Costa del Sol Guide

Travel

Flying to the Costa del Sol

The most popular mode of transport to get to the Costa del Sol from other European destinations is by plane. There are a large number of flights and operators now serving the Costa del Sol from various airports including a good selection of low cost and budget airlines (there is not a Marbella airport as some might think).

Costa del Sol Flights

The main airport for flights to the Costa del Sol is Malaga Airport (AGP) as it fairly central for all destinations on the Costa del Sol (east and west) and is one of the busiest Spanish Airports. The choice of other airports for travelling to the Costa del Sol include the newly opened international Granada Airport, Gibraltar Airport and Jerez Airport (on the Costa de la Luz).

Recommended airports for the eastern section of the Costa del Sol would be either Granada Airport or Malaga Airport. For the western section of the Costa del Sol we would recommend Malaga Airport, Gibraltar Airport or Jerez Airport (on the Costa de la Luz).

Roads on the Costa del Sol

The main road that runs the entire length of the Costa del Sol is the N340 / A7. In the majority of sections it is dual carriageway but does reduce to one lane as it passes through some towns. The N340 does miss most towns now as it was split from the former route which went directly through the majority of resorts along the coast of the Costa del Sol. The old route is now referred to in most of the sections as the N340a so unless you want to drive along the slow coastal sections or are heading for a specific location it is best avoided.

The road will also spilt into a toll road in some sections along the Costa del Sol known as the AP7. This happens just west of Benalmadena an rejoins the normal A7 before Marbella. It splits again just as you pass Marbella and rejoins just before Sotogrande.

Although the N340 / A7 is more of a motorway now, there are still some major bottlenecks on the route. The main one is the Malaga City sections and Malaga Airport sections. In the summer allow extra travelling time to and from the airport as it can get very busy, espeically as there are a number of road improvements and the expansion around the airport.

Another major bottleneck is the section at San Pedro de Alcantara as there is currently an underpass being built which will eventually alleviate this. However at the moment you are taken off on a service road which can get very busy at times.

Costa del Sol Car Hire

If you are planning a trip to the Costa del Sol you may need to hire a car to get around from one resort to another. Here at Get Spain Costa del Sol we have teamed up with one of the best car hire comaprison engines and have negotiated excellent rates just for you.

Just use the search below to find the best rates for your car hire. It will search all the main car hire firms on the Costa del Sol and provide you with a choice of vehicles and options.
Ports and Marinas on the Costa del Sol

The main port on the Costa del Sol is at Malaga where many luxury cruise liners make a stop on their journey allowing for new people to join the ship or some people to leave. The other main port of this size and type is that of Gibraltar although you will have to cross the border into Spain.

Smaller ports are scattered all over the Costa del Sol, the most famous of which is Puerto Banus. Others are located at Sotogrande, Puerto de la Duquesa, Marbella, Cabopino, Fuengirola and Benalmadena. All of these are smaller and will have a limit as to the size of craft allowed in.

Costa del Sol Trains

The far western section of the Costa del Sol is not yet served by a rail network although there are plans to extend the current train line from which currently ends in Fuengirola right down to Algerciras.

At the moment the rail services start at Fuengirola in the west and runs through to Malaga and Antequera, from where you can get connections to the RENFE and AVE trains for access to the major cities of Spain.

New infrastructure means that journey times to some of the main cities has decreased as high speed lines have been laid.