Malaga airport to Gibraltar

Edit wrote in yesterday to say; "I will arrive at Malaga airport at 16:30 pm. From Malaga airport the bus leaves every 30 minutes to go Malaga bus station. My question is, what is the bus schedule for Gibraltar?"

I wrote back to say; "Hello Edit, There are two ways to get to Gibraltar by bus. The first option I have set out is to travel from the airport to Malaga bus station, this is the service which leaves every 30 minutes and then take a bus all the way to La Linea bus station right on the frontier of Gibraltar. The second option is to take the airport bus to Marbella bus station and then another bus from there to La Linea.

Option 1: If you look at the link below you will see that the last bus of the day from Malaga bus station to La Linea on the border with Gibraltar is at 17.15. If you take a taxi from Malaga airport to Malaga bus station (€20) you might just make the last bus to La Linea but if your plane is late and you have to wait for luggage, you won't get there in time for the 17.15 bus leaving Malaga bus station for La Linea.

If you are travelling on a Sunday then there is no hurry because the last bus to La Linea leaves at 19.15 and you can catch the L19 bus from the airport to Malaga bus station. There are two buses from the airport to Malaga bus station every hour and the L19 bus leaves from just outside the arrivals area.

Option 2: The other alternative is to take the special airport bus to Marbella. Here is the schedule of buses. Note that the summer service starts from 1st July and ends at the end of September.

If you get the 17.30 bus summer schedule bus from Malaga airport to Marbella bus station, (45 minutes) you will be in time for the 18.30 service from Marbella bus station to La Linea bus station. Here is information about the Marbella bus station and you will find the timetable of all buses out of Marbella on this page. Look for MARBELLA - LA LINEA. Again there is a later service at 20.45 if you are travelling on a Sunday.

Here is the information about La Linea bus station again and you will see how close it is to the border with Gibraltar. The picture above is taken from just in front of the La Linea bus station and the border is just at the end of the row of flags. You can see a great little cafeteria to have a drink in just over the road.

Please look at the two alternatives Edit and let me know if you have any difficulties with the connections or timings. Given your arrival time at Malaga airport, I think the trip through Marbella may be the best for your needs.

Best wishes from Marbella and thanks again for your contact. Mike"

PS: You can now do online bus ticket reservations through the gomarbella reservation system.

Malaga airport to Estepona

Carol wrote in this week: "Hi Mike, is there a direct public bus service from the airport to Estepona? If not what is my best option arriving on a Sunday afternoon and how much will it cost me?

I wrote back to Carol saying: "It's easy to get to Estepona from Malaga airport. First take the special bus from Malaga airport to Marbella bus station. At the moment it costs just under €4.50 one way. Travelling in June, you will need to look at the column for winter departures from the airport. If you are travelling in July, look at the summer departures column.

Then when you get to the Marbella bus station after you get your luggage off the bus from the airport buy your ticket for Estepona from the ticket office in the Marbella bus station. There is an electronic board announcing departures in the departures hall and the board gives you the number of the bay where the bus is standing so you just look for the Estepona bus and also check on the windscreen before you get on. Here is a list of bus schedules for the route, look for the MARBELLA - ESTEPONA bus schedules. In June of 2009 this journey costs €2.58.

If you are getting off at an intermediate stop before Estepona, like Paula who has just written in, then this list of bus stops between Marbella and Estepona will be useful. Tell the ticket office clerk where you are getting off because it might be a little cheaper if your intermediate stop falls in a different zone. As you get on the bus tell the driver where you are getting off.

YOu will see that there are two buses every hour and so for less than €10 you will get all the way to Estepona from Malaga airport.

Check out all the information above and timings and compare them with your arrival time too. If anything doesn't make sense or you need some extra information, write back to me on the blog contact form below.

Best wishes from Marbella Carol and Paula and thanks again for your contact"

Mike