Smart Traveller

The Spanish city of Malaga, birthplace of Pablo Picasso, is a popular tourist destination and has many attractions, including historic buildings, beautiful parks and gardens, and more than 20 museums. It’s also within easy reach of a number of other excellent tourist destinations, so if you hire a car during your holiday, you’ll be able to enjoy day trips as well as exploring the city itself.

Here are three places that you can visit on day trips in your Malaga hire car:

1. Ronda. The historic and picturesque village of Ronda is situated to the west of Malaga and it will take you about an hour and 40 minutes to drive there in your Malaga hire car. Park your rental car and take a stroll through Ronda to see some of its historic buildings and ruins, such as the Arab Public Baths, the Palace of the Arabian King and the Palace of Mondragon. Ronda is also known as the birthplace of modern bullfighting, and you can visit its bullring and take a tour of the Bullfighting Museum.

2. Benalmadena. This Costa del Sol resort lies to the west of Malaga and is comprised of three areas: the Old Town (Benalmadena Pueblo), the beach resort (Benalmadena Costa) and the neighbouring commercial district of Arroyo Miel. It will only take you about half an hour to reach Benalmadena in your Malaga rental car.

Head for Benalmadena Costa and take a stroll along the beach or wander through the cobbled streets of Benalmadena Pueblo, where you can enjoy seeing the traditional Andalucian architecture, shop for souvenirs or stop for a meal in one of the restaurants. In the Arroyo Miel district, you’ll find some great family attractions, such as Tivoli World, which has a wide range of rides and shows.

3. Granada. The city of Granada is about an hour and a half’s drive from Malaga, but it’s well worth making the journey, as there is plenty to see and do there.

Granada has some beautiful architecture, with many of the city’s historic buildings showing a strong Islamic influence. Make sure that you visit the Alhambra, which was constructed during the 14th century and was the official residence of Granada’s Muslim rulers. Within the Alhmabra, you’ll find the Alcazaba, the oldest part of the site, and the Palace of Carlos V, which was constructed during the 16th Century on the orders of Emperor Charles V, as well the Casa Real, which includes the beautiful Court of Lions.

Other attractions in Granada include Granada Cathedral, the Archaeological Museum of Granada and Sacromonte Abbey.

Image: Elena Magaeva

Today at Smart Traveller, we are beginning a new series of posts in which we will be taking a look at some of the world’s airports, and providing you with information that should help you if you are planning on using them. In the first post in this series, we are looking at Malaga Airport.

Malaga International Airport is situated about 8km to the southwest of the Spanish city of Malaga, on the Costa del Sol. Malaga is one of Spain’s most popular tourist destinations, with attractions such as the Alcazaba (the city’s Moorish fortress) and The Picasso Museum, and Malaga International Airport is also the main airport for tourists heading for destinations such as Torremolinos, Benalmadena and Fuengirola. As a result, the airport is extremely busy, with 12,813,472 travellers having passed through it during 2008.

Both domestic and international flights arrive and depart from Malaga International Airport, and a number of UK airlines operate flights to Malaga. At the moment, the airport has one runway and two terminals, although a second runway and third terminal are being constructed. Flights from the UK arrive at Terminal 2 (also known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso), and most flights depart from this terminal as well (although check-in is divided between the two terminals).

The terminals include shops and food outlets, and there are also several VIP lounges. Unusually for an airport, there is an Exhibition Hall between the terminals, where you can see works by local artists. There is also a museum, The National Museum of Aviation, which is housed in the original terminal building, about ten minutes away from the current terminals.

It’s worth noting that there are no hotels at the airport itself and there are also no left luggage facilities.

There is a railway station at the airport, so you could take the train to the city of Malaga or to Fuengirola, and there are also buses and taxis available outside of the terminal. Improved rail links to the airport are also planned as part of the ongoing expansion of the airport.

However, the easiest and most convenient way to travel to and from Malaga International Airport is probably by car. There are a number of car firms operating from the airport, but if you want to get the cheapest deals, it’s worth booking your Malaga Airport hire car in advance. You can then have peace of mind from knowing that when you land you will be able to just pick up your rental car and drive to your destination.

Using Malaga Airport’s car hire facilities also means that you can just drive straight to the airport when your holiday is over and drop your car off before checking-in, so you won’t have to worry about relying on public transport or taxis to get you to the airport on time.

In the next post in this series, we’ll be taking a look at Nice Airport and its facilities.

In the next in our series of posts about attractions in Spain, we take a look at Terra Mitica, a theme park situated just outside of Benidorm, on Spain’s Costa Blanca. It will only take you about 10 minutes to drive to Terra Mitica from the centre of Benidorm and about 35 minutes to drive there from the Costa Blanca’s main city, Alicante, so it’s a great place to visit on a day-trip during a car hire holiday.

You’ll need to set aside a whole day in order to really explore the Terra Mitica theme park, as it’s packed with rides and other attractions. The park has six themed areas, each of which includes rides, shops and food outlets:

• Egypt - the highlight of this section of the park is the Falls of the Nile water rollercoaster, in which you’ll travel down a 20m drop and a 10m backwards drop in a sarcophagus-shaped boat. There is also a junior version of the ride, Akuatiti, for young children, which doesn’t include the drops.
• Greece - The main ride in this area of Terra Mitica is the Triton’s Fury water ride, where you’ll float past scenery which represents some of the stories of sea voyages made by ancient explorers from Crete and Mycenae, before getting a rush of adrenaline as you head over the waterfalls. Other rides in the area include The Labyrinth of the Minotaur laser gun ride, the Titanide rollercoaster and Synkope, a  ride on which you’ll be suspended 35m from the ground on a spinning disc.
• Iberia - This area of the park includes the Arietes bumper car ride and Jabato, a smaller bumper car ride for younger children. You can also watch the Red Beard pirate show here.
• Rome - Adrenaline junkies will find three excellent rides to entertain them in this section of the park: the Magnus Colossus rollercoaster, which reaches a speed of 100 kmph; Inferno, a vertical coaster which takes you spinning upwards, forwards and upside down along the track at 60mph; and The Flight of the Phoenix, a thrilling free-fall ride. The Rome area also includes some excellent rides for children, including  Ayquesutus, a junior version of The Flight of the Phoenix, and if you head for Roma Square, you can watch gladiators battling under the warmth of the Costa Blanca sun.
• The Islands - Rides in this area of Terra Mitica include the Rapids of Argos water ride and The Anger of Akiles pendulum ride. You can also take a trip to the Mermaids’ Coast and even to Hell on Ulysses’ Adventure, watch the Tarantela show or ride on the Mithos Carousel.
• Ocionia - Terra Mitica’s most recently opened section of the park is home to the Pyramid of Terror and The Battle of the Pyramid paintball game. You can also try out the zip wires in the Atalya Adventure Park, see the views from the top of the Infinnito observation tower or head to the Port of Alexandra to board a boat for a relaxing trip on the river.

Terra Mitica is one of many attractions that you can visit on a Spain car hire holiday, and you can book your hire car in advance and pick it up when you arrive at Alicante airport.

Image: Virdu