For my first year and a half in Málaga, after moving here in August 2022, I didn’t own a car, so for almost every day trip from Málaga I rented one. I passed my Spanish driving test in 2023, and since nobody else in my family has a Spanish licence, I’m the one driving on every trip now.
Every place on this list is one I’ve been to myself, which is why Córdoba and plenty of other places aren’t here. They’re all on my bucket list, and I still haven’t been. The list runs from the closest to the furthest.
If you ask me for just one, I’ll tell you to do the Caminito del Rey. When family and friends come to visit, I take them to Ronda. Gibraltar got two days from me, and Jaén a couple of nights.
No car? I’ve put together a separate guide to day trips by train.
45 minutes or less
These four are close enough that you won’t lose half the day in the car.
Benalmádena
The drive to Benalmádena takes me 20 to 25 minutes, but it’s also one of the easiest trips without a car. The C-1 train from Málaga Centro gets to Arroyo de la Miel in 29 minutes, and it runs every 20 minutes.
I’ve been up to Colomares Castle with Jethro, and I’ve also been to Selwo Marina. The rest is in my guide to things to do in Benalmádena.
Stay on the same train and you’ll reach Fuengirola in 46 minutes. I go back there often.
Mijas Pueblo
The last few minutes of the 35-minute drive to Mijas Pueblo are all uphill. I got to the municipal car park just after 9:30am on a Wednesday, was already up on the fifth floor, and stayed until close to 5pm. The whole day cost me under €2.
I go about once a year, and I don’t ride the donkey taxis. Don’t build your day around the flamenco show either. I went specifically to see it once, and a sign in the square said it was cancelled.
The direct bus from Málaga barely runs at weekends, so drive if you can. My things to do in Mijas Pueblo has the rest, and getting from Málaga to Mijas Pueblo covers the other ways up.
Marbella
I drive over to Marbella several times a year, always as a day trip, and it takes about 45 minutes. The AP-7 is the fastest road, with one toll (€5.70, or €9.25 from June to September and at Easter in 2026).
I leave the car by Alameda Park and walk in along the Avenida del Mar, past the bronze Dalí sculptures. The old town is the part of Marbella I love, and I like the lanes off the main squares more than anything on the marina.
I’ve never spent a full day on a Marbella beach (I live about ten minutes from the sea in Málaga). Here’s my one day in Marbella itinerary, and a longer list of things to do in Marbella.
Antequera and El Torcal
I’ve driven to Antequera four times, most recently this summer. It’s 45 minutes on the A-45, with no tolls.
Every time, my highlight is going up to the top of town, to the Alcazaba and the Colegiata church. The view of the town from up there is lovely, and you can see the Peña de los Enamorados, the mountain shaped like a man’s face lying down.
The dolmens have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2016, and the oldest is nearly 6,000 years old. Just outside town I watched the sunset at El Torcal, but the narrow road up scared me (I’m afraid of heights). You’ll need a car for both.
The Fuente de Piedra flamingos and the Laberintus hedge maze are both close enough to add on. My things to do in Antequera guide has the full list, and one day in Antequera puts it in order.
About an hour
Give yourself an hour in the car and you can be on a cliff walk, a beach east of the city or a white village in the hills. I’ve put my favourite first.
Caminito del Rey
I did the Caminito del Rey once, in June 2024. It’s an hour’s drive (59km), or about 50 minutes on the train to El Chorro.
You have to wear a helmet, so don’t have cute hair that day. The helmet was the easy part. Wherever the path runs along the side of the mountain with a steep drop below, I was very anxious. That’s me in the photo, keeping one hand on the rail and the other on the rock.
Then, just when you think you’re nearly done, the stairs after the suspension bridge arrive at the end of a long walk. They were a killer. I’d still tell anyone to do it, though. It’s a great experience, and a full day out.
Tickets are €10 in 2026, or €18 with a guide, and they sell out, so book ahead. My Caminito del Rey guide covers the shuttle bus, the route and the new suspension bridge.
Nerja
I’ve driven to Nerja more times than I can count, several times every summer, and my day there barely changes. Burriana beach comes first, then the Balcón de Europa for photos and maybe an ice cream, then lunch on the terrace at Cochran’s, which looks straight out over the sea.
My favourite morning on this coast, though, is paddling out to the Maro waterfall.
It’s about an hour east by car, or 45 minutes to an hour and a half on the ALSA bus (there’s no train). In August the car parks are full by about 11am. The Nerja Caves are €16 online (2026), and the rest of the town is in my guide to things to do in Nerja.
Frigiliana
I miss the turn to Frigiliana every single time, even with Google Maps telling me where to go, and end up doubling back. It’s 10 to 15 minutes uphill from Nerja, and under an hour from Málaga.
Of the white villages I’ve been to, this is my pick. I love all the blue doors. Go early so you’re not climbing the stairs in the hottest part of the day, and half a day is enough, though I’d have loved to stay the night.
If you’re still deciding, read is Frigiliana worth visiting, and when you’re ready to plan, here are my things to do in Frigiliana.
Estepona
There was no queue for the metal slide down a stepped alley in Estepona’s old town, so I went down it. The streets around it are lined with flowerpots, and the murals are all incredible, though Google Maps sent me here, there and everywhere on the murals route and I missed some.
It’s about 1 hour 15 minutes on the AP-7, with two tolls (about €9.55, or €15.50 from June to September and at Easter in 2026). Get there before 10am if you want parking. My things to do in Estepona has the rest, including the poets route.
An hour and a half
Once you’re happy to sit in the car for an hour and a half, the bigger names come into reach. Two of these pair up nicely into one day.
Ronda
I do love Ronda, and the bridge is magnificent. I’ve been three times, and on the first I drove over the Puente Nuevo by accident while looking for parking, which earned a €70 fine I only found out about afterwards. Read where to park in Ronda before you go.
It’s 104km, about an hour and a half to an hour and three quarters by car. The bullring is one of the oldest in Spain.
With a car, add the olive oil mill 2.5km outside town (book before you drive out), or carry on to the Enchanted Forest in Parauta, like I did. Here are more things to do in Ronda.
Setenil de las Bodegas
After the morning in Ronda, I drive the 20 to 25 minutes on to Setenil for lunch. That’s the only thing I ever pair it with, because two white villages is plenty for one day.
The houses aren’t carved out of the rock. They’re ordinary buildings that use the overhang as their roof and back wall, and Cuevas del Sol and Cuevas de la Sombra have the biggest ones.
Don’t drive into the narrow streets, because people come back with scraped cars. My post on parking in Setenil has where I leave the car, and everything else is in my Setenil de las Bodegas guide.
Granada
It was a cold winter’s day when I went to Granada, and I made the classic mistake of not booking the Alhambra. You can’t just turn up, so I didn’t get in, and I was really upset. I walked through the old town to the cathedral instead, then headed up into the Sierra Nevada to snowboard.
Granada is about an hour and a half by car. If you’d rather take the train, the 09:20 direct is the only one that works for a day trip. Book your Alhambra tickets on the official site before you go (€22.27 in 2026). The Nasrid Palaces ticket comes with a fixed entry time, so plan the rest of your day around it.
Gibraltar
One of the macaques walked up to me on a staircase in Gibraltar and had a good look at my bag.
It’s about an hour and a half from Málaga, and the only trip on this list that leaves Spain, so carry your passport or ID. I gave it two whole days. The Rock looks small on the map, but it’s steep all the way up, and it sent me back to the flat for a nap. The cable car is closed until 2027, so you’ll get up by bus or by walking.
Here’s how to do one day in Gibraltar, and my best things to do in Gibraltar covers the rest.
Two hours or more
Past the two-hour mark, the drive starts to take a real bite out of your day. These are the two I’d plan a little more carefully.
Seville
By the end of my day in Seville, I was leaning against walls just to rest my feet. Jethro’s parents, who were 75 at the time, took the hop-on hop-off bus and looked fresher than I did by the evening.
The fastest train is the Avant, at 2 hours 7 minutes, and there’s no direct AVE now. If you only book one thing, make it the Real Alcázar (€15.50 in 2026).
If you’d rather drive, Sophie at The Traveling Sopha did it in a day and found all-day parking by the river for €17, then fitted in a walking tour and a sunset boat ride. Her write-up of one day in Sevilla has the details.
Jaén and Baeza
I stayed a couple of nights in Jaén, at the Infanta Cristina hotel, and used it as a base. One day was Baeza, a UNESCO town about 45 minutes away, and another was Burgalimar Castle, the oldest castle in Spain. A free tapa comes with each drink in Jaén, too.
It’s two to two and a half hours from Málaga, so this one works much better with a night or two. My things to do in Jaén and things to do in Baeza have the rest, and where to stay in Jaén has the hotel.
How I’d fit them into your trip
With three days in Málaga, I’d keep one for the city and give the other two to the Caminito del Rey and to Ronda, with lunch in Setenil. One gets your heart going on the cliffs, and the other is the day I give every visitor.
With a week, add a beach morning in Nerja with the afternoon up the hill in Frigiliana, and a day in Antequera that ends with sunset at El Torcal. Seville and Granada need an early start, and Gibraltar and Jaén are better with a night or two.
Longer than that, and some of these stop being day trips at all. Ronda and Setenil link west toward Seville on a southern Spain road trip, as long as you’ve got a hire car and some patience with mountain roads.
I’m still working through my own list, too. Córdoba is at the top, then Jerez, and I want to get further into the hills for more of the white villages. Each one goes on this page as soon as I’ve been.
On the days you stay in town, here are my favourite things to do in Málaga, or my plan for one day in Málaga if that’s all the time you’ve got.
