Málaga Travel Forum

Hi! This is our first visit to Spain and we would be in Malaga for a week in June. Can anybody suggest how do we visit the above places. Is it possible to do it on our own by taking the Spain saver pass. How many days pass do we need since we don't understand the system. We, however speak only English and have a child of 10 yrs. Also let me know of some reliable tour operators for day trips. thanks

If you will be staying in the city of Malaga you can catch the public service bus to Nerja or to Ronda but for Seville and Granada I would recommend a coach tour. If you will be in an hotel it will have contacts with tour operators and may even be a pick up point.
In my opinion you will be covering a lot of ground in only seven days & I think it would be attempting far too much to also do Madrid and Lisbon. I guess your 10 year old may enjoy a day or two doing kid's things - the beach possibly?

Don't worry too much about the language but do take a phrase book and learn some basic courtesy words - such as those for greeting, thankyou, please.
It makes a world of difference if you are seen to be trying.

Enjoy Spain.

if I understand right, you wanna spend just one day in each city? Because in my opinion thats ridiculous.. maybe you should short down your list and visit only Madrid at least for 2 days, lisbon for 2 days and e.g. sevilla for one day.. Its not only because you wont see anything, but you will be also very tired.. thats just my opinion..

We were in Spain last month and we rented a car. It was not very expensive, about $65 for 4 days. To me the convenience of having my own car is important. Our schedule was not dictated by a bus or train schedule. We didn't have to waste time waiting for the bus or train.

We landed in Malaga Airport and drove to Marbella (35 minute-drive) and stayed for two nights. We then drove up to Ronda (1 hour-drive) and stayed there for the night. We drove down to Malaga City (1 hour 10 minute-drive), one night, then off to Granada (1 hour 45 minute-drive), two nights. In Granada, we turned in the rental car as driving in those narrow roads, we were told, could get really hairy. I saw that was true. We walked all over the place. We flew from Granada to Madrid on one of the low-cost airlines. We stayed for 4 nights, and from Madrid home.

Parking were mostly free as I made sure the hotels we stayed in offered free parking.

I originally planned on taking a one-day trip to Morocco, but changed our plans as we wanted to take the trip a little more leisurely.

Malaga is a perfect place to have as your base. And I agree that renting a car for a few days is ideal ( and economical )as Seville, Granada, Ronda and Nerja are doable as day trips from here. I would be a little more hesitant to go to Madrid and Lisbon - they are just too far and in my opinion not doable as a day trip. Near Nerja, there is also the town of Frigiliana which is worth seeing and can be combined with seeing Nerja. Your child would also love the Nerja Caves which is just outside the town - follow the signs.

Shalom. Like Lori I would suggest not visiting Lisbon and Madrid if you are staying in Malaga for only a week. Seville is about 2.5 hours drive each way and Granada is about 2 hours each way. Nerja is east about 45 minutes and Rhonda is northwest about 45 minutes from Malaga. You could visit Cordova, which is also about 2 hours each way, but for Seville, Granada and Cordova you would be "wasting" a lot of time just driving. You could possibly spend a day or two in Granada, Cordova and Seville and then move down to Malaga.
Martin

Hi lifeisatrip! The car rental sounds great but need to know the agency thru which u booked. Do you need International Driving Licence or an Indian licence should do? Thanks a lot for the help

Hello again. We were just in Torremolinos ( near Malaga ) in January and rented a car through Bravo. Good service - they brought the car to our hotel. We did not need an international driver's licence, we just had our Canadian driver's licence and it was no problem. We got a car with a diesel engine as the diesel gas is cheaper than regular.

Here's the website for the carhire:

http://www.carjet.co.uk/common/customer_zone/index.php

I presented my US driver's license and a passport.

Good luck!
Sylvia

Raj, been wondering if you could be from India & it appears that you are.
i dont know if you have driven left-hand drives. check out on that.
how are u flying to Barca? i mean which airline? have you got you visa approved? also spend some time teaching yourself & fly some Spanish. language is a big problem even in touristy Barca - in Costa del Sol it gets bigger! :-).

Hi. I agree that to see all these places in a week is being VERY optimistic. No-one has mentioned the new fast track train AVE that goes from Malaga to Madrid in 2 and a half hours and if you book online I think its about 60euros return. So Madrid is possible but not for 1 day. You need 2 or 3 at least. Or you could forget Madrid and drive from Malaga to Nerja ( great caves and worth a visit)along the coast then up to Granada. Malaga to Nerja about an hours drive then up to Granada another hour top whack. Stay 2 nights in Granada and take in the Alhambra Palace(shouldnt visit Granada and NOT see the Alhambra)Then onto Seville for 2 nts If you do this you will pass Antequera where the station for the AVE stops for Madrid, so perhaps you could fit it in. Id forget Lisbon too.....much too far away unless you fly. Ronda is picturesque but only as a days trip out, and if you dont like driving mountain roads, then I wouldnt attempt to drive to Ronda from Malaga, the road is very high!
Whatever you decide..have fun.