Malaga, Spain: Just Got Back

Malaga, Spain (7:00 am - 7:00 pm)

Be sure to take water today. Celebrity offered a shuttle bus service for €5 pp roundtrip between the ship and Plaza de la Marina port gate. It's about a 10-minute ride. We were off the ship about 8:15 am and opted to walk into town. The ship will tell you it's a 40-minute walk. It's not. It's an easy 25 to 30-minutes --- only 15-minutes if you're just going to the marina shops (on the left) or beach (on the right). This was the largest and one of the most accessible beaches we saw the entire voyage.

Our first stop was Alcazaba, an early 11th century fortified palace featuring arches, gates, towers, and marble columns. The entrance can be difficult to find. Head for the Roman Theater entrance (to the right of the theater) and then look for signage to Alcazaba. There is also a secret entrance/exit with an elevator across the street from Calle Francisco Bejarano Robles on Calle Guillen Sotelo.

It's open from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm from April 1 to October 31. Cost is just €2,20 or you can buy a combo ticket with Gibralfaro Castle for €3,55. Both are also free every Sunday from 2:00 pm to close. However, it's worth paying a couple of euros to avoid the Sunday afternoon crowds. To get back down to the city, you can either return back to the Roman Theater or take the elevator from the Nazari Palace down to the secret street level entrance. Just for fun, we took this exit once we happened upon the elevator.

After exploring Alcazaba, we walked 10 minutes to meet up with our Free “Explore Malaga” Walking Tour that met at southeast corner of Plaza de la Constitución. We made reservations online. The tour started at 11:00 am and lasted about 2.5 hours. Our guide provided a ton of information as we made our way around town. The Malaga Cathedral is really interesting both inside and out. We tipped €25 for the two of us. The suggested tip for "free" tours is €10-15 pp.

The Roman Theater (Free) was build in the 1st century AD and used for about 200 years. A lot of its stone, marble, and columns was appropriated in the construction of Alcazaba. It's open Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm / Sundays and holidays from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Even if it's closed you can still get good views of the theater from several vantage points.

Malaga is known for its tapas bars. We ate a light lunch, sharing 1 dish and 2 tapas at one of the cafe's near the Roman Theater before heading up to Gibralfaro Castle. The castle, built in 925 AD, is located on the hill above Alcazaba, with no easy access between the two. You can take a taxi, bus 35 (€1.95 fare), or you can do like we did and walk. (Admittedly, our first choice was the bus, but we had just missed it).

It was a 30 minute winding uphill walk with stops for pictures. (Okay, they were rest stops where we also happened to take pictures). Walk up Calle Cister, turn left onto Plaza de la Aduana, then a quick right onto Paseo Don Juan Temboury and keep left. Turn right onto Subida Coracha. Take the stairs on your left. Turn left. Quick right. Take the stairs. Long walk. Your destination will be at the top of the hill.

Since it was after 2:00 pm on a Sunday when we arrived there was no entrance fee. (Normally the cost is just €2,20 or you can buy a combo ticket with Alcazaba for €3,55). We explored the castle and took lots of pictures of the surrounding area.

Upon exiting, we bought soft drinks at a little shop near the bus stop. Before we could begin our descent, bus 35 arrived so we hopped on (€1.95 pp), rode it down to the Plaza Marina stop, and walked back to the ship from there (via a walkway past the busy marina shops).

After we departed Malaga, and just before 9:30 pm, we watched at least 5 pods of dolphins playing off the starboard side. Some pods had more than a dozen dolphins.

Complete detailed review of Celebrity Reflection and 8 Western Mediterranean Ports

http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/western-mediterranean.html

Secrets of the Mediterranean: details, hints, and tips for over 20 Mediterranean Cities

http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/mediterranean-secrets.html

Thank you so much for this wonderful and very informative review. It will be very helpful to us for our TA from Barcelona to Ft. Lauderdale next year!

Much appreciated!

Is this the same port as Mahon?

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Is this the same port as Mahon?

 

 

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No, Malaga is on the Spanish mainland, Mahon is on the island of Minorca.

Thank you!

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