Marbella Excursion from Malaga

[cantgetaname]

There's an excursion I've seen from Malaga to Marbella on Royal Caribbean (Marbella & Puerto Banus).   Wondered if anyone has taken it,   I'd love to see Marbella.

[bennybear]

Ages ago we visited Puerto Banus,  the King and Queen of Spain were on board a yacht there, that was a twin to Onassis Christina.  David Niven had a Chinese junk moored there as well.  It was interesting. 

[Despegue]

Hello,

As I now live in Spain, I might give you some advice.

 

Skip Marbella.

it is an overhyped, overpriced resort, full of Arabs and Russian Mafia really.

 

when docked in Malaga, I highly recommend visiting Malaga itself, or if you can manage a long drive, visit amazing Granada.

 

Marbella is just for show-offs and has nothing to do with Andalucia.

[John Bull]

12 hours ago, Despegue said:

Hello,

As I now live in Spain, I might give you some advice.

 

Skip Marbella.

it is an overhyped, overpriced resort, full of Arabs and Russian Mafia really.

 

when docked in Malaga, I highly recommend visiting Malaga itself, or if you can manage a long drive, visit amazing Granada.

 

Marbella is just for show-offs and has nothing to do with Andalucia.

 

 

I have to agree.

Marbella had its day at the beginning of the jet-age. All you'll see is bored staff in over-priced boutique shops, and locals walking their dogs. Orange Square is iconic, but not worth the trip by itself.

Puerto Banus is just a (comparatively) low-budget Monte Carlo harbour where folk sit on their company-owned / tax-allowed gin palaces and other folk wander along ogling them.

Other than Malaga itself I don't think you'll find "Spain" anywhere along the coast - and TBH I never rated Malaga as particularly interesting.

As Despegue's post, consider Granada - much of which is just big-town-anywhere but has the stunning Alhambra (you need to book, and ship may offer it)

Or about 30 minutes by taxi from Malaga the whitewashed hill town of Mijas. 50 years ago this was a day in "typical Andalusia" for Europeans vacationing on the beaches of the Costa del Sol. Commercialised now, but you can still get a good taste of Andalucia if you venture behind the main square into the impeccably clean little streets of terraced houses. Little bullring there too.

Or Ronda is now at the stage Mijas was 50 years ago. Moorish town, split in the middle by a 390ft deep ravine, crossed by a bridge built in the late 1700's - the quiet old part on one side (Moorish shops, torture museum) and the bustling more-modern part (super bullring with museum) on the other.  Out across country through white villages and National Park, and back down the winding road to the coast with magnificent elevated views, then a blast along the coast on the autovia to Marbella.

Total of130 miles, 3hrs 30 mins driving, but almost all of it scenic. Proper Andalucia !!!

 

JB 🙂

[Hlitner]

I agree with most of what has been posted by Despeque regarding Marbella.  We have been to that city (and stayed in that city)  many times (we usually have a rental car when in this part of Spain be it on a land trip or a cruise) but do not consider Marbella a good way to spend a port day.  We sometimes stop in Marbella to go to Puerto Banus which is essentially a modern marina/shopping area with lots of shops and cafe/restaurants.  Not hardly the way most folks want to spend a port day.  In that part of Spain you would better off just exploring Malaga (that has a nice old town area) or taking the long trip/excursion to Granada or perhaps Ronda (a good option if one has already been to Granada a few times).  

 

JB mentioned the small town of Mijas which we have often used for a short stop when driving from the coast to Granada or Ronda.  Mijas is certainly "cute" and a good place to stop for a morning coffee break.  But I would think of Mijas as a place for a short visit if one has extra time or is just spending the day in that part of Spain.  

 

One tip for those who plan on spending some land time in Spain.  Consider their network of quasi-government hotels/inns called Paradors.  There is one Parador located inside Grenada's Alhambra which is an amazing place to stay for a couple of nights.  This is probably the most difficult Parador for getting a reservation (this can be done online) but then you will be staying inside the Alhambra.  Quite an amazing experience.  We have done many lengthy driving trips in Western Europe, but our month long drive around Southern Spain (south of Madrid) when we booked many Paradors (including the one in the Alhambra) is among our favorite driving trips.  One can even expand such a driving trip to include parts of nearby Portugal (where they have Pousadas which are similar to Paradors).

 

Hank