Drive On Holidays Reviews 

We rented a car with Movida in Lisbon in July this year. We have our own insurance through our credit card so we didn't take their insurance that was the same price as the price of the car. Someone ran a stop sign and damaged our car, police was called, driver signed the statement and accepted full responsibility for the accident. Movida kept our deposit of 3.800 Euro and said we would get it back once the insurance of the other driver paid. Two months later, still no money. I have been chasing them and the only started to respond once I informed them that I have submitted an official claim to the Portuguese consumer protection authorities. They send me the proof of the repair costs (which funny enough ends up to be our full deposit, down to the cent) but have still not sent me the claim number and when they submitted it to the insurance. Their car is back on the road and they don't care, as it's my money, not theirs. Regulations in Portugal are clear and I should have received my money back after 30 days. I reported the case to the Portuguese authorities, hoping that they will help to chase them. Don't ever rent with them. When we dropped the car, there were about 5 other cars with people arguing to get their deposit back. It's a scam and their business model to get all little flaws repaired, paid by people that didn't take their insurance.

I am writing this at Porto airport. We came out of the airport over 2 hours ago and we are still at least 10 ticket numbers from being seen are the desk to collect our car.

When we arrived at the designated meeting point, there was no-one there. We phoned customer services and they told us that the person was always there and we could just wait. They also have us the option of walking to the shuttle bus pick-up point. Thankfully that's what we did, because their greeting person was only there and not at the designated getting point. The shuttle bus was there, but he informed us that there was no space on the next 3 shuttle buses and that we would have to wait for the fourth one. Which would be in about 30 minutes. He did give us the option of a 6 minute walk instead, but with 4 children and 2 suitcases that wasn't really an option.

Once we got to their office, we had to take a ticket. We were ticket 095. The next person to be seen was 081. In the past hour, they have not got beyond number 88.

The rental place is NOT in the airport, despite what might be indicated. It is a 10 mins shuttle bus away that comes every 20 mins. Once you get there, the queue is IMMENSE. Not a good start at all.

Hopefully the rest of the experience is better … but I won’t be booking through Booking.com again.

Did not use this Company. Unexpected charges when picking up the car.

Movida at Ponta Delgado Airport is not a rental company but one big scam operation run by Capo Miquel. Dangerous cars and damage claiming to customers for wear and tear parts. Stay away from these crooks as far as you can.

The worst car hire experience I've ever had. Because of an tiny error on my part (the credit card was not on the main driver but on the additional driver), I couldn't get the car out and rentalcars.com couldn't help me change the main driver. Drive on Holidays represenative Ruis was extremely rude both to me and the person before me in line. ("IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT YOU CAN LEAVE" and "YOU DID THIS TO YOURSELF") and couldn't do anything because of what he said was company policy. What he could do however, was to offer both me and the customer before me an insurance for an additional cost of more than cost of the original car-hire to get a car. Drive on holiday clearly took advantage of the difficult situation for me (a famliy of four and five bags in the middle of an uknown industrial area) and tried to extort me. We had to take a cab and spend the following day finding a new car for the week. 0/10 will never use again. Ruis should be ashamed.

I booked a car with them, my wife has credit card, I don't. Tried to change booking to her name. That's when charges started. Despite taking my money immediately they then wanted 90 euros to change booking to her name. Its been a horrible customer experience from start to finish, with Easyjet being no help.

Genuinely terrible company, do not book with them. Much rather go for a more reliable company. Customer service is appalling to say the least. Awful company.

We used this company to rent a car in Madeira for 1 week. Had no problems for the entire week, returned the car and the deposit was released almost instantly.

I would use this company again.

We arrived in Faro Airport at 11.00 and it took two hours to get our car from the airport. Shuttle bus was slow and then the wait was ridiculous. Two members of staff checking around a 100 people in. People were standing out in the heat as there was no room inside. The staff were as slow and had no sense of urgency about them at all. Then the actual check in was so slow. Everyone was giving out with the delay. If you think a flight is two hours and then having to wait 2 hours to get a car. Crazy!! Surely it can be streamlined, like upload driving license and passport beforehand and then collect your keys.

Have come here a few years in a row now so know the process - and this time, I walked in and queued like I did every other year and people were sitting around. No one thought to say there’s a ticketing system now - there are no signs and the machine is down the side nowhere near where people queue. They were so rude when I asked why they didn’t just say rather than just watch me stand there in the queue. Several other people then came in after me and got a ticket before I saw what was going on and was confused so got one. I was then delayed after rushing there as needed to leave promptly. Awful service and experience and not a nice start to my holiday - they could have easily been polite about it but alas.

I was really concerned about collecting the car from them having read the reviews but as we had booked with Jet2 I had no choice to go with them. I had taken out the deposit insurance before I left so was covered for any extra charges. We arrived at Faro airport and their minibus was waiting were they said it would be and they took us to collect the car. Their office is clean and tidy and the staff were lovely, they didn't push me to take out any extra insurance and we were dealt with quickly and efficiently. We had to leave a 70 euros deposit for any toll charges, this has since been returned to me under the 30 days the said it would. The vehicle we hired was as described at bit banged and scratched (as most hire cars are) but immaculate inside and exactly what was needed. I don't know whether I was just lucky or if they have changed their approach, but from a personal perspective we had no issues collecting and returning the car.

An absolutely appalling service in Funchal, Madeira. A promised shuttle bus at the airport never arrived, we took a taxi to get to the company's counter only to meet a staff member who wasn't aware of our reservation at all (we made it weeks in advance and called on the day to confirm everything was in order), our car wasn't available but another was offered instead and as a cherry on a cake - only credit card was acceptable which we (thankfully) didn't have and, as a result, we simply walked out at 10pm on a Sunday evening to book yet another taxi to get to the accommodation. Shame on such pathetic service.

We went on a family holiday, and decided prior to arriving we wanted to get 2 cars for the holiday. When we arrived to the movida drive on holidays place, we were told we would have to pay more money we were not informed of. The girl was very unhelpful and did not give us a choice but to pay the required money. We received the email with all this on around 2 days into our holiday.. great customer service. We were told we will get 170€ back ‘in a few days’ after returning the car. It’s been over 3 weeks, I have emailed twice and no reply. We have not received a penny of the 170€ back. My parents have but for some reason we have not after being advised everything was fine. I would like the money back in our bank account ASAP (name under Joshua Davies) to resolve this matter. Would not recommend, ever.

Excellent experience with Movida Rent a Car in Faro. The whole process was smooth from start to finish. The staff were friendly, professional, and very helpful. Pickup was quick and easy, and the car was clean, well-maintained, and exactly as described.

What I appreciated most was the honest service—no hidden fees, no unnecessary upselling, just straightforward and efficient. Returning the car was also fast and hassle-free.

I would definitely recommend Movida to anyone visiting Faro and needing reliable car rental. Great value for money and outstanding customer service. Will happily use them again.

AVOID – Failed roadside assistance and deposit scam

Got a flat tyre during my rental in Funchal. Called Drive on Holidays emergency line — they took my number and promised a callback. It never came. Left stranded with no help whatsoever.

Had to call Mercedes Me Assistance myself, who confirmed it was covered under the car's own insurance and sent help immediately. If Drive on Holidays had done their job, I would never have needed to do this.

Despite raising this multiple times in person and via customer care, they have charged me €556 for pre-existing damage that was documented and photographed on the vehicle condition form before I even drove the car. No written explanation was provided before or after the deduction.

This is not a car rental company — it's a deposit retention scheme. I paid for a service that was never delivered. Avoid at all costs.

Compared to my last two experiences with Sixt here in Hamburg, this was a superb experience.

The parking lot is easy to find, transfer was very quick and the lady behind the counter was very friendly and not trying to sell any extra insurances. We got the car we ordered at a very competitive price. It was clean it was new, it was perfect for our weeks holiday.
Make sure to have enough deposit on your credit card because this is quiet high here and they also charge you something for that machine that tracks you on the highways.

Giving the car back was also no hussle. I made a video when I received but there were no damages. Mohamad made it a very nice experience. Transfer back took about 5 minutes and off we went from this (during the spring) lovely part of Portugal.

Turns out the worst rent a car company i have ever come across. The car broke down while it still had half the fuel in the tank. When i went to the office to collect another car, they told me that i need to pay for the half tank, that too at an inflated price (they asked for almost EUR100 whereas the market price was around EUR40). Worst service, the staff is there just to rip the customers off. The blocked EUR100 against my card for any fuel, which was to be returned if i successfully returned the car with a full tank. Turns out that money has just gone out and not returned, which i will now need to dispute with the bank. Can’t dislike this company and the experience more. Please stay away from them

Excellent experience with Movida Rent a Car / Drive on Holidays near Porto Airport.
I used their service for almost three months while my own car was being repaired, and I was very happy the whole time. I rented both electric and regular cars, and they were always in great condition with good availability.
The team is professional, friendly and easy to deal with. The whole process was always smooth, and the prices were fair.
Highly recommended. Very satisfied.

Avoid Movida / Drive on Holidays in Lisbon at ALL costs.

This was honestly one of the most stressful and unprofessional travel experiences I’ve ever had.

We waited MORE THAN ONE HOUR and nobody showed up. We called FIVE TIMES and nobody answered the phone. Imagine arriving exhausted with luggage, baby and being completely ignored by the company you already paid.

Then they demanded a PHYSICAL credit card for a €1350 deposit. No flexibility, no help, just threats that we would lose the booking and the money if we couldn’t provide it.

After all that chaos, despite PAYING for an SUV large enough for family luggage and a pram/stroller, they handed us a tiny Nissan Juke.

The car was so small that the suitcases and pram DID NOT FIT. We literally had to put bags on the FRONT PASSENGER SEAT to make everything fit.

And somehow it STILL gets worse:
the menu and GPS/navigation system in the car was set entirely in FRENCH.

Not Portuguese. Not English. FRENCH.

So after being ignored for an hour, fighting over deposits, and being downgraded to a tiny car, we also had to struggle with a GPS system in the wrong language while driving in a foreign country.

This company is the definition of disorganized, careless, and disrespectful toward customers.

* Over 1 hour waiting
* Ignored calls
* Hidden deposit traps
* Wrong vehicle category
* Unsafe luggage situation
* GPS in the wrong language
* Terrible customer service
* Zero accountability

If you are travelling to Lisbon, stay FAR away from Movida / Drive on Holidays.

Worst car rental experience of my life.