Spending 10 days in October in Spain and our last night will need to be near Malaga as we fly out of Airport early in morning.
I have two questions-We will be coming from Granada with a rental car. Has anyone had experience returning rentals at Malaga Airport? Don't know if it would be less hassle (but more $ surely) to return car day before we leave and take taxi to airport since we leave a early morning.
Also any opinion on if better to stay in Nerja or Malaga? Is Nerja worth extra distance-haven't heard much about Malaga?
Thanks, Jean
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
4555 posts
Returning a car to Malaga is pretty easy....you roll into the parking garage and into a spot for your rental company, then bring the paperwork to the in-garage booth...they do a quick check, and you're away. It can get very busy, and there is still a LOT of construction there, but early in the morning should be fine.
If you're going to be leaving early in the morning, getting from Nerja to Malaga airport will take you at least an hour. You have to cross almost all of Malaga to get to the airport on the A-7, and traffic along there can be murder during the morning rush hour (which, possibly lucky for you, is a little bit later than traditional North American rush hours.) Nerja would be a nice place to stay, but I, personally, get nervous unless I'm close to the airport.
Actually, the old section of Malaga is quite the place, and overlooked in Rick's books, much to my disappointment. There is an inexpensive Ibis hotel on the river running through Malaga (from 49 Euro/night) and it's only a few blocks across the river to the old part of Malaga. The hotel is also only about 1.5 kilometers (just under a mile) from the main train station in Malaga (Estacion Maria Zambrano). From there, you can catch a Cercanias (local commuter train to the airport) in about 15 minutes,...it's about 5-10 minutes from there to the check-in counters. There are two trains/hour seven days a week starting at 5:19 am. To double-check the commuter trains, click here. To check out the Ibis hotel, click here.
Posted by
San Jose, California, U.S.A.
117 posts
Jean, Malaga has a lot to offer. It has its Alcazaba, old moorish fort not as ornate as the Alhambra but a splendid view of the port and the sea. The recently opened Picasso Museum with over 200 pieces by Malaga's most famous son. Nowadays, its Antonio Banderas who is considered the famous son. The CAC, museum of contemporary art, is a delightful freebie. La Manguita,
Malaga's cathedral is indeed majestic. It is nicknamed La Manguita(one armed) because the second tower was never built. Here is the weekly newspaper in English that I used frequently during the five years I visited the Costa del Sol. www.surinenglish.com. Buen Viaje.
Luis
Posted by
OP
Paso Robles, CA
11 posts
Thanks Norm and Luis. I think we will return car in Malaga as soon as we get there and then spend last afternoon and evening looking around Malaga. I will look into your Hotel recommendation Norm.
Jean