Malaga things to do; excursions you can recommend?

[kccpa]

Will be in Malage in May 2011 on a Friday, and I was wondering what the local must see's would be.

 

Also, if anyone has hired a private excursion company that they were happy with, I would love to get that contact information. I would prefer a private company rather than the ships excursion, if I can help it.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Kathy

[Hlitner]

Malaga is a pretty decent tourist town in its own right and also located in the heart of the Costa del Sol (sunny coast) which is an area lined with many sea resorts. If you just want to spend your day in Malaga you can easily do this on your own with a guide book or just download info from the internet. If you want to travel around the region you might want to look on the Cruise Critic Roll Call board and see if anyone is putting together a private excursion. Another option is to simply rent a car and drive yourself silly enjoying the region. If you want to go inland and like long drives (about 1:45) you could easily go as far as Ronda during a port day. Ronda is an interesting small village in the mountains that has a spectacular view of the neighboring gorge and an interesting, but very small, bullfight museum.

 

Hank

[kccpa]

Thanks for your info Hank.

 

I'm a cruising newbie. This will be my 2nd cruise. How could I identify which roll call would have a ship in Malaga on the specific day I'm in port? I'd love to jump in on someone else's excursion if there was room and if it sounded good but I don't know how to find them. Can you tell me the trick to finding them?

 

Thanks!

 

Kathy

[Hlitner]

Kathy, Welcome to CC :) You simply need to go to the Roll Call boards and find the board for you cruise line and specific ship. You then just scroll down the various listings until you find the one for your specific cruise (they are identified by embarkation date). Do not be shy on that board. Simply introduce yourself and ask if anyone is putting together a tour for Malaga (you might find that somebody has already posted a message about a tour).

 

Hank

[kccpa]

Oh Hank...already done that. I'm a planner and trying to get ahead of the game. My cruise is still 200+ days out and no one has anything planned. Actually, I'm the only one who has planned any excursion so far. I've got a trip planned for the Azores and have cruise mates signed up but no one has done anything about any of the other ports. So I was trying to be proactive and see what excursions have been done in the past and use those as a starting point.

 

Thanks for your help though...

 

Kathy

[moniquet]

There is a hop on/off bus which people say is good. Having lived in the area for 15 years I would not recommend hiring a car, especially for long drives. Traffic can be gridlocked around the City. Granada is only about an hour away, the small white village of Mijas 30 mins. A local train stops at all the beach resorts to the west of Málaga.

[adifferentbeat]

Hi there,

If you need any information regarding private companies in Malaga give me a shout, I lived thin the area for 10 years and know a lot of people that may be able to help you out with companies that offer trips.

Happy cruising and hope you enjoy my old home ;)

[Can'tstopcruising]

Hi there,

If you need any information regarding private companies in Malaga give me a shout, I lived thin the area for 10 years and know a lot of people that may be able to help you out with companies that offer trips.

Happy cruising and hope you enjoy my old home ;)

 

Hi! I would be so happy to ask you questions about Malaga. Would you email me?

 

cruiseshmooz at yahoo dot ca

 

Thank you!

[Cruzer Two]

Will be in Malage in May 2011 on a Friday, and I was wondering what the local must see's would be.

 

Also, if anyone has hired a private excursion company that they were happy with, I would love to get that contact information. I would prefer a private company rather than the ships excursion, if I can help it.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Kathy

 

 

 

On a recent cruise with a port stop in Malaga, Spain, I made a video showing pictures from the shore excursion to Granada and Alhambra that has been uploaded to Youtube.

 

Click on http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=27738317&postcount=196 for information on viewing this video.

 

Ron

[WesW]

Ron--terrific vid, thanks for posting bought back very fond memories of our recent visit (last Nov crossing). Hi Kathy, we are going to embark Malaga this Nov on another crossing (instead of visiting The Alhambra in Granada (takes 5-8 hrs)) this time (since we spent all our time in November traveling (to/from Granada) we will explore the city (Picasso musuem, Sagrario and Santiago Churches, Alcazaba (military fortress). If you want to see the Alhambra, recommend the ship's excursion vs private tour (believe you will find the cost more reasonable plus with time/distance you will ensure you get back in time to disembark)..have fun in Malaga

[Cruzer Two]

Ron--terrific vid, thanks for posting bought back very fond memories of our recent visit (last Nov crossing). Hi Kathy, we are going to embark Malaga this Nov on another crossing (instead of visiting The Alhambra in Granada (takes 5-8 hrs)) this time (since we spent all our time in November traveling (to/from Granada) we will explore the city (Picasso musuem, Sagrario and Santiago Churches, Alcazaba (military fortress). If you want to see the Alhambra, recommend the ship's excursion vs private tour (believe you will find the cost more reasonable plus with time/distance you will ensure you get back in time to disembark)..have fun in Malaga

 

Colonel,

Thanks for the nice comments. Another interesting shore excursion from the port of Malaga is to the town of Ronda. Here are a couple of videos shore excursions of our visit there a couple of years ago. It was a very nice tour.

Ronda:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYQDCoXuoJM

 

Ronda Bullring and Cathedral

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se3BXWYAklw

[hkto]

Here is very resource; route maps from Malaga Tourism office http://cert2.ayto-malaga.es/malagarutas/loader.html

[kccpa]

Hi there,

If you need any information regarding private companies in Malaga give me a shout, I lived thin the area for 10 years and know a lot of people that may be able to help you out with companies that offer trips.

Happy cruising and hope you enjoy my old home ;)

 

Hello there,

 

What a nice offer. If you could give me the name of come reputible companies that would be great. Initially, there will be 3 of us, but I might be able to get a bigger group if there is a bus and a discount. :)

 

Looking forward to seeing the beautiful country of Malaga.

 

You can reach me at kathy dot cpa at usa dot net.

 

Thanks so much!!

 

Kathy

[Wingtips56]

We ported at Malaga in 2009. We'd been to Granada and the Alhambra before, with a full day for it, so didn't relish the thought of the long bus ride and short visit. If you haven't been, though, you should go. The Alhambra is outstanding, and when else are you going to be in the neighborhood? We'd also visited Ronda before, which is also interesting...old hill town split down the middle by a deep chasm.

 

So we took an excursion to Nerja, just up the coast a bit. Closer to an authentic town than the hotel/condo jungle that is Malaga. The excursion included the Caves of Nerja, which were quite good, if you like that sort of thing. Big underground caverns with lots of color. The trip was just a few hours, so we were back to the ship to relax. Too cool then to go to the beach....it was a weird year (we even got rain in Egypt!).

[kccpa]

Thanks Wingtips56 for the info.

 

As it turns out, I'm looking at another TA that begins in Malaga, so I probably will have another chance to see the Alhambra and not have to rush through it. :)

 

Regarding the caves and caverns...is it a difficult hike? I have an Aunt with me who is 79 but acts 59. Still, I don't want to tire her out too much which is why I thought a nice well known tour operator would be a good idea. Take us to places where the ship wouldn't and give us a better flavor for the city.

 

I'll keep looking....I know eventually I'll find what I want or we'll end up doing the HoHo. :eek:

 

Kathy

[Desert Cruizers]

Our Cruise isn't until Oct 29th, LOS TA and with a litttle over 8 months out, our Roll Call or should I say a lady on our RC, as organized a tour to Granda/Alhambra. We begin in Barcelona. Since this will be our first TA we are so looking forward to this one. We are in Port, 12 hrs.

 

Tour Company:http://www.spaindaytours.com/andalucia-tours.html

[jdvmd]

Sorry to hijack this thread but I am looking at a cruise that leaves from Malaga (Adventure of the Seas, May 28) and am trying to price airfare from the States. We can go out of any Midwest or Eastern airport as we have free tickets on Southwest that can get us to those major hubs.

 

I thought I had read there was a nonstop on Delta but apparently this is seasonal and won't be running during my time frame.

 

Have also thought about flying into Madrid and then taking the high-speed train to Malaga but this doesn't seem to be a viable option either.

 

Any other advice?

[sfvoyage]

I've been doing some research (mainly based on information I found on cruise critic) for an independent small group excursion from Malaga port to Granada & the Alhambra in early April. So far, I've found 3 tour groups:

(1) http://www.spaindaytours.com/malaga-...excursion.html

92 euros/person if at least 10 people

(2) http://www.guiasgranada.com/eng/inde...costa_del_sol_

private microbus service: 6 people for 629 euros, 10 people for 681 euros

(3) http://www.alhambra.org/eng/index.as...hambra_cruises

4-person private taxi service for 475e total

Does anyone have any experience/feedback on any of the above? At this point we have 6 people, so I am particularly interested in #2 above.

Is there some way of investigating if these are legitimate and reputable tour organizers? They seem to want to be prepaid. Thanks.

[Debs1964]

What dates will you be in Malaga?

[sfvoyage]

What dates will you be in Malaga?

 

Apr 1st (if your question was for me)

[Debs1964]

Hi sfvoyage. Sorry I am new to the site (looking for some info on the Carribean for my parents). I dont know how to send you an e-mail :( If you wish you can send me one on ordevinter@telefonica.net

[moniquet]

Hello there,

 

What a nice offer. If you could give me the name of come reputible companies that would be great. Initially, there will be 3 of us, but I might be able to get a bigger group if there is a bus and a discount. :)

 

Looking forward to seeing the beautiful country of Malaga.

 

You can reach me at kathy dot cpa at usa dot net.

 

Thanks so much!!

 

Kathy

 

Be very wary in Málaga area, it is awash with illegal taxi drivers. Usually they are British, use private cars and are not insured to take paying passengers. Look for a bonafide website!

[browneyes7]

On a recent cruise with a port stop in Malaga, Spain, I made a video showing pictures from the shore excursion to Granada and Alhambra that has been uploaded to Youtube.

 

Click on http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=27738317&postcount=196 for information on viewing this video.

 

Ron

 

Thank you, Cruzer Two, for posting that wonderful You Tube video. I loved the music in it, and can't wait to see it for myself! :)

[Newsuz]

Hi, we are going to be in Malaga on 11/1/11 ( we are 6 people) any ideas for a private guide w/ van. Spain Day tours is already all booked up, thanks Suz

[Dr.Oz]

Hi there,

If you need any information regarding private companies in Malaga give me a shout, I lived thin the area for 10 years and know a lot of people that may be able to help you out with companies that offer trips.

Happy cruising and hope you enjoy my old home ;)

 

Will you please send me some information about companies that would do a private tour to Mijah Pueblo for 4 people. We will be in Malaga in Nov. My e-mail address is jbozburn at hotmail dot com. Thanks.