Málaga Transportation

This bus is available at the main station for local buses. It has a tour cycle of 80 minutes to all stops along the guided way; a quick on/off for a lot of places. The buses operate every 30 minutes, and cost an astounding 17 Euro for an adult. The price is way too steep for me, and we did not take it to Gibralfaro and the to of the hill

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This bus takes you to and from the Gibralfaro Fortress. You can get most buses from Alameda Principal and the cost per ride is .85 cents in Euro. They run about every 1/2 hour to the site on top of the hill

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The cercanía is the commuter train service that runs around parts of Málaga and the towns/villages near by. It has two lines the C1 and the C2. The C1 is especially useful as it goes to the airport. It costs about €1.50 from the airport to the centre of the city (sometimes the cost is a little more or less, depending on the time and day).

Line 1 -
Centro-Alameda
María Zambrano
Victoria Kent
Guadalhorce
Aeropuerto
San Julián
Plaza Mayor
Los Álamos
La Colina
Torremolinos
Montemar-Alto
El Pinillo
Benalmádena-Arroyo de la Miel
Torremuelle
Carvajal
Torreblanca
Los Boliches
Fuengirola

Line 2 -
Centro-Alameda
María Zambrano
Victoria Kent
Los Prados
Campanillas
Cártama
Aljaima
Pizarra
Álora

Just back from a fantastic holiday near Malaga.

Our only gripe is the taxi service (con?) at Malaga airport. We were "poached" by Malaga Taxis, aka Spain Shuttle SL and a shark called Carlo Piran. They were holding up our name card at airport arrivals hall and escorted us into their taxis when we had already pre-paid with another company. Either they copied our name from the genuine taxi driver or this is an organised con. We ended up paying twice with no refund from either company.

Be warned and double check that the taxi driver picking you up is from the company you booked with! In any case, please do me a favour and steer clear of Malaga Taxi, Spain Shuttle SL and Carlo Piran!

Our return transfer was provided by Suntransfers.com and their service, price, cars and drivers were perfect.

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Trains run every 30 minutes between Malaga city centre and Fuengirola, stopping at Malaga Airport, Torremolinos, Benalmadena (Arroyo de la Miel) and several smaller stops en route.

Timetables can be found HERE

The following information was correct as at February 2011:

Trains leave Malaga Centro-Alameda on the hour and half past the hour from 05:30 – 22:30.

While Malaga Centro-Alameda is the final station on the line, and the shortest walking distance from the city centre, Maria Zambrano is actually the major station in the city with shops, food outlets and luggage storage. Maria Zambrano is the penultimate station on the line, around 3 minutes along the line from Malaga Centro-Alameda. We made the mistake of getting off at Centro-Alameda (despite the train having almost emptied at Maria Zambrano) and then had to walk back to Maria Zambrano to store our luggage for the day.

Malaga Airport is some distance out of Malaga, about half way between Malaga and Torremolinos.

Malaga Maria Zambrano to Malaga Airport takes 14 minutes and costs 1.55 Euro

Malaga Centro-Alameda to Torremolinos takes 27 minutes and is slightly more expensive at 1.65 Euros

Malaga Airport to Torremolinos takes 11 minutes and costs 1.55 Euros

Trains are modern, with TV screens on board that show the name of the next stop and the time to the next stop. Additionally, stops are announced in both Spanish and English.

Tickets can be purchased from interactive touch-screen machines at each station. You can choose from several language options available on screen, machines accept both notes and coins and change is given.

Use your ticket to enter the platform via a turnstile (which validates your ticket). Note: keep your ticket at hand as you'll need it at the end of your journey to exit the turnstile at your destination station.

Malaga Airport Taxis only take a maximum of 4 people including any children, if there are more than 4 people then it is advisable to book private Malaga Airport Transfers through a company such as Transfer Store..

To locate the Taxi rank you leave the Baggage Hall via the main exit. You then come into the arrivals Hall, take the first exit on the right. Just outside is the queue for the taxis.

During the peak times the queues can be quite long, up to twenty minutes, but at least you queue in the shade!

When it is busy there is usually a Security Guard organizing the Taxis which keeps any arguments at bay.

The Malaga Airport Taxis are not on a meter on the Costa Del Sol but they do have a book which lists all the fares that they should charge. They are not always forthcoming with the book, although they do produce it when asked.

There is also a list of Malaga Airport Taxis fares on the main airport wall, just by the taxi rank although sometimes this is covered up. As a guide you should allow around €70 euros to get to Puerto Banus and Marbella.

Establish the price before you get into the Taxi and if you are staying from Marbella Town to Gibralter ask the driver to use the peaje or toll road, it is an extra 5 euros in the summer but is far far safer and the journey times are far more predictable.

If your Spanish is not that great,or you would rather be met in the Arrivals hall by your own Private Driver, then please read our section on choosing a Transfer.

As well as Malaga Airport Taxis there are also facilities at Malaga Airport for Trains and of course the Bus.

If you are staying further away from the airport towards Marbella, it maybe worth hiring a car. There is not train at the moment in Marbella area so you have to rely on buses or taxis only. For the price of a taxi there and back it may not be much more to hire a car and be free to explore the rest of the Costa Del Sol. Car Hire is inexpensive and we provide both Malaga Airport driving directions and a Malaga Airport Map to help you on your way.

You can nearly go to everywhere with the bus.
The most urbans busses have a stop at "Alameda Principal" in the center of the city. From there you will have to choose the number of the bus you need.

Line 35. will take you to Gibralfaro
Line 11. to the Bullring

FARES:
ordinary ticket - 0.85 euros
(single, payment on Bus)
multitravel (10 trips) - 5.70 euros
(prepaid on smartcard) ... you have to pay 1.80 for the plastic card for multitravel

POINTS OF SALE for smartcard in any ESTANCO (places where you see tabaco and newspaper are sale)

yes...

You can check the predicted arrival and departure times of planes flying into and out of Málaga airport by using this link to the official Spanish airlines agency.

The page in English should be ready soon.