Don’t even get me started on how overdue this post is! Tim and I’s trip to Spain and Italy was over 2 months ago and I have yet to post a recap. Ever feel like life is ganging up on you? Well I feel you on that one. Since I’ve been back, my blog has been down and I haven’t been able to upload a single image. But I finally got it fixed! Enough excuses right?
Ha! I know, so lets dive in. If you missed my Instagram posts, Tim and I had a great 3 week trip to Spain and Italy back in May. We were able to stop and visit his parents, who live in Málaga, then enjoy several stops in Italy. To wrap up we hopped over to Barcelona and back to Málaga again before heading home. Today I’m sharing all of our favorite things from our time in Málaga and my suggestions for your trip to the area.
GETTING TO MALAGA
When we planned our trip, we decided to stay in Málaga for a couple days to recover from our initial jet lag. Our initial flight was a red eye from Miami to Madrid for only $691 round trip! Check out my post on how to score cheap flight deals for the details on how we snagged those tickets. Even though the cheapest was a red eye, it ended up working perfectly as it gave us a head start on adjusting to the time change of 6 hours.
From Madrid we took a Renfe train Málaga Zambrano station. Fun fact: All Renfe train purchases that have connections to the airport include a free ticket to and from the airport. For example, we were able to scan our Madrid Atocha tickets using the confirmation number at the kiosk within the Madrid airport. This printed a free ticket for a ride from the airport to the Atocha station (around 30 minutes). Just note, you can only print these within a 4 hour window of your other train tickets. Once we got on the train, we did our best not to pass out from exhaustion and enjoyed the ride. Before we knew it we had arrived in Málaga aka “Costa del Sun”.
WHERE TO STAY
Since we visited family, we were able to skip the hotel or Airbnb. Tim’s parents live pretty centrally around the Pacifo area and since they have a car it wasn’t too far to visit downtown Málaga and the beach. If you are coming to relax near the beach, I would suggest staying closer to downtown Málaga or La Caleta, the stretch of hotels and resorts on the water. This way you are pretty close to the major sites and can rent a bicycle or scooter to get around for a bit cheaper. Another great option to save some money is an Airbnb! There are a ton of options between the $60-$150 USD/night range. Check out THIS ONE or THIS ONE. Tim and I love staying in an Airbnb as it gives you a true feel for the area and many times costs less than the surrounding hotels. If his parents weren’t such gracious hosts, this would have been our next choice. Click HERE for $20 off your first stay and be sure to let me know what you think!
WHAT TO DO
Now for the fun stuff! There are so many great things to see and do in Malaga. It is a beautiful place with great weather and don’t forget the beach! The lifestyle is definitely centered around being outside and enjoying the beautiful views the city has to offer. Try renting bikes and riding around the heart of downtown Málaga and the port! This stretch is filled with lots of great shops and restaurants as well as shaded gardens and grass to stop and have a quick snack. The weather is beautiful and well worth a couple hours in the sun. We rented our bikes from Prima Rent a Car & Bike in Soho on our first day in the city before heading over to to Raw Attitude for a quick Acai bowl.
WHERE TO EAT
As you can probably tell by our pictures, we did our fair share of eating during our trip! Some of the most popular dishes included whole fish cooked over an open smoke grill and served right off the bone with bread and other sides. Some great places to try this out include Chiringuito La Campana Playa and El Bolinereo. We also enjoyed a traditional breakfast at Mums Cafeteria Cerveceria Heladeria. The bread with tomato sauce was delicious, and in case you can’t figure it out tortilla=potato.
If you want a break from the traditional Spanish seaside cuisine, check out Restaurante Ryugin Asiatico for some great fried rice and sushi! Pizzerías Carlos Malaga is another great stop for a delicious pizza. My personal favorite included thin slices of hamon and tomatoes. Last but not least, don’t forget to stop for some Churros and chocolate or a couple scoops of gelato to satisfy your sweet tooth.
If you’ve been to Malaga and have other great suggestions, be sure to leave them in the comments below! It truly is a beautiful city and a great spot for your next relaxation vacation on the Spanish Coast. Be sure to message me if you are a planning a trip 🙂 I would be happy to help with more details! Thanks for reading!
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Wonderful post about a great city! A new favorite of ours is Mamma Franca Italian resteraunt. The food is great and the owner is so excited abut his place! Best ice cream in town is Inma Heladeria.