Here is some more information the best way to get around the Costa del Sol and inland Andalucia. We hope you find it useful if you are thinking of renting our beach apartment in Puerto de la Duquesa, near Estepona on the Costa del Sol for your holiday. We recommend some car rental companies and talk about public transport.
Driving
A car is useful in Andalucia not only for the freedom to take off on day trips along the coast and inland but also to play some of the many golf courses within a short drive of our apartment, but it is not a necessity.Air conditioning is a must from late spring to late autumn.
The E15 coastal motorway services La Duquesa, turnoff Manilva or Estepona. Certain stretches carry a toll of a few Euros. Have some coins ready. See autopista del sol website.
You must be over 21 in Spain to hire a car and have held your licence for more than a year. EU residents can use their national driving license. Seatbelts must be worn in the front and back seats. Priority is given on the right unless otherwise specified.
Car Hire
There are all the usual suspects (Hertz, Avis) at Malaga and Gibraltar Airports. Local car hire firms we have tried have proven reliable, punctual and clean. Malaga airport is being revamped for the next year or so, so pick a rental agency that has cars on site, such as .
Shop around for the best deals. We recommend Carjet and Espacar phone +34 95 277 4715 in both Malaga and Gibraltar and Helle Hollis phone +34 95 224 5544 in Malaga only.
Public Transport
It would be fair to say that Puerto de la Duquesa is poorly served by public transport. From Malaga airport, you can get the bus to Marbella. In busy periods, it may be better to get the free airport bis into Malaga bus stations and catch a Marbella bus from there. Once in Marbella, a taxi is quite cheap (about 25 Euro) or you can get another bus to Estepona, then another to Duquesa (the La Linea line).
The long distance bus service along the main road to Malaga and Cadiz is infrequent.
There is a bus service locally around Manilva, Duquesa and Sabanillas.
If you do not want to drive yourself, there are taxis easily available. We can arrange for a taxi to pick you up from the airport for around 110 Euro one way including tolls and a taxi into Estepona is around 20 Euro one way depending on the time of day. The taxi rank is outside the Duquesa supermarket.
It is worth mentiong that there is a tour company, VivAndalucia that sells tours around some of the wonderful sights in Southern Spain including Seville, Ronda, Andalucian villages and Granada. Tours can be arranged at the tourist office or ask me if you want to book beforehand. Pickups can be arranged from Puerto de la Duquesa.
K Dempsey
http://www.hi5holidays.com/transporte.html
