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Arrival/Departure Malaga Airport - Granada > Sevilla - Transportation Options

Posted by (CA, USA) on

Hello,
Looking for suggestions/help on options for transportation and route of trip for my family of five (kids ages 15, 12, 10) in June. We are arriving and departing from Malaga due to frequent flier miles (yay). We would like to see Granada, possibly Nerja and Ronda and Sevilla. Originally I thought we would arrive, go to Granada for 2 or 3 nights, Nerja for 2 nights, Sevilla for 3 nights (stop in Ronda on the way if driving).

I see that having a car in Granada would be a pain, so would it be prudent to take a bus to Granada upon arrival at the Malaga airport? We won't need a car in Sevilla, so we would drop it at the train station upon arrival there if we had one. Or, if we omitted Nerja, maybe we could get by without a car at all by taking a bus or train from Granada to Sevilla?

I'd like to do the most economical option but open to makes the most sense in order to be able to see what we want and have flexibility. Thoughts?

Posted by
308 posts

Hi,
We flew into Malaga and transferred to Granada by bus. We took the Alsa bus from the Malaga train station. There is a train from the airport to the bus station. It was a very comfortable coach and the ride was smooth.

Posted by
27122 posts

It would be better to take a bus (faster) or train from the airport to Granada than to try to drive after an overnight flight. This webpage explains the availability of buses from the Malaga airport to Granada. It seems that there are seven buses a day. The departure schedule from the airport is here. Buses run more frequently from the city of Malaga. Scroll down for departure times.

Posted by
308 posts

I forgot to add the Granada train station is in the newer part of town. If you are staying in the Old town, it is best to grab a taxi right outside the entrance upon arrival.

Posted by
7175 posts

How many nights? 8??

Day
1. Arrive Malaga. Pick up car.
Drive to Nerja (1N)
2. Drive to Granada (2N)
3. Alhambra
4. Drive to Ronda (1N)
5. Drive to Sevilla (2N). Drop off car
6. Sevilla
7. Train to Cordoba (1N)
8. Train to Malaga (1N)
9. Depart Malaga

Posted by
266 posts

I suppose if I omitted Nerja we could bus to Granada and pick up a car in Granada when we leave. I don't want to deal with the hassle of a car in Granada. I'm now thinking we could also just skip the car altogether and take the train. However, I imagine that would prove more expensive, yet could be more relaxing.

Is Nerja worth a stop? I thought it might be nice to ease into since that first day will be a wash, but I also don't want to waste precious time.

Posted by
7175 posts

I haven't been to Nerja or Malaga (the coast was off limits when I was visiting Granada due to piles of rotting garbage in the streets because of a strike by collectors) but I think it works well on your first day for the reasons you mention. Only you can decide if you want to get a car. ALSA is the bus line to look at if that's the way you choose to go.

Posted by
28 posts

We are flying into Malaga, renting a car to drive along the coast and spending a night in Nerja, then returning the car before we take a bus into Granada for a few days. My husband has a thing where he needs to experience driving in every country we travel to, but also we wanted to be able to wander along the coast. I was reading the other recommendations of not having a car in Granada, so we are really only doing it for the 24hr side trip.

Posted by
266 posts

That's what we are thinking now, as well. But can't you just return the car in Granada? Or are the fees too high?

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