Málaga, a port city in the south of Spain is known for its beautiful beaches. We went there in December, so, this blog post will tell you what to do if you can’t or won’t do water activities.
Day 1 – Museums
Málaga is the birthplace of Picasso. So, a visit would be incomplete without a visit to the Picasso museum. The entrance fee is 9 euros. And do take the free audio tour along with it.
I would also recommend the Málaga museum (1.5 Euro entrance ticket!), it is extremely informative and tells you about the history of Málaga from the Phoenicians -> Romans -> Moors -> Christians phases.
Day 2 – Caminito Del Rey (Royal Walk)
Caminito Del Rey is an interesting hike about an hour from Málaga. The hard part is getting there and getting back in time as the trains are infrequent.
First, you need to buy the ticket for Caminito Del Rey in advance (10 Euro without and 18 Euro with a guide). Book for around 11 AM.
Then you need to get to El Chorro station using the Renfe Train. The earliest train is at 8:45 AM and it costs 6.25 Euro each way. Once you reach El Chorro, go to the bus station on the left side. It would be tempting to start walking downwards, but don’t do that, go left and wait for the bus. I made the mistake and missed the 10 AM bus. There is a bus every 30 minutes. So, I took the next bus at 10:30 AM (for 1.55 euros). The bus drops you off where all the cars are parked. I reached there at around 10:50 AM. And from there, walked 2.7 km to the ticketed entrance for Caminito Del Rey. I reached the ticketed entrance around 11:25 AM. And then finished the rest of the 5 KM hike by 12:46 PM. The hike finishes close to the El Chorro station, so, this gave me ample time for the 1:51 PM train (including buying the ticket online). The next train was at 9 PM! Even though Google claims there is a train at 6 PM. And depending on which blog you read, either the bus route to Málaga does not exist or is very convoluted.
The hike isn’t scary if you have done hikes like Half Dome or Angel’s Landing. It is fun and involved to get to. The fear of missing the 2 PM train, made it less enjoyable.
Day 3 – More things around the city
Roman ruins of an amphitheater and a church (that’s accessible for free around 6:30 PM), and beaches, in case you decide to visit.
There are caves. Sadly, we learn about the caves on the last day when it was too late to visit.