We are planning a long sightseeing trip to Marbella. I like the idea of finding nice things to see in Marbella hence my research in advance, but I don't want to spend too high a budget on parks etc. Can you recommend best beaches or where to stay to see old buildings and historic sites for example ? and what transport options are there as we will be flying to Malaga airport ? I really do not like the idea of car hire excess and we don't have a credit card anyway, so alternative travel options will be a must. Thank you
Posted by
2 posts
There are plenty of amazing beaches to choose from and to discover of you fancy more sightseeing.
Try Playa de Alicate for a first suggestion of what is available. You won't be disappointed..this is a very popular beach. It's about 10 km from Marbella centre and is about 2kms of sandy shore.
For more of a golden sandy beach you'll need to visit Playa Real de Zaragoza. The beach is so big that we always seem to get a good less crowded spot.
Travel options from malaga airport are car hire- which you already said you were against so I won't reccommend any!
There is a train although I've never done this myself.
And then there is a taxi transfer option directly to your accommodation. We like and use https://www.marbellataxis.com as you don't have to pay on line which I hate.
There's also an old quarter of Marbella which I think you will enjoy visiting. Look for plaza del Los Neranjos. It has the characteristics of an Arabic era although it's paths lead to pleasant squares.
Posted by
Portsmouth
5274 posts
How long do you intend to sightsee in Marbella? It's a nice enough town but other than the Old Town there's not much that I'd consider worth seeing. If you start out at the Plaza de los Naranjos, a very pretty square albeit reasonably small, there are many narrow, winding paths leading to a number of shops, bars, restaurants etc, a nice enough place to spend several hours but that's about it. The rest of Marbella is along the lines of much of the Costa Del Sol, heavily urbanised with lots of hotels and tourist infrastructure.
I can't recommend any beaches as we prefer to spend time by the pool (I can't stand the sand getting everywhere!) but there's no shortage of them. What's more interesting than Marbella is the surrounding area, many day trips to consider to visit some fantastic places however a car really is the best option. If you don't like paying the excess why not take out separate car hire insurance? I have an annual policy that covers me for rentals in Europe and the US and is around £30, there are a number of companies online that offer such insurance. Of course the rental company might insist on a holding charge on a credit card, are you able to get one just for this purpose?