5 Day Andalusia Road Trip from Malaga (Seville, Ronda, Granada)
A 5-day Andalusia road trip using Malaga as a single base — Seville's Alcazar, the Caminito del Rey, Ronda, the Alhambra in Granada, Colomares Castle and Marbella. No changing hotels.
Andalusia was the best part of my two weeks in Spain, and the reason it worked so well was a decision I nearly didn't make: we based ourselves in Malaga for the entire stretch and drove out and back each day, instead of hopping between hotels in Seville, Ronda and Granada.
Everything worth seeing in western Andalusia sits within about two hours of Malaga. Staying put meant no packing and repacking, no dead half-days spent in transit with luggage, and evenings back in a city that turned out to be my favourite place on the trip.
This is that route, as five days.
Why base yourself in Malaga
The driving distances are short. Seville is around 2 hours 30. Granada is 1 hour 30. Ronda is 1 hour 30. The Caminito del Rey is 1 hour. None of these is a bad day's drive, and you're never carrying a suitcase.
Malaga itself is worth the evenings. The port and beachfront come alive after dark — live music, sea breeze, very good sunsets. After a day at the Alhambra it's exactly what you want to come back to.
It's the practical hub. Malaga has the region's main airport, the high-speed rail connection, and the widest choice of car hire.
We stayed in hostels, here and everywhere else in Spain. Worth being upfront: hostels in Malaga are not cheap in season. They were still cheaper than apartments for two of us, and being able to walk to the old town and the port every evening was worth a lot. From about three people up, price out apartments again — the maths changes.
The one trade-off: you'll do some repeated driving on the Seville and Granada days. If that bothers you more than changing hotels does, split the trip and sleep a night in Seville. For five days, I'd still base in Malaga.
Before you start
- Alhambra tickets: book at least two months ahead. This is not negotiable and it should be the first thing you book, before flights if necessary. Entry to the Nasrid Palaces runs on a timed slot.
- Caminito del Rey: book at least two weeks ahead, and the unguided slots go first.
- Hire a car for the whole stay. Everything below except Malaga itself is much easier with one, and Ronda and the Caminito are painful without.
- Best time to go: spring and autumn. Andalusian summer is genuinely punishing for this much walking around outdoors.
Day 1: Malaga
Arrive, pick up the car, and don't drive anywhere. Malaga deserves a day and it's the gentlest possible start.
Alcazaba of Malaga & Castillo de Gibralfaro
Hike up to the Castillo for the best views over the city. A combined 5 euro ticket covered the viewpoint, the Alcazaba and the Roman theatre when we visited. Plan around three hours for all of it.
Malaga Cathedral Central, and worth going inside.
Museo Picasso Málaga Picasso was born here. His most famous work hangs elsewhere, but the collection is strong and the building is lovely.
The port, in the evening Walk down from the old town to the waterfront around sunset. This is the thing I'd tell you not to skip, and it costs nothing.
Day 2: Seville
The longest drive of the trip, around 2 hours 30 each way, so leave early.
Royal Alcázar of Seville
The main event and a serious rival to the Alhambra — Moorish palaces, tiled courtyards and gardens that swallow an hour on their own. Some of the Dorne scenes from Game of Thrones were shot here. Allow at least three hours, and book ahead in season.
Seville Cathedral Directly adjacent, so there's no reason not to. It's the largest Gothic cathedral in the world and the bell tower gives you the city from above.
The old centre Wander the streets around the cathedral and along the river. Parts of it have a canal-side quality that reminded me of Venice.
Drive back in the evening. It's a full day and you'll feel it.
Day 3: Caminito del Rey + Ronda
The best day of the trip, and the reason to have a car at all.
Caminito del Rey (morning) An hour from Malaga. A boardwalk bolted to the wall of a gorge, once one of the most dangerous paths in the world and now completely safe without losing any of the drama. Around three hours end to end.
The logistics matter here more than anywhere else on this route, because the walk is one-way: park at the south end near El Chorro, take the shuttle bus up to the north access point, walk the gorge back down to your car. The bus ticket is separate from your entry ticket and catches almost everyone out.
Full detail: Caminito del Rey complete guide.
Ronda (afternoon) An hour and a half from the Caminito. A town split by a gorge with the Puente Nuevo bridge spanning it, and photographs really do undersell it.
Walk through the old town to the top viewpoints, then take the path down into the gorge — about 30 minutes — for the view worth having. Ignore the café-owned viewpoints near the top that charge you; the best one is further down and free.
Two to three hours is right for Ronda. More on how to spend them: Ronda in half a day.
Day 4: Granada
An hour and a half from Malaga, and a full day at one site.
The Alhambra Spain's most famous fortress and the one you booked two months ago. Palaces, fortifications, water gardens and long views back over Granada, spread across a hilltop that genuinely takes a full day to walk properly.
Plan the rest of your day around your Nasrid Palaces slot — the ticket is void if you miss it, and everything else on the site is flexible around it. Most people underestimate the scale and end up rushing the Generalife gardens at the end. Don't.
If you have anything left, the Albaicín quarter and the sunset view from Mirador de San Nicolás are the obvious additions — though honestly, after the Alhambra we were done.
Day 5: Colomares Castle & Marbella
A deliberately easy last day heading west along the coast.
Colomares Castle
Thirty minutes from Malaga. A small, thoroughly eccentric monument to Christopher Columbus, built in a collision of Byzantine, Roman, Gothic and Mudéjar styles that has no business working as well as it does. Half an hour is enough, which is exactly what makes it a good stop rather than a destination.
Marbella
A coastal town built for doing very little, which is the correct way to end this trip. The beach had some algae the day we went, but the drive along the Mediterranean coast to reach it was worth the trip on its own.
If you have more days
- Cordoba (about 2 hours). The Mezquita is the major Andalusian monument we missed and the one I most regret.
- Nerja and Frigiliana (about an hour east). Sea caves and a white hill village, easily one day together.
- Gibraltar (about 1.5 hours). Bring your passport — it's a border crossing.
- A second Granada day, which is what the Alhambra really wants.
Related reading
- 2 week Spain itinerary — the full trip this route came from
- Best places in Spain
- Caminito del Rey: complete guide
- Ronda in half a day