Travel to Málaga

Flying to Málaga

Airlines offering direct flights to Málaga from the UK include British Airways, easyJet, Monarch, Norwegian and Ryanair. Cheap deals are available year-round, but you need to book well ahead for the best prices during peak times such as Easter or school summer holidays. There are no direct flights from the USA; the quickest route is to fly to Madrid and take a connecting flight from there.

Flight times

From London - 2 hours 45 minutes; New York - 10 hours (including stopover); Los Angeles - 16 hours (including stopover); Toronto - 11 hours (including stopover); Sydney - 26 hours (including stopover).

Travel by road

If you’re driving to Málaga from the UK, 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. Road conditions within Málaga are generally good.

Traffic drives on the right and the minimum driving age is 18. The speed limit for cars and motorcycles is 120kph (75mph) on motorways, 100kph (62mph) on dual carriageways, 90kph (56mph) outside built-up areas and 50kph (31mph) within towns.

Valid national licences from EU countries are accepted, while nationals of other countries are advised to obtain an International Driving Permit. Third-party insurance is required and documents should be carried at all times. A Green Card is strongly recommended for all visitors and is compulsory for those from outside the EU.

Emergency breakdown services

Real Automóvil Club de España (RACE), tel: +34 900 100 992.

Routes

There are two main routes to Málaga 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.

Coaches

Alsa (www.alsa.es) runs buses from Málaga to other destinations within and beyond Spain.

Eurolines (tel: +34 902 405 040, in the UK; www.eurolines.com) offers a service to Málaga from London Victoria Coach Station, changing at Area Suco Interchange (total journey time - 36 hours).

Time to city

From Madrid - 5 hours; Barcelona - 9 hours; Seville - 2 hours 20 minutes; Granada - 1 hour 30 minutes.

Travel by Rail

Services

Trains to Málaga head to Málaga María Zambrano, Explanada de la Estacion, the city's main railway station. Spain has an excellent and efficient high-speed rail network.

Operators

RENFE (tel: +34 902 320 320; www.renfe.com) operates the Spanish rail network. High-speed AVE train services operate to Madrid and Barcelona.

The C1 (Coastal Train) light electric railway service runs from the railway station to the airport, the city centre (Alameda station) and several resorts to the west as far as Fuengirola (journey time - 50 minutes). Trains run every 30 minutes.

Journey times

From Madrid - 2 hours 20 minutes; Seville - 2 hours 30 minutes; Barcelona - 6 hours.