Málaga, Spain — Travel Tips
Getting There By Air
Flights to Málaga are served by a number of different airlines from the UK such as British Airways, Aer Lingus, Monarch and Thomson Flights. Cheap flights to Málaga are also available, thanks to budget carriers such as easyJet and Ryanair. If you’re looking for cheap flights to Málaga, avoid peak holiday seasons such as summer and Easter.
Pablo Picasso International Airport (AGP)
Tel: 902 404 704.
Website: www.aena.es
Málaga's airport lies 8 km (5 miles) southwest of the city center.
Airport facilities
Facilities at the airport include a tourist office, restaurants and cafes, car hire, tour operators, travel agencies, banking services, VIP lounges, meeting rooms, and a good choice of shops, including duty-free.
Transport to the city
Bus 19 runs to the city center every 30 minutes or so from outside the airport. Taxis also wait here. Less than five minutes away is the railway station on the Coastal Train (C1) light electric railway line. Trains run every 30 minutes or so east to Málaga city (Málaga María Zambrano) and west to Fuengirola via Torremolinos and other Costa del Sol resorts. You can normally head further into the center of Málaga to the Málaga Alameda station but this is currently closed for major works associated with the new Metro network.
Approximate flight times to Málaga
From London - 3 hours.
Getting There By Road
If you're driving to Málaga from Britain, your can take a ferry to Bilbao or Santander, which cuts down on road mileage and driver fatigue but is usually more expensive and takes longer than driving through France. The distance to Málaga from these two seaports is 953km (596 miles) and 937km (586 miles) respectively. The Spanish drives on the right hand side of the road. A full UK driving license is required and should include the photo ID. Road conditions in Málaga are generally good. Within the city, the speed limit is 50kph (31mph). * The speed limit on motorways in Spain has temporarily been reduced to 110kph (68mph). The new limit will remain in effect until the end of June 2011 at the earliest. The slowdown is intended to save energy in response to the surge in oil prices sparked by the unrest in Libya and elsewhere in the Arab world.
Emergency breakdown services
Spanish Royal Automobile Club (RACE) (tel: 902 404 545; www.race.es).
Routes to the city
There are two main routes to Malaga from Madrid and Barcelona: the E5 comes in from the north from Madrid, and the E15/A7 runs along the east coast from Barcelona. If you are driving from southern Portugal in the west, take the A92 and N331 while the E15 provides access from Gibraltar. Be wary when driving along the N340 Costa del Sol road, as it can become congested.
Coach services
Eurolines (tel: 0871 781 8178; www.eurolines.com) offers a service to Málaga from London Victoria Coach Station. The total journey time is around 36 hours.
Getting There By Rail
Rail Services
Trains to Málaga head to Málaga María Zambrano, Explanada de la Estacion (tel: (95) 236 0202), the city's main railway station.
Rail Operators
The Spanish rail network is operated by RENFE (tel: 902 240 202; www.renfe.es). A high speed AVE train services operates to Madrid. The C1 (Coastal Train) light electric railway service runs from the railway station to the airport and several resorts to the west as far as Fuengirola (journey time - 50 minutes). Trains run every 30 minutes. It normally runs right into the city center (Alameda station) but this is currently closed for works as part of the new Metro development.
Connections
To London via Paris and Madrid – 27 hours; to Madrid – 2 hours 30 mins.
Getting Around in Málaga, Spain
Public Transport
The only times you might need a bus or taxi is to the railway station (around 20 minutes walk from the center), or if you visit the beaches of Pedragalejo and El Palo.
The bus network is operated by Autobuses Urbanos EMT (tel: 902 527 200; www.emtsam.es). It runs an extensive service with over 30 routes covering the whole of the city, including three night service lines. Maps, routes and even a route planning service (in Spanish) can be found on their website.
When the new Metro system is completed, Lines 1 and 2 will both connect Malagueta with the train station via the center of town, before forking to different parts of the city's outlying areas. See www.metrodemalaga.info for details.
Taxis
Reliable taxi companies include Taxi Unión (tel: (95) 204 0804) and Unitaxi (tel: (95) 233 3333).
Car Hire
You won't need a car to get around the center of Málaga, but if you want to explore further afield several international and local car hire companies have offices at the airport, the railway station and in the city center.
They include Avis (tel: (95) 204 8483 - airport) or (95) 233 6881 - railway station); www.avis.com), Europcar (tel: 902 105 055 - airport or (95) 217 0860 - railway station; www.europcar.com) and Atesa-National (tel: (95) 204 8503 - airport or (95) 224 1469 - city; www.atesa.es). Online car rental companies and brokers offer very competitive deals for car hire in Málaga.
Always park in a secure place if possible, and beware of theft of belongings from vehicles.
Bicycle Hire
Málaga is gradually expanding its limited network of cycle paths. A few places offer cycle hire, with both mountain bikes and city bikes available, such as Málaga by Bike, Avenida Juan Sebastián Elcano 50, Pedragalejo (tel: (95) 229 7324; www.malagabybike.com).
