Taxi Málaga Airport → Torre del Mar
Torre del Mar is the beach of Vélez-Málaga: a flat grid of streets behind one of the longest stretches of sand on this coast, with the Paseo de Larios running from the church down to the sea. The A-7 exit for Torre del Mar is about 45 km and 40 minutes from the airport, and the town starts almost at the slip road, so there is no long approach once you leave the motorway.
Prices by vehicle
| Vehicle | Total price (VAT included) |
|---|---|
| Sedan 1-4 passengers, 3 suitcases. | €65 |
| Estate 1-4 passengers, 5 suitcases, skis or golf bags. | €78 |
| Minivan 5-8 passengers, 8 suitcases. | €98 |
Single journey, VAT included, on toll-free roads; the AP-46 tunnel at Las Pedrizas is optional and settled separately if you want it. A return is exactly twice this figure. Starting at the train station or the cruise port changes nothing in the price.
Drop-off
Apartments in Torre del Mar mostly face the promenade or sit one or two blocks back, and the driver pulls up right outside. The Paseo de Larios itself is closed to cars, so for addresses on it the stop is at the nearest crossing street. On summer evenings the promenade road is busy but moving; the driver knows which side streets get you to the door quickest.
Inside the Terminal 3 arrivals hall at Málaga Airport, where the driver stands with a board showing your name.
What awaits you
- Several kilometres of wide, flat beach with chiringuitos
- Paseo de Larios, the pedestrian spine of the town
- Fishing port and marina at Caleta de Vélez
From the terminal to the sand in forty minutes
The route is the eastern A-7 for almost its whole length: ring road round Málaga, the Cantal tunnels, the long straight past Rincón and Benajarafe with the sea below on the right, and then the Torre del Mar exit at 45 km. The slip road puts you on the avenue that runs down to the sea, and the first blocks of the town begin within a minute. Forty minutes is the usual figure; on August Saturdays, when half of Andalucía changes over its holiday flats, the last kilometre to the promenade can take a while longer, and the driver will use the side streets rather than the seafront to get you to the door.
Torre del Mar has no hills and no historic maze, so the drop-off is about as straightforward as it gets on this coast: an address, a block, a kerb. The only streets the car cannot use are the Paseo de Larios and the promenade itself, both pedestrian, and for those the driver stops at the nearest corner.
A town laid out for the beach
Everything in Torre del Mar points at the sea. The Paseo de Larios, a wide pedestrian avenue lined with palms and terraces, leads from the church down to the promenade, and the promenade itself runs for kilometres in both directions: Poniente towards Almayate, Levante past the lighthouse to the fishing and leisure port at Caleta de Vélez. The beach is dark sand, wide and flat, with a chiringuito every few hundred metres grilling sardines on the espeto through the summer. Behind the first line are the streets of shops, supermarkets and the Thursday market, and beyond them the big El Ingenio shopping centre on the road to Vélez.
Summer brings the Feria de Santiago y Santa Ana in late July and a run of concerts and festivals on the beach in July; the town is at its fullest then, and quietest, but still open, in January and February.
Arriving in high season with a family
Torre del Mar is a family resort in the Spanish sense: grandparents, pushchairs, children in the sea until eleven at night. If you are travelling with small ones, order the child seats in the booking form and the driver fits them before you reach the car. The estate at €78 takes a pushchair, a travel cot and four cases without a squeeze; a party of two families is better off in the minivan at €98 than in two sedans. Late arrivals are common here in summer and are no trouble: the promenade is lively past midnight and your block's entrance is lit and easy to find.
Areas we cover in Torre del Mar
Local tips for your arrival
- Holiday blocks on the promenade often have two names, one on the sea side and one on the street side; put both in the booking if you know them.
- Book the child seats when you reserve rather than on the day: it is the only way to be sure the right sizes are in the car.
- On changeover Saturdays in August, tell your host your expected arrival time so the keys are ready; the driver can wait a few minutes but not indefinitely.
- Caleta de Vélez and Almayate are on the same beach but at opposite ends, roughly six kilometres apart; make sure the address says which.
Back to Málaga from Torre del Mar
On departure day the driver collects you outside your block, or at the corner of the Paseo de Larios if you are on the pedestrian avenue, and heads back up the avenue to the A-7. Allow the forty-minute drive plus two hours in the terminal, so leave Torre del Mar two hours forty before take-off; make that three hours and ten minutes for a summer departure or a flight to the UK, Ireland or anywhere outside Schengen. If your onward journey is by train, the station at María Zambrano is 35 to 40 minutes away and the driver drops you by the entrance nearest the platforms. Early-morning pickups are routine here: the town is silent at five.
From the train station or the cruise port
The fixed price to Torre del Mar is the same from Málaga-María Zambrano train station and from the cruise port. Choose your origin in the form; the driver meets you at the platform exit or outside the cruise terminal.
Other destinations in this area
Frequently asked questions
How much is a taxi from Málaga Airport to Torre del Mar?
The fixed fare to Torre del Mar is €65 for a sedan carrying up to four people, €78 for the estate with the large boot and €98 for the minivan for five to eight. Bags, waiting time and VAT are included and the motorway carries no toll.
How long is the drive from Málaga Airport to Torre del Mar?
Around 40 minutes for the 45 km, on dual carriageway for almost all of it. Summer Sundays, snow on the mountain roads and city festivals can stretch that; the driver allows for them when he sets your pickup.
Which is better for a beach holiday, Torre del Mar or Vélez-Málaga?
Torre del Mar if you want to walk from bed to sand: the town is flat, the beach is on your doorstep and everything is within a few blocks. Vélez-Málaga is the historic town 4 km inland, with the fortress and the old quarter but no beach. Both use the same motorway exit and cost the same from the airport, €65 in a sedan.
We arrive with two toddlers and a baby. Can you fit three child seats?
Yes, order them in the booking form: a rear-facing seat for the baby, seats for the toddlers, all free of charge. Three seats across the back of a sedan is tight, so with three small children plus adults and luggage we recommend the estate or the minivan, where each seat has its own space and the buggy goes in the boot.
Our flat is in Caleta de Vélez, by the marina. Do you go there?
Of course. Caleta is the eastern continuation of Torre del Mar, past the lighthouse, and the driver follows the coast road along the promenade rather than the motorway. The marina and the fishing port have a normal access road, so you are dropped at the door. Give the address as Caleta de Vélez in the form so we place it correctly.
Is the beach usable in winter?
The beach is open all year and the promenade is busy with walkers every sunny winter morning, which is most of them. Swimming is for the hardy from November to March, but the chiringuitos near the Paseo de Larios stay open at weekends and the town has none of the shuttered feel of a purely summer resort.
Where exactly will I find the driver at Málaga Airport?
Inside the arrivals hall of Terminal 3, standing with a board that shows your name. Every arriving flight, Terminal 2 ones included, walks out through that same hall, so there is only one place to look.
See your fixed fare
You pay the driver when you arrive. No card is asked for now.