Caminito del Rey from Marbella: Drive or Take the Tour?

If you already have a car, drive and book the entry ticket with guided tour: €29 per person, 4.6 from 10,873 reviews. If you do not, the guided day trip from Marbella or Estepona at €110 is the easier choice. Hiring a car just for this day does not make the drive cheaper by itself: rental, fuel and parking come on top of the entry cost.

When you have to leave Marbella

Route planners put the drive to El Chorro at roughly an hour and ten minutes. On top of that, the booking page asks you to be at the Visitor Centre car park at least one hour before your start time. With a 10 a.m. ticket you are in the car park at 9 a.m. and leave Marbella by about 7:50 a.m. at the latest, preferably earlier. The coach tour allows about two hours each way for the same distance.

What comes after the car park

From the car park you take the shuttle bus to the last stop (€2.50 per person, not included in the ticket) and then walk 1.5 km to the control booth, where you meet the guide and collect a helmet. The listing counts 2 hours for the visit, but the shuttle, check-in and walk come on top. The route is one-way, so you cannot walk back to the start. The ticket includes a bilingual guide and a radio audio guide; transport is not included.

Check availability and prices for the entry ticket with guided tour

What the coach takes off your hands

The coach day trip lasts 6 to 8 hours, leaves from Marbella or Estepona and gives you free time in Álora or Ardales for a meal after the walkway. Most of the day is travel, and with 4.2 from 166 reviews it is far less tested than the ticket. In return somebody else drives, and you do not have to decide after lunch whether you still want to take the wheel.

Check dates and prices for the day trip

The sum for two

Two people pay €220 for the day trip. With your own car it is two tickets at €58 plus at least €5 for the shuttle, €63 in all. If you have no car, the remaining €157 has to cover rental, fuel and parking. What a car costs for one day you can see in the hire-car comparison for Marbella. The more people share the car, the better the drive pays; for two people hiring a car for this one day, the sum is tight.

When the coach is the better choice

Do not plan the visit for a Monday: the Caminito is normally closed on Mondays, and rain or strong wind can close it for a day. If lunch is meant to come with wine, take the coach. So should anyone who does not fancy another hour at the wheel after the walk.

Our recommendation: with a car, the entry ticket with guided tour; without a car and without wanting to hire one, the day trip from Marbella or Estepona.