Car Rental at Reggio Calabria Airport (REG): Full Insurance, Debit Card and No Deposit Options

Reggio Calabria Airport (REG), also called Tito Minniti or Aeroporto dello Stretto, is about 4 km from the centre of Reggio Calabria and about 17 minutes by car from the ferries to Sicily at Villa San Giovanni. For car rental at Reggio Calabria Airport, our search for one week in November found 389 offers from 17 companies, and 56% of them were automatics. All 14 companies we recommend are a short walk from arrivals, and none of them uses a shuttle. Eleven of the 14 accept a debit card, including Locauto, which asks for no deposit, only a symbolic 0,01 EUR authorisation at pick-up.

This guide to car rental at Reggio Calabria Airport covers each of the 14 companies we recommend, debit and Revolut cards, deposits, full insurance, prices by month, which companies allow the ferry to Sicily, which airport to choose for Calabria and Sicily, and what to know before you drive into Reggio or out to Scilla and Tropea.

Data last verified: October 2026. Written by Simas Krasaitis, founder of Autorentwiz and former head of car rental at ADCRent.

Short on time? The key facts:

• Desks: you reach the desks of all 14 of our companies on foot from arrivals. Seven list their desk in the terminal, six are in the car rental building about 150-200 m away, and Maggiore is about 300 m from arrivals. No company uses a shuttle
• Debit cards: 11 of the 14 accept them: Locauto (no deposit, only a 0,01 EUR card authorisation), Maggiore (200 EUR), Alamo, Enterprise and National (500 EUR), SIXT and Flizzr (from about 584 EUR), Noleggiare (600 EUR on small cars) and Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty (700 EUR)
• No deposit: Locauto (only a symbolic 0,01 EUR card authorisation), with a debit or credit card. Maggiore blocks 200 EUR on a debit card and Sicily By Car 200 EUR on small cars on a credit card
• Revolut or no card: none of the 14 companies accepts cards from online-only banks, and we found no deals without a card at pick-up
• Ferry to Sicily: 11 of the 14 allow the car on the ferry, most of them with written permission. Hertz, Dollar and Enterprise do not allow it, and SIXT, Noleggiare and Thrifty charge 30-50 EUR
• Opening hours: Alamo, Enterprise, National, SIXT, Flizzr and Ecovia work every day from 08:00 to 23:00. Hertz, Dollar, Thrifty and Maggiore close at 19:00, with only a short evening slot on some days, and Locauto closed at 20:30 on our November pick-up day
• Prices: November is the cheapest month (about 16 EUR a day on average), August the most expensive (about 44 EUR)
• Free consultation: message us on Messenger and our car rental experts will compare all 14 companies for your dates, card and landing time. You get the same discount as when you book through our search

At Reggio Calabria, 18 rental companies are rated by verified renters at this airport, and 17 had offers in our November search. To make our list, a company needs a rating of 8.0 or higher from verified renters at this airport and a separate score of 8.0 or higher for its staff here. Fifteen companies passed both, and 14 of them had offers in our search. Optimo Rent, rated 8.1, had no offers for our dates. Budget is rated 8.0 but missed the staff score, and Avis and Autovia are rated below 8.0 at Reggio. Enterprise (1 review) and Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty (3 reviews each) have few reviews here, so their ratings can change quickly. That leaves 14 companies, and 11 of them accept a debit card.

In our search, the prices at National, SIXT and Flizzr were much higher than at the other companies for the same car classes, so compare the price before you book. Our car rental in Italy page covers the other Italian airports.

Company	Rating	Hours	Card	Deposit	Ferry to Sicily
Sicily By Car	9.4	08:30-22:59, Saturday 09:00-19:29 and 22:00-22:59, Sunday 10:00-18:29 and 22:00-22:59	Credit only	200 EUR on small cars, up to about 1,476 EUR	Free, written permission
Locauto	9.3	08:00-20:30 on our pick-up day, 08:00-23:00 on its location page	Debit or credit (not Maestro)	No deposit (0,01 EUR card authorisation)	Free
Filorent	9.0	08:30-22:00	Credit only	490 EUR, 800 EUR on a Dacia Jogger	Free, written permission
Alamo	8.9	08:00-23:00	Debit or credit (not Maestro)	500 EUR	Free
Maggiore	8.7	08:30-19:00, some weekdays also 22:00-23:00, Sunday 10:00-17:00	Debit or credit (not Maestro, Visa Electron or JCB)	200 EUR	Free, written permission
SIXT	8.5	08:00-23:00	Debit or credit	About 584 EUR on a Fiat Grande Panda, up to about 1,068 EUR	50 EUR, written permission (not on every offer)
Dollar	8.4	08:00-19:00 and an evening slot that changes by day, Saturday 08:00-19:00, Sunday 10:00-17:00	Debit or credit (not Maestro or Visa Electron)	700 EUR	Not allowed
Thrifty	8.4	08:00-19:00 and an evening slot that changes by day, Saturday 08:00-19:00, Sunday 10:00-17:00	Debit or credit	700 EUR	30 EUR, one day’s notice and written permission
Enterprise	8.4	08:00-23:00	Debit or credit	500 EUR	Not allowed
Noleggiare	8.4	08:00-22:00, Saturday until 20:00, Sunday 10:30-20:00	Debit or credit (not Maestro or Visa Electron)	600 EUR on small cars, up to 1,800 EUR	42 EUR, written permission
National	8.3	08:00-23:00	Debit or credit	500 EUR	Free
Flizzr	8.3	08:00-23:00	Debit or credit (not Maestro)	About 584-757 EUR	Free, written permission
Hertz	8.2	08:00-19:00 and 21:00-23:00, Saturday 08:00-19:00, Sunday 10:00-17:00	Debit or credit (not Maestro)	700 EUR	Not allowed
Ecovia	8.1	08:00-23:00	Credit only (not Diners)	750 EUR on small cars, up to 2,500 EUR	Free, written permission

At Reggio, Locauto asks for no deposit, only a symbolic 0,01 EUR authorisation on a debit or a credit card at pick-up, also on its 9-seat Volkswagen Caravelle, in the car rental building. Maggiore blocks 200 EUR and accepts a debit card, but its excess is high, about 1,950-3,660 EUR. Sicily By Car also blocks 200 EUR on small cars, but on a credit card only, and some of its offers with its own cover blocked 100 EUR. Filorent blocks 490 EUR on a Fiat Panda or a Renault Clio, on a credit card.

With a debit card, Alamo, Enterprise and National block 500 EUR, SIXT and Flizzr from about 584 EUR, Noleggiare 600 EUR on small cars, and Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty 700 EUR. The highest deposits are at Ecovia (750-2,500 EUR, credit only), and at Noleggiare (up to 1,800 EUR on premium estates) and Sicily By Car (up to about 1,476 EUR). For the ferry to Sicily, 11 of our 14 companies allow the car on board, and Hertz, Dollar and Enterprise do not.

Reggio Calabria Airport has one small terminal, and you reach the desks of all 14 companies we recommend on foot. No company here uses a shuttle. Sicily By Car, Noleggiare, SIXT, Flizzr, Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty list their desk in the terminal: follow the signs to the car rental area. The SIXT desk, which also serves Flizzr, is in front of the arrivals hall, next to the other rental companies.

Locauto, Filorent, Alamo, Enterprise, National and Ecovia are in the car rental building on Via Ravagnese Superiore, about 150-200 m from the terminal. Exit arrivals, keep right and walk towards the roundabout until you reach the building on the right. The Maggiore office is outside the airport: exit the arrivals hall, turn right and walk about 300 m. The Reggio Calabria Airport car rental page, in Italian, says the rental offices are at the exit of the airport area, about 250 m from the terminal, with their car parks next to them.

Autorentwiz tip: we have too few requests for Reggio to give figures for this airport, but across all our customers who name their card, about 6 in 10 have only a debit card, and 15% more have both. At Reggio 11 of our 14 companies accept a debit card, and all of them are a short walk from arrivals. With a debit card, Locauto in the car rental building takes no deposit, only a symbolic 0,01 EUR authorisation, and Maggiore blocks 200 EUR. Sicily By Car, Filorent and Ecovia take credit cards only, and Ecovia had many of the lowest prices in our search. Check the card section of the rental conditions before you book, or send us your dates on Messenger and we will check it for you.

Most desks at Reggio open at 08:00 or 08:30, and none of our companies opens earlier. Alamo, Enterprise, National, SIXT, Flizzr and Ecovia work every day from 08:00 to 23:00. Sicily By Car works until 22:59 on weekdays, and at weekends it closes at 19:29 on Saturdays and 18:29 on Sundays and opens again from 22:00 to 22:59. Filorent works until 22:00 every day, and Noleggiare until 22:00 on weekdays and 20:00 at weekends.

Check the hours of Locauto for your own date: the conditions of our November offer gave 08:00-20:30 for the pick-up day, although its location page lists 08:00-23:00 every day. Outside its hours, Locauto hands over the car only by request and for an extra charge, and it needs your flight or train number. Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty, which share a desk in the terminal, work from 08:00 to 19:00 and again in the evening, from 21:00 to 23:00 on a Tuesday, and the evening slot at Dollar and Thrifty changes by day. At weekends these three close at 19:00 on Saturdays and 17:00 on Sundays.

Maggiore works from 08:30 to 19:00, with an extra slot from 22:00 to 23:00 on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and from 10:00 to 17:00 on Sundays. Sicily By Car, Filorent and Noleggiare hold your car for 2 hours after the booked time, Dollar for only 29 minutes, and most others for about an hour. Add your flight number to the booking.

The nearest petrol station is the IP station at Via Ravagnese Superiore 43 G, about 0.5 km north of the car rental building and about 2 minutes by car from the airport. Google Maps lists it as open 24 hours. An Enilive station on Via Ravagnese Inferiore is also close. Fill up before you return the car, because most rental conditions ask for the same fuel level you started with, and the refuelling charge at the desk is much higher than the pump price.

Yes, with 11 of the 14 companies we recommend, and all of them are a short walk from arrivals: Locauto (no deposit, only a 0,01 EUR card authorisation), Maggiore (200 EUR), Alamo, Enterprise and National (500 EUR), SIXT and Flizzr (from about 584 EUR), Noleggiare (600 EUR on small cars), and Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty (700 EUR). Only Sicily By Car, Filorent and Ecovia take credit cards only. At Locauto, the Audi A5 estate also needs a credit card.

At the desk you need a physical debit card in the main driver’s name, and all 11 accept Visa and Mastercard debit cards. Locauto, Alamo, Flizzr and Hertz do not take Maestro, and Maggiore, Dollar and Noleggiare refuse both Maestro and Visa Electron. In our search the cheapest car with a debit card was a Hyundai i10 at Noleggiare from about 95 EUR a week, and the cheapest automatic a Volkswagen Polo at Alamo from about 125 EUR. Our guide to renting a car in Italy with a debit card explains what the desk checks.

None of the 14 companies we recommend at Reggio accepts cards from online-only banks such as Revolut: all of them list these cards as not accepted. We also found no deals at Reggio with no card needed at pick-up. To rent here, you need a card from a traditional bank in the main driver’s name. This also applies at Locauto, which takes no deposit but makes a symbolic 0,01 EUR authorisation on a physical debit or credit card with the card number on it. Most companies also refuse prepaid and virtual cards.

At Reggio, Locauto asks for no deposit, only a symbolic 0,01 EUR authorisation on a debit or a credit card at pick-up. All 29 offers marked as no deposit in our search were from Locauto, in the car rental building. Among companies that take a deposit, Maggiore blocks 200 EUR, with a debit or a credit card, but its excess was about 1,950-3,660 EUR. With a credit card, Sicily By Car blocks 200 EUR on small cars, and some of its offers with its own cover blocked 100 EUR. With a debit card, the next lowest after Maggiore is 500 EUR at Alamo, Enterprise and National. Our guide to saving money on car rental shows how to weigh the deposit against the price.

At Reggio the excess, the part of any damage you pay yourself, was about 1,500-2,800 EUR at most of our companies in our search. Locauto had the lowest standard excess, from 1,200 EUR, and Noleggiare was next, from 1,300 EUR on a Hyundai i10. The highest were at Maggiore (up to about 3,660 EUR) and Ecovia (up to 3,560 EUR on its biggest cars). Some offers from Sicily By Car, Dollar and Noleggiare came with the company’s own cover and zero excess. You can cover the excess in two ways.

Full coverage added online when you book costs less per day, but the desk still blocks the normal deposit, and if something happens you pay the company and claim the money back from the insurer. The company’s own cover, sold at the desk, costs more but removes the excess on the spot and can cut the deposit, as with Sicily By Car (100 EUR on some offers). If you already bought full coverage, you do not need the desk cover as well. Our pick-up tips show how to film the car and what to check at pick-up.

The rules below come from the rental conditions of the 14 companies we recommend, for small cars unless we say otherwise, and the conditions of your own offer are what counts at the desk. Most companies accept only a physical licence, not a digital one. Filorent, Dollar, Thrifty and Hertz also ask for a return flight ticket at pick-up, and Noleggiare and Ecovia for your flight details. Send us the driver’s age on Messenger, and we will check which offers allow it.

• Minimum age: 18 at SIXT and Flizzr, which share a desk in front of arrivals. 19 at Sicily By Car, Locauto, Filorent, Alamo, Maggiore, Noleggiare, National and Ecovia. 21 at Hertz, Dollar, Thrifty and Enterprise. Most companies want the licence held for at least 1 year, and Alamo, Enterprise and National for 3 years on every car
• Bigger cars: 9-seat vans such as the Volkswagen Caravelle need 25 at Locauto, Alamo, Enterprise and National, while the Mercedes Vito at Sicily By Car stays at 19. Estate cars need 21 at Sicily By Car and SIXT and 25 at Alamo, Enterprise and National, and the Audi A5 estate at Locauto needs 27. The Dacia Jogger 7-seater at Filorent needs 25, and the Volkswagen T-Cross at Maggiore and the Citroen C5 Aircross at Ecovia need 21. Locauto (vans and premium cars), Noleggiare (MG ZS and Peugeot 5008) and Ecovia (Volkswagen Caravelle) want the licence held for 3 years, and Maggiore for 2 years on the T-Cross
• Young driver fee and maximum age: a young driver fee applies under 25 at most companies and under 23 at Sicily By Car. None of the conditions states the amount, and our search was for a driver aged 30-65, so the prices in this guide do not include it. The maximum age is 80 at Noleggiare, 82 at Sicily By Car and 85 at Filorent (79 on the Jogger). A senior driver fee applies over 75 at Noleggiare and Ecovia, and over 80 at Filorent
• EU or EEA licence: Italian law requires no International Driving Permit (IDP). A licence issued in an EU country is valid anywhere in the EU (Your Europe), and none of our 14 companies asks for an IDP with an EU licence. Their conditions do not name licences from Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein, so with one of these, bring an IDP
• UK licence: with a photocard licence you need no IDP to drive in Italy (GOV.UK), but Sicily By Car and Locauto ask for one from drivers who do not live in the EU, Filorent with any licence not issued in the EU, and SIXT from drivers who live in the UK, who also need a credit card in the main driver’s name. With a UK licence, Dollar asks you to bring your DVLA check code
• Other licences from outside the EU: Italian law requires an IDP or an official Italian translation with the licence (Art. 135 of the Highway Code), so bring an IDP. Hertz and Thrifty accept licences from some countries without one, such as the USA, Canada and Australia, but we still advise the IDP because of the law. Alamo and SIXT ask for an IDP with any licence not printed in the Roman alphabet

Across all offers, car rental at Reggio Calabria Airport costs about 29 EUR a day on average over the year. November is the cheapest month at about 16 EUR a day, 45% below the yearly average and 64% below August. February, at about 17 EUR, is almost as cheap. August is the most expensive month at about 44 EUR, and July costs about 42 EUR. April, at about 36 EUR, costs more than June and September, which are both at about 35 EUR. The average rental at Reggio lasts about 6 days.

Daily average across all offers at Reggio Calabria Airport for each pick-up month, data from October 2026. Prices move every day.

Season	Months	Average per day	What to expect
Low	November, February, January	about 16-19 EUR	The lowest prices of the year
Shoulder	March, December, October	about 21-25 EUR	Good value outside the holiday weeks
High	May, June, September, April	about 31-36 EUR	Spring and September, the busiest month for rentals here
Peak	July, August	about 42-44 EUR	The most expensive months, August above all

These starting prices per day by car class come from the companies we recommend, in our November search. The lowest small cars, medium cars and SUVs were at Ecovia, which takes credit cards only and blocks 750 EUR or more. With a debit card, the cheapest small car was a Hyundai i10 at Noleggiare from about 95 EUR a week, with a 600 EUR deposit, and a Toyota Aygo at Locauto from about 102 EUR, with no deposit, only a 0,01 EUR card authorisation. The cheapest automatic was a Toyota Yaris at Ecovia from about 92 EUR a week. 56% of all offers at Reggio were automatics.

Vans with 9 seats started at about 67 EUR a day, for a Mercedes Vito at Sicily By Car, on a credit card only. With a debit card, Noleggiare had a 7-seat Peugeot 5008 from about 535 EUR a week, and Alamo a 9-seat Volkswagen Caravelle from about 558 EUR.

Autorentwiz tip: one trap at Reggio is the ferry to Sicily. The ferries leave from Villa San Giovanni, about 17 minutes from the airport, but Hertz, Dollar and Enterprise do not allow their cars on board, and SIXT, Noleggiare and Thrifty charge 30-50 EUR for it. Most of the others want written permission. The cheapest offer for your dates can come from a company that does not allow the ferry, so if Sicily is part of your plan, check the ferry rule in the rental conditions before you book. Or tell us your route on Messenger, and we will send you offers only from companies that allow the ferry.

The other airport to consider for Calabria is Lamezia Terme Airport, about 130 km and 1 hour 19 minutes north of Reggio Calabria Airport on the A2. If your trip is mainly in Sicily, you can also fly to Catania Airport, about 138 km and 2 hours from Reggio Calabria Airport by road and ferry. The biggest differences for renters are price and the ferry. Lamezia had more offers in our search and lower prices, and Reggio is next to the ferries to Sicily.

What we compared	Reggio Calabria (REG)	Lamezia Terme (SUF)
Offers for one week in November	389	671
Companies we recommend	14	16
Where the desks are	All 14 a short walk from arrivals, no shuttles	14 of our 16 at the airport, 2 by shuttle
Debit cards, of the companies we recommend	11, Locauto with no deposit (0,01 EUR card authorisation)	10, Locauto with no deposit (0,01 EUR card authorisation)
Average price per day, November and August	about 16 and 44 EUR	about 10 and 36 EUR
Yearly average per day	about 29 EUR	about 22 EUR
Drive to Tropea	about 1 hour 40 minutes	about 1 hour

In our October 2026 data, the monthly averages at Lamezia were lower than at Reggio in every month of the year, and Lamezia is closer to Tropea. Reggio is the closer airport for the city of Reggio, Scilla, the Aspromonte and the ferries to Sicily, and all 14 of our companies there are a short walk from arrivals. With a debit card, Reggio also gives more choice: 11 of our 14 companies accept one, against 10 of 16 at Lamezia. For a trip only in Sicily, flying to Catania saves you the ferry and the ferry rules of the rental companies.

The airport is in the Ravagnese district, about 4 km from the centre of Reggio. The Museo Archeologico Nazionale, home of the Riace Bronzes, is about 10 km and 13 minutes away on the SS106. The A2 motorway north to Villa San Giovanni, Scilla, Tropea and Lamezia Terme has no tolls: ANAS, the state company that runs it, lists the A2 among its toll-free motorways. In Sicily, the A18 motorway from Messina to Catania is a toll road.

Sicily is part of Italy, but the car crosses the Strait of Messina on a ferry, and the rental conditions have their own rule for ferries. This rule is general, not for one route, so it also covers the crossing to Messina. Of the 14 companies we recommend, 11 allow the car on board:

Ferry rule	Companies
Ferry allowed, free	Locauto, Alamo, National
Free with written permission	Sicily By Car, Filorent, Maggiore, Ecovia, Flizzr
Fee and written permission	SIXT (50 EUR), Noleggiare (42 EUR), Thrifty (30 EUR, with one day’s notice)
Ferry not allowed	Hertz, Dollar, Enterprise

Ask for the written permission at the desk when you pick up the car, and keep it with the rental contract. Enterprise is in the same car rental building as Alamo and National, and Hertz and Dollar share a desk with Thrifty, but their ferry rules differ, so check the company named on your voucher. Some SIXT offers in our search did not allow ferries, so check your own offer at SIXT too.

The car ferries to Messina leave from Villa San Giovanni, about 19 km and 17 minutes from the airport on the A2. Caronte & Tourist crosses to Messina in about 20 minutes and runs around the clock, and Bluferries sails from Villa San Giovanni to Messina Tremestieri in about 50 minutes. From the port of Reggio, the Liberty Lines hydrofoils to Messina carry passengers only, not cars. Fares change with the time of day, so check the current fare on the ferry company’s website before you go. With the ferry, Taormina is about 80 km and 1 hour 25 minutes from the airport, and Catania Airport about 138 km and 2 hours.

The centre of Reggio has a ZTL, a limited traffic zone, on Corso Garibaldi, with camera-controlled gates and automatic fines. In February 2024 local news reported new electronic gates with cameras on Corso Garibaldi. We found no current ZTL page from the city with the hours, so follow the signs at the gates and do not drive past a ZTL sign.

A ZTL fine reaches you through the rental company, which adds its own admin fee. Staying at a hotel in the centre? Ask the hotel before you arrive how to reach it by car and where to park. For street parking and car parks, check the signs where you park.

Scilla, with the Castello Ruffo above the sea and the fishing quarter of Chianalea, is about 30 km and 24 minutes north on the A2. Pentedattilo is about 29 km and 35 minutes away on the SS106, and Gambarie, the ski resort of the Aspromonte, about 38 km and 45 minutes.

Tropea, with the Santa Maria dell’Isola church on its rock, is about 114 km away on the A2, around 1 hour 40 minutes. Gerace is about 124 km away on the A2 and the SS682, also around 1 hour 40 minutes. In the 2025-2026 winter, from 15 November to 15 April, ANAS required winter tyres or snow chains on board on state roads in Calabria and on some sections of the A2, so check the ANAS rules for your dates. For the mountain road up to Gambarie, ask for winter tyres or chains when you book a winter rental.

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