Getting Around Málaga: The Airport, Trains, Metro, Buses and Taxis, and the Day Trips by Train and Bus

Málaga is an easy city to arrive in. The airport has its own station on the C1 line, 12 minutes from the centre by Aena’s timing, and an express bus that stops on the Alameda Principal. Once you’re in town, the old centre is best on foot, and the buses, the metro and taxis fill the gaps.

What follows covers the airport, the city’s buses, metro and taxis, the C1 along the Costa del Sol, the high-speed trains, and how to reach the Caminito del Rey, Ronda, Nerja and Granada without a car. Fares are those published in October 2026 by Renfe, EMT, Metro de Málaga, the city council, Aena and the operators.

Málaga Airport (AGP)

Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport has its own Cercanías station, and EMT’s express bus and the taxi rank are at arrivals. For where to base yourself, see where to stay.

Airport to the centre: the three options

1. The C1 train (the best choice for most people) The C1 Cercanías line, between Málaga Centro Alameda and Fuengirola, stops at the airport. Aena gives the journey as 8 minutes to María Zambrano, the high-speed station, and 12 minutes to the centre. Renfe says Málaga’s Cercanías trains run about every 20 minutes; at night, the C1 normally runs every 30.

Fares go by zones. Renfe’s singles, in October 2026, are €1.80 for one or two zones, €2.05 for three, €2.70 for four and €3.60 for five; a return is double. You can buy a ticket at the machines, or tap a contactless bank card or phone at the barriers. If you pay by card, tap out at the end too: if you don’t, Renfe charges the fare for every zone in the network. From the fifth journey in a calendar month on the same card, Renfe takes 40% off.

2. The express bus, line A EMT’s Línea Express Aeropuerto, line A, runs from the arrivals stop to Paseo del Parque, by way of the bus station and the Alameda Principal. It’s a flat €4, and Aena says luggage travels free. Pay on board in cash or with a contactless Visa or Mastercard, buy a QR ticket in the EMT Málaga app, or use the kiosk by the exit door of the arrivals terminal. EMT says buses run every 20 to 25 minutes at peak times. EMT’s multi-trip and monthly passes don’t cover line A, and the Consorcio’s transport card pays the same €4.

3. Taxi Taxis wait at the rank at arrivals, and Aena names Taxi Unión and Unitaxi as the companies at the airport. Málaga’s taxi tariffs for 2026 were authorised by the Junta de Andalucía on 9 February 2026, and the city council’s tariff sheet, updated on 11 March 2026, sets a minimum fare from the airport:

Málaga city council’s 2026 urban tariffs. Different hours apply during the August Fair, Easter Week, and on 24 and 31 December and 5 January.

On top of the fare, each bag in the boot is €0.58, and between midnight and 6 AM there’s a €2.23 night supplement on tariffs 5 and 9. Going the other way, trips to the airport carry a €6.49 supplement. Aena’s own taxi page still shows the 2025 figures, a €17.37 minimum on weekday daytimes, for example: the city’s sheet is the current one.

Uber and Bolt: Aena lists both. Uber passengers meet their driver in the exclusive parking area, at Priority park T3, floor 0; Bolt picks up in the arrivals car park, floor 0.

Coaches from the airport: Avanza runs to Marbella bus station, and Alsa to Nerja, Granada, Seville and Motril, Aena says. They’re useful if you’re heading straight out of Málaga.

Walking and EMT buses

Walk the old centre: on foot is the way to see it, and the sights guide covers what’s there. The C1 ends at Málaga Centro-Alameda, line A stops on the Alameda Principal, and metro line 1 reaches the centre at Atarazanas, on the Alameda Principal: start walking from there.

For anywhere further, EMT, the city’s bus company, has the network. Its 2025 fares have been extended through 2026:

• Single ticket: €1.40, bought on board in cash, with a contactless Visa or Mastercard, or as a QR ticket in the app. It allows no changes and isn’t valid on line A. Drivers aren’t obliged to change notes over €5.
• The EMT bus card: a €1.90 deposit, refundable within a year, from EMT’s network of tobacconists and kiosks or its customer centre. Load 10 journeys for €5 (or 20 or 30), valid for a year. They give free changes between different lines for an hour, and several people can travel on one card on the same journey.
• Monthly: unlimited travel for a month, €23.95, loaded on the same card.

The Consorcio card. The Consorcio de Transporte Metropolitano del Área de Málaga sells a stored-value card that works on EMT’s buses, the city buses of Torremolinos and Benalmádena, the metro, Renfe’s Cercanías and the Consorcio’s own intercity buses. It costs a €1.50 fee, takes top-ups from €5, and up to 15 people can pay with it. From 15 July to 31 December 2026, an EMT journey on it costs €0.83 and a metro journey €0.49. For buses inside the city, EMT’s own card works out cheaper, at €0.50 a journey; the Consorcio card earns its keep if you’re also using the metro, the C1 and the coast’s buses.

Fares from EMT, Metro de Málaga and the Consorcio.

The metro

Metro de Málaga has two lines. Line 1 runs from Andalucía Tech to Atarazanas, with 13 stations; line 2 runs from Palacio de los Deportes to Guadalmedina. They meet at El Perchel, which connects with the AVE, regional and Cercanías trains and the intercity bus station, and at Guadalmedina, where you change on the same platform. From line 2, change at Guadalmedina for Atarazanas. An extension of line 2 towards the Civil and Materno Infantil hospitals is planned.

For a visitor, its main use is the hop between María Zambrano and the centre: it doesn’t go to the airport.

• Hours: Monday to Thursday, 6.30 AM to 11 PM; Fridays and the eves of holidays, 6.30 AM to 1.30 AM; Saturdays, 7 AM to 1.30 AM; Sundays and holidays, 7 AM to 11 PM. There are special services at Easter Week and the August Fair.
• Frequency: every 4 minutes 45 seconds at the weekday peaks, and every 12 minutes late on Friday and Saturday nights.
• Fares: the Billete Ocasional holds 1 to 9 trips at €1.35 each, on a €0.30 card. Metro Pay charges the same €1.35 a trip to a contactless bank card, phone or watch; leave the station with the same card or phone you entered with. The stored-value Tarjeta Monedero takes €5 to €25 and charges €0.49 a trip from 1 June to 31 December 2026.
• Groups: one ticket can be validated for up to nine people within three minutes, but the whole group has to enter and leave together.

Taxis in the city

The city’s 2026 tariffs (the council’s sheet, updated on 11 March 2026):

The €2.23 night supplement applies between midnight and 6 AM on tariffs 2 and 3, and bags in the boot are €0.58 each. Trips from the cruise terminal, the Estación Marítima de Levante, have a €9.45 minimum. During the official periods of the August Fair and Easter Week, tariff 2 applies from 6 AM to 8 PM and tariff 3 from 8 PM to 6 AM.

The C1 along the Costa del Sol

The C1 is the coast’s railway. From the centre it calls at María Zambrano, the airport, Plaza Mayor and Los Álamos, then Torremolinos, Benalmádena-Arroyo de la Miel and Los Boliches before ending at Fuengirola. Renfe gives Torremolinos as 19 minutes from María Zambrano; from the airport, Aena gives 18 minutes to Benalmádena and 34 to Fuengirola. Fares are the zone fares above, from €1.80 to €3.60 single.

The Consorcio card is accepted on the Cercanías and on the town buses of Torremolinos and Benalmádena, which makes it the better card for a stay on the coast. The beaches guide covers the beaches themselves.

The other line, the C2, runs inland from Málaga Centro-Alameda to Álora. In September 2025, the Ministry of Transport said it was working on taking the C1 from every 20 minutes to every 15, and that this needs the track doubled between Torremolinos and El Pinillo and between Benalmádena and Campo de Golf.

Long-distance trains from María Zambrano

Málaga María Zambrano, the high-speed station, is open from 5 AM to 12.45 AM. High-speed trains leave from here, and it connects with the C1 and C2, the metro and buses.

• Madrid: Renfe’s AVE and Avlo trains run to Madrid Puerta de Atocha – Almudena Grandes. Since 17 July 2026 Renfe has run 174 trains a week between the two; one of the July additions leaves Málaga at 17.52 and reaches Madrid at 20.41.
• Córdoba and Seville: Renfe’s Avant trains run Málaga–Córdoba–Seville: 14 trains on weekdays and 8 on Saturdays and Sundays, from 1 May 2026.
• Granada: yes, there’s a direct train. Renfe lists an Avant service between Málaga and Granada, with six trains a day since it returned on 30 April 2026.
• Barcelona: from 14 September 2026, the AVE to Barcelona leaves Málaga at 15.50 and reaches Barcelona Sants at 23.00.

Your AVE or long-distance Renfe ticket includes a free Cercanías journey, the Combinado Cercanías: use it for the C1 to the airport or the coast.

Day trips by train and bus

For what to do once you’re there, the three-day plan covers the Caminito del Rey and Nerja.

The Caminito del Rey

The Caminito del Rey is a walkway through the gorge of the Desfiladero de los Gaitanes Natural Park, less than 60 km from Málaga, and the day trip most worth booking ahead. The route runs one way, north to south, from Ardales to Álora: 8 km with the paths in and out, and three to four hours, its operator says.

• Tickets (October 2026): €10 general, or €18 for the official guided visit, in groups of up to 30, in Spanish and English. There’s a limit of 10 tickets per purchase. Buy them on caminitodelrey.info: the Visitors’ Reception Centre doesn’t sell them.
• Rules: under-8s can’t go, and over-8s must bring original ID to prove their age. It’s open Tuesday to Sunday, plus some Mondays, and closed on 24, 25 and 31 December and 1 January. There are no changes or refunds, but if it closes for bad weather you can exchange your ticket for another date, subject to availability.
• By train: get off at El Chorro – Caminito del Rey, in Álora, at the southern end. The Caminito’s site says Renfe’s regional trains stop there daily; on working days there are 5 trains from Málaga to El Chorro and 6 back, including C2 trains extended beyond Álora, Renfe says. Check the times on renfe.com and book a Caminito slot that fits them.
• The shuttle bus to the start leaves from the train platform at El Chorro and takes 15 to 20 minutes to the stop near El Kiosko restaurant. It’s €2.50 for unlimited trips that day, paid in cash on board, with no cards, or bought online with your ticket; the Consorcio lists it as line M-347. The official site gives its hours differently on different pages (7.40 AM to 7 PM in English, to 8 PM in Spanish, and departures from the south end every 30 minutes from 8.30 AM to 4.30 PM), so check on the day. From El Kiosko, the entrance is a 25-minute walk by the shortest route, and you must be at the gate 30 minutes before your time.
• By car: 59.1 km from Málaga, a little over 50 minutes, and the Visitors’ Reception Centre’s car park is €2 a day.

Ronda

Take the bus. Málaga bus station, on Paseo de los Tilos, lists Ronda buses run by Damas, Avanza and Sierra de las Nieves. The fastest Damas buses take 1½ to 2 hours; Avanza’s go by way of Marbella and take over 3. The bus station lists the single fare as €12.72.

The train is the poor option in 2026, because of Adif’s works on the line. From 30 April, Renfe said, its Ronda passengers would travel by bus between Antequera Santa Ana and Ronda, and in June it described the railway beyond Ronda, to the Campo de Gibraltar, as temporarily unavailable. Check renfe.com before planning on a train.

Nerja

Alsa runs 47 buses a day from Málaga to Nerja, from the bus station on Paseo de los Tilos and from Puerto Málaga, on Avenida Manuel Agustín Heredia; Alsa also runs from the airport. The journey takes 45 minutes to 2 hours depending on the stops, and the first bus leaves at 6.30 and the last at 23.05. The bus station lists the single fare as €5.48.

Granada and the Alhambra

• By train: Renfe’s Avant, six a day, direct from María Zambrano.
• By bus: Alsa runs 40 buses a day, taking 1½ to 2½ hours, and advertises fares from €8; the bus station lists the single fare as €13.76.

If you’re going for the Alhambra, book it before anything else: the Patronato warns of high demand, and dates show as sold out. The general daytime ticket is €22.27, at the prices set by an order of 17 July 2025, plus a service fee online. From 15 October to 31 March it opens daily from 8.30 AM to 6 PM.

• Tickets are named, personal and non-transferable; carry original ID. Entry to the Nasrid Palaces must be at the time on your ticket.
• Advance tickets are sold until 23.59 the day before, with a limit of 10 per person, bank card and month. Under-12s go free, but need a ticket bought at the same time as the others.
• Buy early: the Patronato recommends buying ahead because of demand. If a date shows as sold out, look again later: it can release tickets from its institutional quota.

Driving and hire cars

Don’t hire a car for Málaga itself: the C1, buses, metro and taxis cover the city and the coast. A car makes sense for the white villages or for reaching the Caminito del Rey on your own timetable.

If you do drive, mind the Zona de Bajas Emisiones (ZBE), Málaga’s low-emission zone in the centre. Since 30 November 2025, cars and motorbikes without a DGT environmental label can’t enter unless they’re registered (domiciled) in Málaga. From 30 November 2026, the same applies to B-label cars and motorbikes. Vehicles with the CERO, ECO or C labels can still drive in, as can taxis and VTC. Cameras read number plates, so no sticker is needed, and driving in with a car that doesn’t qualify is a €200 fine. Check your hire car’s label before you drive into the centre.

Skip it

What to skip

• Caminito and Alhambra tickets from anyone but the official sites. The Caminito’s operator warns that tickets from unauthorised sellers aren’t guaranteed to be genuine, and the Alhambra’s Patronato calls its own website the only official and guaranteed channel, always at the official price.
• The train to Ronda in 2026. Renfe’s own arrangement this year put Ronda passengers on a bus from Antequera Santa Ana; the direct bus from Málaga is simpler.
• Line A on an EMT card. The card doesn’t cover it, so you’ll pay €4 on top; the C1 is cheaper if you’re going to the Alameda.
• The metro for the airport. It doesn’t go there.
• A hire car for the city. The low-emission zone and the €200 fine aren’t worth it when the C1 does the coast.

A few things worth knowing

• Tap out on the Cercanías if you paid by card at the barrier, or you’ll be charged the top fare.
• Your AVE ticket includes a Cercanías journey, the Combinado Cercanías.
• One EMT card or metro ticket can cover a group travelling together; the Consorcio card covers up to 15 people.
• Carry small notes on EMT buses: drivers needn’t change notes over €5.
• Cash for the Caminito shuttle, unless you’ve bought it online with your ticket.
• Feria and Easter Week change the taxi tariffs, and the metro runs special services.

Málaga rewards a car-free trip: the train from the airport, your feet in the centre, and the train or bus for the day trips.

Questions

How do I get from Málaga airport to the city centre?

The C1 train takes 12 minutes to the centre, Aena says, with Renfe singles from €1.80. EMT’s line A express bus is a flat €4 to the Alameda Principal and Paseo del Parque. A taxi from the airport has a 2026 minimum fare of €18.24 on weekday daytimes, €22.48 or €25.80 at other times.

How much is a taxi from Málaga airport?

Málaga’s 2026 tariffs set a minimum fare from the airport of €18.24 on working weekdays from 6 AM to 10 PM, €22.48 at weekday nights and weekend daytimes, and €25.80 late on Fridays and at weekend nights, with €1.05 to €1.43 per km. Each bag in the boot is €0.58.

Is there a direct train from Málaga to Granada?

Yes. Renfe lists an Avant service between Málaga and Granada, with six trains a day since it returned on 30 April 2026. Alsa also runs 40 buses a day, taking 1½ to 2½ hours.

How do I get to the Caminito del Rey without a car?

Take a Renfe train to El Chorro – Caminito del Rey station, then the €2.50 shuttle bus from the platform to the start, near El Kiosko restaurant. Pay the shuttle in cash or buy it online with your ticket. Tickets for the walk are €10 on caminitodelrey.info.

Do I need a car in Málaga?

No. The C1 covers the airport and the coast, and EMT buses, the metro and taxis cover the city. The centre is a low-emission zone, and from 30 November 2026 it also bars B-label cars registered outside Málaga.