Getting here and around

Flights

Málaga–Costa del Sol (AGP) is the natural airport: 85 km west, an hour by car on the A-7, with direct flights all year from the UK, Ireland, Scandinavia, Germany and most of Europe. Granada (GRX) is 90 km away over the mountains and has fewer routes, mostly domestic plus a few European. Almería (LEI) is 130 km east. From Málaga the coast eastward is usually quicker than getting to Marbella, despite the distance.

From the airport by coach

ALSA runs a direct coach from Málaga airport (terminal 3, the bus stop outside arrivals) to Almuñécar – one departure a day all year, in the afternoon, with more services in summer. The journey takes an hour and three-quarters and the ticket costs around ten euros. In the other direction the coach leaves Almuñécar in the morning. Book at alsa.com – it fills up. The alternative is the bus or train into Málaga bus station and a change to one of the many ALSA coaches Málaga–Nerja–Almuñécar–Motril–Almería.

Airport → Almuñécar

ALSA direct, about 1 h 45 min, about €10

Málaga bus station → Almuñécar

ALSA, 10–15 a day, 1 h 30 min–2 h

Granada → Almuñécar

ALSA, about 10 a day, 1 h 15 min–1 h 45 min

Taxi from Málaga airport

about €110–130, 1 h

Hire car and driving

A hire car at the airport is most convenient if you are staying outside the centre. From Málaga: A-7/E-15 east past Nerja – the motorway is toll-free and the tunnels many. From Granada: A-44 south towards Motril and then the A-7 west, 1 h 15 min; or the winding but beautiful old road over the mountains via Otívar (A-4050), which takes longer. Driving from the UK is about 2,300 km via France – two long days.

In Almuñécar the streets are narrow and parking a sport. Paid street parking (blue zone) in the centre, car parks under the Paseo del Altillo and at Avenida de Europa, and free parking a little way up the valley. La Herradura has big free car parks on the edge of the village. The beaches towards Cantarriján and Cerro Gordo have few spaces – go early.

Coaches along the coast

The bus station is on Avenida Juan Carlos I, a few hundred metres from the beach. ALSA runs the whole coast: west to La Herradura, Nerja, Torrox and Málaga; east to Salobreña, Motril and on towards Almería; north to Granada. There is no railway – the nearest trains leave from Málaga and Granada (AVE to Madrid from both).

Locally

The town is walkable: from Velilla to Cotobro is half an hour along the shore. The town buses all depart from Plaza de la Carrera: Line 1 Circular around the town (see below), line 2 to La Herradura and Marina del Este eight or nine times a day, line 3 to Velilla and Taramay and line 5 to Torrecuevas. Single ticket €1. On summer evenings the Trópico Express tourist train runs along the promenades too. Taxis wait at the rank on Avenida de Europa or can be phoned; Almuñécar–La Herradura costs around €12–15. Cycling: the N-340 coast road is hilly and busy; bikes and e-bikes can be hired in La Herradura. In summer a shuttle bus runs down to Cantarriján.

The town bus: Line 1 Circular

The blue town bus Line 1 Circular loops around Almuñécar and is the easiest way to move between the centre, the beaches and Cotobro without a car. The loop starts and ends at Plaza de la Carrera on Carrera de la Concepción, opposite Carbonell, where all the town bus lines depart.

Outbound it follows the sea: Plaza Madrid, Paseo del Altillo, Peñón del Santo and the whole of Paseo de San Cristóbal past the Playa and Helios hotels, Mar del Sol and Chinasol, then through Rincón de la China and Los Ramos to the turning point at Playa de Cotobro. It returns by the upper road: Barrio Los Marinos, Avenida del Mediterráneo (N-340) past the IES Antigua Sexi school, Costa Banana, Albaicín del Mar and Avenida Costa del Sol back down to Plaza de la Carrera. Twenty-one stops in all.

The times on the stop signs are departures from Plaza de la Carrera; along San Cristóbal beach the bus comes 5–10 minutes later, in Cotobro a little later still. Be at the stop in time – the bus does not wait.

Single ticket €1, paid to the driver. Discount cards (bono) are available: 10 trips €8, 40 trips €30 and a 30-day pass with unlimited travel €41, plus a €4 deposit for the card. Registered residents aged 65 and over can apply to the town hall for the free M65 card.

Note: Since 13 April 2026 Paseo del Altillo has been closed for the rebuilding of Paseo de la Caletilla, expected to take about ten months. Meanwhile the bus runs via Calle Guadix straight down to Paseo de San Cristóbal, so the Paseo del Altillo and Peñón del Santo stops are skipped.

Fare

€1; 10 trips €8, monthly pass €41.

Other lines

2A and 2B to La Herradura and Marina del Este, 3A–3C to Velilla and Taramay, 5 to Torrecuevas – see the next section.

Operator

Grupo Fajardo (Roalfa), tel. +34 958 88 27 62.

Timetables

urbanosalmunecar.es – with a live map of where the bus is.

The other town bus lines: La Herradura, Velilla and Torrecuevas

The town bus has four more lines, all departing from Plaza de la Carrera – except the summer line 3B, which on weekdays starts at the bus station. The fare is the same as on the Circular, €1, and the discount cards are valid on every line. The times in the table are departures from the starting point.

• Line 2A Almuñécar–La Herradura – the fast morning bus west: Avenida Costa del Sol, Costa Banana and Mirador de Cotobro along the N-340, then La Herradura, the market hall and Paseo Andrés Segovia to Peña Parda at the western end of the bay and back. Only two departures on weekdays and one on Saturdays.
• Line 2B Almuñécar–La Herradura–Punta de la Mona – the main line west. The same way to La Herradura and on around Punta de la Mona: La Caleta, Hotel Fenicios, Punta de la Mona and Hotel Best Alcázar. Some runs, marked in the table, go down to the Marina del Este harbour; in winter the bus stops at Best Alcázar instead, and the descent is cancelled when the road is blocked.
• Line 3A Velilla–Taramay – east: the bus station, Puerta del Mar, Paseo Reina Sofía, Aquatropic and the whole of Velilla beach, then through Tesorillo, Pozuelo and Playa Cálida to the school in Taramay and back via Portichuelo and La Paloma. The winter workhorse; in summer it runs only twice and lines 3B and 3C take over.
• Line 3B Velilla (summer only) – every half hour between the bus station and Velilla, extended from mid-July to the roundabout at Playa de Cabria. On Sundays and holidays it runs from Plaza de la Carrera with fewer departures, some continuing to Taramay.
• Line 3C Taramay (summer only) – Portichuelo, Taramay and the Taramay schools, seven runs Monday to Saturday.
• Line 5 Torrecuevas (line 4 on the summer signs) – up the Río Verde valley: San Sebastián, the cemetery, Peñuelas and Venta Luciano to the village of Torrecuevas and Los Cahicillos.