Hi - we will be arriving Ronda using the bus from Algeciras. Is there any tour or private drivers from Ronda to visit the nearby town (day trip?)
We were contemplating driving but if public transport is feasible we will consider public transport. Our final destination is Granada.
Thank you.
There is more than one white town. There are bunch in the area from about Arcos de la Frontera to Ronda, and from Zahara de la Sierra to Grazalema and south to Ubrique. To adequately see them, either a private driver or a rental car would be best. You’d spend a lot of time trying to see them using public transportation. As many are very small and have little to offer, they are best seen from a distance where one can appreciate the sun shining off the white-washed buildings. Some, like Arcos de la Frontera, Zahara de la Sierra, and Grazalema are worth spending time at. Others on this forum will have their favorites.
ts - Here is a link to a private driver based in Ronda.
https://servantrip.com/private-driver-ronda-3-hours-spain/
You should also be able to get private drivers through the information center next to the bullring (Plaza de Toros) in Ronda.
https://ronda-tour.com/en/home/private-driver/
https://www.likealocalguide.com/ronda/tours
Here is a list of whitewash villages (Pueblos Blancos) near Ronda:
Malaga, Marbella, Estepona, Fuengirola, Benalmadena
Renting a car would be a great deal cheaper than hiring a private driver.
I don't think you'll find a regular tour operating from Ronda to the white villages. There are one-day tours from Seville that go to Ronda and one or two other places. There may also be such tours from Malaga. I didn't consider those viable options, because I didn't want to rush through Ronda in an hour or two. If you want to have a decent amount of time in Ronda, you kind of need to do what you are doing--staying in Ronda itself.
I know one of the popular small villages is accessible as a day-trip from Ronda by public bus [edit: in April; cannot vouch for the off-season]. I don't remember whether that is Grazalema or Zahara de la Sierra; I'm out of town at the moment and don't have access to my trip notes.
If you want to use public transportation, I believe Arcos de la Frontera is most easily visited from Jerez; it would be farther from Seville or Cadiz, probably beyond reasonable day-tripping distance. If starting in Ronda, I think you'd first have to travel to one of those places, making it a horribly long (or perhaps impossible) day-trip.
We used these guys out of Ronda to do a day trip of the villages and we really liked them. They definitely know their stuff about the area so we got a lot of good info that we wouldn’t have if just driving on our own, although I’m sure that works out cheaper for multiple people. I would go back and try to do any of their other tours or cultural events on a future trip. I think they get a mention in newer RS books now.
Here is a list of whitewash villages (Pueblos Blancos) near Ronda:
Malaga, Marbella, Estepona, Fuengirola, Benalmadena
I wouldn't consider any of those as Pueblos Blancos in the sense that many people are looking for. Sure, they all contain whitewashed buildings but so does everywhere on the Costa Del Sol. Malaga is a major city with many interesting sites and whilst it does contain some whitewashed buildings it can never be considered comparable to somewhere like Ronda.
Benalmadena, Feugirola and Marbella all have pleasant old towns but they're now towns dedicated to tourism and have succumbed to the hotel and resort overdevelopment. Estepona is the only one out of the selection that has retained much of its charm.
