What the Trópico Express is
The Trópico Express is Almuñécar's tourist train: a road train with a locomotive and open carriages on rubber wheels that spends the summer doing an hour-long loop along the promenades and through the centre. It has been running for decades – the town was an early adopter of this kind of articulated vehicle – and is driven by Fernando Matías. The bells carry a long way, children wave, and for many families a ride on the train is as much a part of the evening as the ice cream afterwards.
The loop is practical too: in the evening the train takes you from the beaches at San Cristóbal and Chinasol through the centre to Puerta del Mar and Velilla and back, roughly the stretch the town buses' lines 1 and 3 cover by day.
The route
The map above shows the loop: red line out, blue back, with arrows for the direction. The train starts at Paseo del Altillo below the old town, heads west around the Peñón del Santo and along the whole of Paseo de San Cristóbal to the main stop at Chinasol. There it turns and runs back east along the beach, up Calle Guadix to Avenida Costa del Sol, past the aquarium at Plaza Kuwait, along Carrera de la Concepción and down Avenida Juan Carlos I to Paseo Puerta del Mar.
Then it follows the coast east: Paseo Reina Sofía past Aquatropic and the whole of Paseo de Velilla, turning just before Playa del Tesorillo. It comes back the same way along the beach to the centre and Paseo del Altillo, where the next loop begins. The stops in order:
- Paseo del Altillo – at the bus stop near the tourist office. Departs at :45.
- Chinasol, Paseo de San Cristóbal – the main stop, in front of the Chinasol blocks. Departs on the hour.
- Plaza Kuwait – by the aquarium. About :10.
- Paseo de Velilla – about :30. The train turns at Tesorillo and picks up on the way back as well.
Times and fares
The train runs in summer, Monday to Saturday, once an hour from 7 pm to 11 pm. The times below are departures from each stop; in summer evening traffic the train can be a few minutes late.
- Season
- Summer: from 1 July to early September. In recent years the season has ended around 9 September; the dates are confirmed in June.
- Days
- Monday to Saturday. No runs on Sundays.
- Fare
- €5 adults, €4 children aged 2–12. Tickets are bought on board.
- Last run
- Leaves Paseo del Altillo at 22:45 and is back in the centre around midnight.
- Rest of the year
- Outside the season the train runs only for booked groups: hotels, schools, parties. Bookings on tel. +34 619 55 18 03.
| Stop | Departures Monday–Saturday |
|---|---|
| Paseo del Altillo | 18:45, 19:45, 20:45, 21:45, 22:45 |
| Chinasol | 19:00, 20:00, 21:00, 22:00, 23:00 |
| Plaza Kuwait (aquarium) | about 19:10, 20:10, 21:10, 22:10, 23:10 |
| Paseo de Velilla | about 19:30, 20:30, 21:30, 22:30 |
Good to know
- The carriages are open at the sides – pleasant in the heat, but bring a light top for the late runs.
- During 2026 Paseo del Altillo is closed for the rebuilding of Paseo de la Caletilla, so the train may have to take a different way through the centre. The tourist office in the Palacete de La Najarra knows the current arrangement, tel. +34 958 63 11 25.
- By day the town buses cover almost the same ground: line 1 Circular to San Cristóbal and Cotobro, line 3 to Velilla. See Getting here.