and they should issue a full license after 2 years let alone 8 yrs.

if you get a producer and your address is wrong you can get points for that, better to say its been sent to the DVLA however if they are annoyed (the police) they can check when you moved and then its down the tubes at that point.
(Note: I photocopied everything before I sent it off)

helmet hire is pricey as alot of people leave them in bars etc and return the bikes early in the morning (when shop is closed)so they dont have to explain the loss.

[Rave]

It's just annoying though, if I'm entitled to full cat A entitlement after two years, why not send the licence back (when I sent it off in 1997) saying 'Cat A1: 3 Jan 1997 to 20 Jun 2049; Cat A: 3 Jan 1999 to 20 Jun 2049'? It was a ploy to make sure I had to get a plastic licence I reckon. I don't have the test certificate any more, but it should be obvious that I'm entitled to the full cat A licence; if they try to charge me I'll be jolly annoyed.

Rich :¬)

Edit: FWIW my father-in-law and I had no difficulty hiring a car in Spain with our paper licences.