Getting Around Marbella
Marbella is spread out along the coast. The municipality runs along 26 km of coast, from Cabopino in the east to Guadalmina in the west, and the places visitors mean by "Marbella" are strung out along it: the old town around the Plaza de los Naranjos, the Golden Mile of hotels and villas heading west, the marina of Puerto Banús beyond it, and San Pedro de Alcántara, under 10 km from the centre. About a dozen golf courses lie inside the town's boundaries, and many of these addresses are a drive apart rather than a walk.
The town has no mainline railway. High-speed trains arrive at Málaga María Zambrano, about 58 km east, and from there the road to Marbella takes 50 minutes to 1 hour 10 minutes. Include your train details and arrival time when booking so we can arrange your pickup at the station.
Evenings follow the coast. Puerto Banús is about 8 km from the old town, and in summer the Starlite festival turns the Nagüeles quarry, about 3.5 km from the centre, into an open-air concert venue. Inland, the village of Benahavís is about 20 km away. A transfer there and another back, at the times you choose, mean the ride back from the marina is arranged before dinner starts.
The town council has designated the historic centres of Marbella and San Pedro Alcántara as a low-emission zone with restrictions on vehicles without an environmental label. Send the full address with your booking; the confirmation then tells you where the car will stop.
Airport Transfers to Marbella
Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport, about 53 km east, is the airport for Marbella, and the transfer takes 50 minutes to 1 hour 5 minutes. Gibraltar International Airport, about 75 km west, is the alternative when its flights suit your dates better; that drive takes 1 hour to 1 hour 25 minutes.
Both routes follow the coast on the AP-7 and the A-7. From Málaga the road passes Torremolinos and Fuengirola before it reaches the town; from Gibraltar it runs up past Sotogrande and Estepona. Which end of Marbella you are staying at changes the drive as well: Puerto Banús and San Pedro sit on the Gibraltar side of the centre, Cabopino on the Málaga side. Journey times vary with traffic and the time of day.
Book with your flight number: your chauffeur monitors your flight and adjusts the pickup if your arrival time changes. Your booking confirmation shows where to meet the chauffeur. Leaving Marbella, allow for the drive to the airport when choosing your pickup time: 50 minutes to 1 hour 5 minutes to Málaga, longer in high summer. You set the pickup time yourself, and the confirmation shows it.
Long-Distance & Cross-Border Travel from Marbella
A stay in Marbella can be one part of a longer trip. A few nights in Málaga, about 60 km east, or a move west to Estepona, about 34 km, or Sotogrande, about 55 km, is a single booking from the hotel you leave to the one you arrive at, with the luggage travelling in the same car.
Ronda, about 60 km inland on the A-397, makes a day out on its own. Granada, about 180 km, and Seville, about 255 km, are longer runs for a city stay. Because Marbella is not on the rail network, a train to either begins in Málaga; by road it is one journey from Marbella to the address at the other end.
Gibraltar, about 78 km west, is the cross-border run, for a day on the Rock or a flight home from its airport. It is booked like any other journey, with the same chauffeur and car from start to finish, with no change of vehicle at the border.
Gibraltar is a British territory outside the EU. The frontier is crossed at La Línea. Have with you the documents that your nationality and route call for.
Groups, Luggage & Summer Travel in Marbella
Groups in Marbella can travel heavy. A golf party brings a bag of clubs per player for the town's dozen courses, a family on a fortnight's holiday brings buggies and beach kit, and friends coming for a celebration at a Golden Mile hotel bring luggage for every evening. Tell us what you are bringing and the vehicle is matched to the load. A Sprinter van carries up to 12 people with their bags, and bigger groups go by coach, with up to 56 seats. If the group arrives on several flights, every arrival gets a transfer of its own.
Summer is also the Starlite season. From June to August the festival holds open-air concerts at the Nagüeles quarry, so an evening transfer to a concert is best booked together with the rest of the stay.
The dates to book early are high summer and the Starlite season from June to August. Local vehicles and drivers are booked up early for those dates. If your plans go beyond a standard booking, write to support with the dates, addresses, number of passengers, flights and luggage, and the team will arrange it.
