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

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 that you can visit in Spain, we take a look at Fuengirola Zoo, which is located in Fuengirola on Spain’s Costa del Sol, and which is a great place to visit on a day-trip if you’re staying in the area.

Fuengirola Zoo opened in the 1970s, but was redeveloped between 1998 and 2001 in order to improve conditions for the animals and provide a “full-immersion” zoo experience for visitors. It is now home to more than 1,300 animals and is involved in a number of animal breeding and monitoring programmes.

The zoo has more than 140 species of mammals, fish, reptiles and birds, including Sumatran tigers, meerkats, orang-utans, lemurs, gorillas, gibbons, chimpanzees, pythons, crocodiles, turtles, flamingos and lorikeets. There is also a children’s play area, a gift shop and two restaurant areas.

If you are visiting the Costa del Sol during the summer, you can explore the zoo at night and watch the animals in the moonlight.

Fuengirola Zoo is particularly good to visit as part of a Costa del Sol car hire holiday. You can rent a car at Malaga airport and it will only take you about half an hour to drive to Fuengirola Zoo from Malaga and about twenty minutes to drive there from Torremolinos.