To and From Malaga Airport
The international airport Malaga-Costa del Sol airport is located only 8 km from Malaga city centre.
The airport is very well connected by public transport, with the suburban train directly serving the airport from Malaga city centre and Fuengirola, and a bus line linking to Marbella bus station.
By Cercanías commuter train
Just outside the terminal 3 across the street is situated the commuter train station.
The train C-1 connects the airport with Malaga city and all the mayor resorts on the western Costa del Sol such as Torremolinos, Benalmádena and Fuengirola, where it has its last stop.
Until now there is no train available to go to the resorts further west, such as Marbella or Estepona.
To reach these destinations, you will have to get a bus (from Malaga airport or Fuengirola Bus station) or a direct transfer from Malaga airport.
The ticket machines for the commuter train have on the bottom left a multi-language button which includes English.
You have to buy your ticket before boarding the train and retain it for use at the exit turnstiles.
Cercanías train Malaga airport to Malaga city
Travel time between Malaga airport and Malaga city centre is 11 minutes, which makes this by far the most comfortable, cheapest and fastest option to get into the city.
The main train stations in Malaga city centre are Malaga Maria Zambrano Main Station, with metro, medium and long distant trains. In the station is also located a large shopping centre and even cinemas, in case you want o make a stop-over there.
Just over the street is situated the Malaga Main Bus Station. This is where you need to go to catch you bus to the municipalities on the eastern Costa del Sol (for instance Nerja), as there is no commuter train service available.
The last station of the commuter train in Malaga city is Malaga Centro Alameda, which is about 8 minutes walking distance from the famous artery of the city, Larios Street.
Timetables
The train C-1 runs every 20 minutes and takes 11 minutes between airport and Malaga city centre.
The first train from Malaga Centro Alameda to the airport leaves at 5:20 am. The last one leaves at 11:30 pm.
The first train from the airport to Malaga Centro Alameda to the airport leaves at 6:44 am. The last one leaves at 00:44 am.
Cercanías train Malaga airport to western Costa del Sol municipalities
The train C-1 runs every 20 minutes and takes 34 minutes between airport and last station Fuengirola.
The first train from the airport to Fuengirola leaves at 5:32 am. The last one leaves at 11:42 pm.
The first train from Fuengirola to the airport leaves at 6:10 am. The last one leaves at 00:20 am.
The route of this line includes the following stops
- Airport
- Plaza Mayor Shopping centre
- Los Alamos (Torremolinos)
- La Colina (Torremolinos)
- Torremolinos centre
- Montemar-Alto (Torremolinos)
- El Pinillo (Torremolinos)
- Benalmadena-Arroyo de la Miel
- Torremuelle (Benalmadena)
- Carvajal (Benalmadena)
- Torreblanca (Fuengirola)
- Los Boliches (Fuengirola)
- Fuengirola
By Bus
Express Bus Malaga airport – city centre
The AIRPORT EXPRESS LINE connects the airport with the centre of Malaga with a frequency of 30-45 minutes during rush hour. The bus stop is situated just outside arrivals.
The advantage of the bus compared to the suburban train is that it also connects to other stops not served by the train and drops passengers off directly in the city centre between the Paseo del Parque and the port, without having to walk further, as is the case with the train.
Timetables
At this link you can find the timetables of the express bus with departures from Paseo del Parque (the first one leaves at 6:25 am) and from the airport (the first one leaves at 7 am).
Please note that the journey time depends on traffic, which can vary considerably at peak times. It can take between 15 and 25 minutes.
Bus Malaga airport – Marbella
Just outside the main arrivals hall you find a ticket sales box where to purchase bus tickets to Marbella Bus station. Travel time is around 40 minutes.
You can also purchase your ticket online here which we strongly recommend, especially in high season.
Bus timetables and frequency depend on the season but even in winter there are more that 20 connections a day.
Bus Malaga airport – Estepona
Also, this bus leaves from outside the main arrivals hall. There are not so many connects a day as to Marbella, but still there are running ten busses a day.
You can buy your ticket at the office or online in advance. As said before, we strongly recommend to purchase your ticket already online in high season, at this link.
By Taxi
Getting a taxi is the easiest way to get easy and fast to your holiday destination. Yet please take into account that during high season there is also a huge demand, which can lead to long queues and waiting times.
If you want o avoid such situations, we recommend booking your taxi in advance.
The advantage is that you pay a closed price without any unpleasant surprises, transfer services are usually excellent and the drivers are multilingual.
With our recommended taxi services you pre-book your taxi online and pay on arrival. You can check out prices here.
Taxi fares
Current Taxi fares (December 2023) from Malaga airport start right away with an airport supplement (5.50 €) which also varies during night time or special events such as the August fair or Easter week.
The rates vary during day time, night time, week days or holidays. Thus, the rates we give are an approximate.
- Malaga city centre: Around 20€
- Nerja: Between 80€ and 95€.
- Torremolinos: Between 14€ and 17€.
- Benalmádena town: Between 26€ and 30€.
- Benalmádena coast: Between 20€ and 22€.
- Fuengirola: Between 32 € and 37€.
- Cala de Mijas: Between 41€ and 48e.
- Marbella: Between 60€ and 71€.
- Puerto Banús: 74€ and 87€.
- Estepona: 92€ and 109€.
By Car
Malaga airport is located in the centre of the Costa del Sol and counts with good road access, so hiring a car at Malaga airport is one of the best ways to move around Malaga.
Especially, when taking into account the prices of a single taxi trip to some of the further away located holiday destinations, depending on the season, you could actually hire a car at Malaga airport for a whole week for that price.
In the end decision to hire a car depends basically on your plans at your holiday destination, for instance if you plan to explore the area and move around a bit or you prefer staying in your hotel.
On the other hand, many people might feel insecure about the whole process of hiring a car and get scammed.
Check out our recommended trustworthy car hire companies at Malaga airport.
Futhermore, perhaps you have never driven a car abroad. In this respect, we can reassure you. The road system in Malaga is very good and you can easily reach all the coastal towns by motorway A-7 and the toll motorway AP-7. The latter we highly recommend during peak travel seasons.
Feel free to take a look at the following map, where you can see the different ways to get to Malaga airport:
MALAGA AIRPORT
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Malaga guide
