Understandably in the high season, many people choose to spend their time around the pool or by the sea, however, there are many things that we would recommend for you to see and these are mentioned on this site. Whilst many visitors are content and familiar with using the taxis and buses, it is frustrating to hear of people being uncertain of what to do when using the excellent local train service on the RENFE Cercanías Málaga service.

There are in fact two local lines in the Málaga province, the C1 - Málaga to Fuengirola and the C2 Málaga to Alora. Both the C1 and C2 lines meet in Málaga at a station known as Málaga María Zambrano. This is where the suburban lines meet the national RENFE network and where you can catch trains to anywhere in Spain. The C2 is a suburban line goes northward up into the foothills of the mountains, to the beautiful white walled village of Alora. It is well worth a visit.

So, let’s take a closer look at the C1 line, which is the one we really need to concentrate upon.

The line has been in existence for many years and connects the centre of Málaga, Málaga Centro, through Málaga María Zambrano and then onto Málaga Airport, the new leisure and shopping centre of Plaza Mayor, then onto Torremolinos, Benalmadena / Arroyo de la Miel and terminating in Fuengirola, with many intermediate stops on the way.

The full journey takes 50 minutes, with Málaga to Benalmadena taking 32 minutes, the airport to Benalmadena taking 19 minutes and Benalmadena to Fuengirola taking 17 minutes.

The trains are air conditioned and punctual. All the signage is in Spanish and English including live information signs on the station and the train, and the ‘next stop’ announcements are also made in both languages. They really are very easy to use.

Buying tickets is easy too, and you have two methods to choose from. All the main stations (Málaga Centro, Málaga María Zambrano, Torremolinos, Benalmadena and Fuengirola), are fully staffed with ticket offices. For the local trains there are two types of tickets, ida solo (one way), or ida y vuelta, out and return. The ticket sellers all seem to speak English so you should not have any problems at all. Two adults to Málaga María Zambrano, return please, always gets you what you want.

There are two railway stations in the centre of Málaga; Málaga María Zambrano and Málaga Centro. Whilst both are in the centre of the city, Málaga María Zambrano is a little further out and Málaga Centro is an extension which takes you a few hundred yards further into the city centre. On your first visit we would advise getting off at Málaga Centro which is the end of the line, so you can’t mistake it.

The second option at the staffed and unstaffed stations, is to use the ticket vending machines. These machines  take Euro coins and  notes. Once again, they are bi-lingual. Simply hit the idioma button and choose English and you will have all the instructions. Choose the station you are going to, single or return, the number of tickets you want and then put in the cash.

A word of warning, you will not be able to access the platforms at staffed stations without a ticket, but at the un-staffed stations you will. If you board the train at any of these stations without a ticket and there is a ticket booth or machine, you will have to pay a premium rate fare to the ticket inspector, so best to have your ticket first. The trains are regularly patrolled by armed security staff and ticket inspectors, so expect to meet them on board.

At Benalmadena / Arroyo station simply buy your ticket, put them into the barrier machines and walk through the barriers, to the left of the ticket booth to Málaga and to the right to Fuengirola. Everything is well signed. Hang onto your tickets even if they are single - you will need them for inspection and to exit the barriers at your destination station.

The railway line is at the moment a single track, with passing loops at various locations, usually at the main stations. This is rapidly changing, with a multi-million euro project to make the track double along most of it's length and to significantly reduce journey times and to increase the service interval to 20 minutes. Future plans are to extend the line beyond Fuengirola to Marbella, Puerto Banus, Estepona and eventually down to the key port of Algeciras, right next door to Gibraltar, making day trips to ‘Gib’ by train relatively easy.

Train arrivals are announced in Spanish and English and as previously mentioned, once you board the train, the next station is announced in both languages. If you have any mobility problems there are elevators / lifts at all the main stations, (not Torremolinos), and escalators as well. The Spanish are mostly always well mannered, and give up their seats for people with mobility problems, and there are also designated seats.