My husband and I want to go to Grenada and Gibraltar, and we're thinking of staying in Malaga for these side trips. But it looks like Rick doesn't have much to say about Malaga? Would it be a good base city or should we stay somewhere else?
Posted by
Bristol, UK
1411 posts
Malaga is a great place to stay and it’s easy enough to get to Granada from there by bus or train. It’s on the coast so it’s not exactly central to a lot of places but it’s connected by high speed train. It’s a lovely city to spend time in with the sea and a beach so you can get a mix of city life and chill out time.
Most people do not like Gibraltar so I would not bother going there. Cordoba would be more worthwhile.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
7162 posts
It’s between the two, about 1.75 hours (driving) from each, so should work well. To get to Gibraltar you’ll need to take the train to Algeciras, then take a bus to La Linéa. The bus ride is about 20 minutes. If using public transportation, getting to Gibraltar could take as long as 3 hours each way.
At Gibraltar, if going to see the apes, they will run off with anything they can get their hands on, hats, glasses, food, purses, etc. Also remember that they can get nasty. Our last trip there was 1994 and we had a rental car, so we just drove across the border.
Posted by
Vienna, Austria
5511 posts
You will regret not staying a few nights in Granada. Malaga is ok. Beaches are kinda gross compared to US beaches.
Posted by
Massachusetts, USA
1700 posts
As much as I love Malaga, I would spend 2 or 3 nights in Granada. You could easily spend almost a whole day at the Alhambra. Also do the night tour of the Alhambra, in addition to seeing it during the day. It's magical at night! There are other interesting sites in Granada, and it's an interesting city to explore.
How long is your trip? You could spend the other nights in Malaga. What time of year? I notice that Emily doesn't like the beaches. I can't speak to that as we were there in late September and didn't go swimming but we enjoyed walking along the beach. But there is a lot to see and do in Malaga. And the seaside promenade is very nice and you can have a drink watching the sunset over the port. Malaga doesn't get the recognition it deserves, and Rick treats it primarily as a transportation hub, which I think is wrong.
Spending several nights in Granada and several nights in Malaga would make a wonderful trip. I can't speak to Gibraltar as I haven't been there.
Posted by
Washington DC
28100 posts
I enjoyed Malaga (but didn't pay any attention to the beaches). However, it is an extremely poor substitute for spending a least two nights in Granada. Traveling back and forth from Malaga on a day trip would give you far less than one full day in Granada, which would be a real shame.
I'd say the same thing about Seville. It's larger and really needs considerably more time than Granada.
Andalucia is very large. There's really nowhere you could stay and make effective day trips to the key destinations in that part of Spain.
One exception: Cordoba's close enough to Seville that a daytrip by train is possible, though many of us would say it's very worthwhile to spend a night (or two or three) in Cordoba.