5 Tips for Your Trip to Málaga, Spain
Two years later, it's still my favorite city in Spain!
Málaga was the first city I visited when I decided to move to Spain. I landed there in March 2023 on a month-long test trip that quickly won me over. I loved the culture and the food. Many other people in Spain think the Andalusians are quite strange, but I still think you won’t find warmer or kinder people anywhere in the country.
If you’re also planning a trip to Europe, I highly recommend this city. Keep these tips in mind!
1. Consider late spring or early fall.
It has almost become a tradition in Spain for locals to protest tourism during the summer. Summer is when most of Europe travels, and Spain is one of the top destinations on the continent. It’s much better if you travel during the rest of the year.
Additionally, hotel and Airbnb prices skyrocket from June 1 to August 31. My mom and I visited in late May. This was late enough to enjoy warm days, but early enough to miss the summer crowds (and local ire).
2. Book your stay in the Center.
When I visited Málaga for the first time in 2023, I booked an Airbnb that was outside the Center. I enjoyed my stay, but it did mean that I had to take cabs everywhere. The beauty of being in the center is that you can walk to everything:
Cathedrals
Beaches
Local castle
Local green space
Restaurants and bars
My mom and I spent hours just wandering through cobblestone streets. I’m not sure I would have enjoyed spending a month in the Center, but I did love the few days there. The one downside is that supermarkets in or near the center aren’t particularly well-stocked.
3. Travel light and use backpacks.
When we packed for Málaga, I made the mistake of taking a suitcase. My mom took a backpack. When I arrived, I realized the folly of my plans. Málaga has a lot of cobblestone streets, and dragging the suitcase over them isn’t the most comfortable feeling.
You could take a cab to your suite instead of walking, like we did. But, cobblestone streets aren’t always accessible. You do sometimes get dropped off a few streets away and still have to walk. If you stay away from the Center like I did the first time, this won’t be a problem.
The elevator in the apartment we stayed at was also impossibly small. We could barely fit inside it together. If you’re the type to pack 2-3 suitcases for a week’s vacation, Málaga might not be the best spot for you.
4. Use local lockers around town for suitcases.
We arrived just before check-in time for our suite, but our train ride back to Madrid was later in the evening on our final day. We bounced some ideas back and forth about what we might do with our suitcases.
On one of our late-evening walks, we discovered this suitcase locker company.
We paid about $15 to leave our suitcases there until the evening, when we were ready to start walking back to the train station. It’s self-service, which was quick and convenient.
It’s not on Google Maps, but you can find it here. Just walk towards the entrance of Iglesia de San Juan and then turn left.
5. Try Cereal Boom Cafe
In 2023, a guy at a writers’ group I attended weekly told me about The Cereal Boom Cafe. He thought it was funny that this restaurant had every cereal imaginable and jokingly suggested I check it out.
I did and fell in love—not with their coffee or food, but with their fresh juices. So when I chose our Airbnb for the trip, I made sure we were as close to the restaurant as possible. We went there twice, and my mom loved it just as much as I did.
Next week, I’ll share photos and details of my trip to Málaga with my mom. I’ll share some of the other places we visited and what my mom’s thoughts were on Spain’s most famous southern beach town. See you soon!