Earliest bus Malaga to Ronda and restrooms onboard?

The company providing the fastest service currently seems to be Damas. I don't know that it has the earliest departure time, so I suggest doing some Googling.

http://www.damas-sa.es/index.php/rutas-y-horarios/

I have taken a lot of buses in Spain, and very few of them had on-board toilets. On one or two occasions there was a toilet, but the door was locked so it couldn't be used. The usual procedure is for long-distance buses to stop about every 2 hours or so for a toilet/smoke break. I wouldn't expect a break between Malaga and Ronda since the trip is scheduled to take just under 2 hours.

Bus stations normally have restrooms. They're generally in OK condition (though without the full-time minders you sometimes find elsewhere). You can't count on always finding toilet paper, soap, and a way to dry your hands, though.

Thank you! I've gone to the Damas website and it's impossible to book. I don't know what the issue is. So then I went to another recommended site...https://www.movelia.es/en/index.html?SessionID=bba92a84a1f0cb4ee7212939ce5a6940cffadae1
and it too didn't work. There was a 'contact agent' button, and a form popped up. So I translated the 'contact agent' form and the first thing they ask for is a lawyer!! YIKES! I just want to talk with someone about booking these tickets. ! I thought at first that the problem was that they didn't want me to book tickets (outbound and return) on the same day. So as the evening (return to Malaga) appears to be the most difficult to get, I tried booking that one first then was going to do a complete new booking to get there early in the day but I can't even do that. It keeps saying that the tickets can't be secured.... but they are showing as available... or at least as I'm able to initially select them, my presumption is that they are available. Anyone have any ideas? I know in the past sometimes booking with a US credit card can really be a painful, convoluted process in some European countries. Any ideas if that's the issue? One would think if it was, they would say so, but they don't. Instead it gets to the very end of the booking process after everything has been confirmed and then tells me the tickets can't be secured. Really need some help here as time is running out. We simply want to get Malaga to Ronda April 26th on the 8am bus and return Ronda to Malaga on the 8pm bus that same night, April 16th. MUCH MUCH appreciated if anyone has any ideas. Thank you!!

Did you call your credit card company and tell them you were charging a bus ticket in Spain? Sometimes companies flag purchases from other countries like Spain/Turkey, etc due to fraud. So first step is call your CC company.

It certainly could be a US-credit-card issue.

In general there is no rush to buy bus tickets. I can make no guarantees, but unless you're hitting a holiday/fiesta or something like that, you'll generally be OK to buy the tickets the day before you travel, and I have often bought mine just 30 minutes in advance. The biggest issue with that is the stress of wondering whether you'll get up to the ticket counter in time. I always use a vending machine if one is available. They don't have a problem with my US credit cards. Note that there is sometimes quite a line at the vending machines, too.

Thank you! You are correct in that it's the stress right now that's the killer LOL ... in a burst of desperate but creative problem solving, I reached out to the hotel where we're staying, explained the situation and asked if they might be able to secure tickets for us and simply add it to the hotel bill. I'm waiting to hear back from them. If they're unable to assist then yes, once we're in Spain perhaps we'll have better luck which will still be a few days in advance, and we can keep trying right up until the day we plan to leave from Malaga to Ronda. Thanks again for your information. It's much appreciated.