At Olbia Costa Smeralda airport you can rent an ISLARENT car without a credit card and without a blocked deposit: a driving licence and an ID document for the main driver are enough. Full cover with zero excess, unlimited mileage, child seats and a second driver are included in the price, and you pay when you collect the car. Our base is in Olbia, a few minutes from the terminal.
How pick-up works at Olbia airport
Olbia’s terminal is compact and runs at full capacity in summer: it is a short walk from the gate to baggage reclaim, but at the July and August peaks the queue in front of the big operators’ desks can take an hour. With us the handover is direct — documents, signature, keys — and the car is ready when you walk out.
The flight number is the field most often left empty and the one that matters: if you land late we check it and wait for you, with no charge for the delay. Olbia has the heaviest concentration of summer charters of the three airports, and half an hour of delay changes everything there.
For the return, plan to be at the drop-off point at least two hours before departure in the summer months, and fill the tank before you get back to the airport: the nearest petrol stations are along the SS125 and on the Olbia ring road.
Why no credit card is needed in Olbia
On the Costa Smeralda a blocked deposit is the norm: €1,500, €2,000, sometimes €2,500 held on the driver’s credit card for the whole rental and beyond. It has to be a real credit card in the driver’s name; at most desks a prepaid or debit card will not do. It is the single most common reason travellers are refused a car they had already paid for online.
We ask for no card and block no amount. The reason is simple: comprehensive cover is included and the excess is zero, so there is no sum to guarantee. At pick-up we need a valid licence and an ID document for the main driver, and payment is made on the spot.
What you can reach from Olbia by car
Olbia is the gateway to Gallura and the Costa Smeralda. Porto Cervo and Baja Sardinia are under an hour away, San Teodoro and Cala Brandinchi half an hour to the south, Santa Teresa Gallura and the Strait of Bonifacio an hour and a half to the north. Ferries to La Maddalena leave from Palau, and cars go on board.
The prettiest coves in the area have no bus stop: you get there on short gravel roads and improvised car parks, and it pays to set off early. With unlimited mileage you can try three of them in a day without doing sums.