Málaga Airport to Benalmádena Costa Taxi & Transfers
Twenty-two kilometres and about 20 minutes down the coast road. The rank fare is roughly €30 on a weekday and €36 at weekends; our fixed transfer is €35 on any day. The complication here isn't the price — it's that "Benalmádena" means three different places.
~22 km
Distance
~20 min
Drive time
€30
Rank weekday
€36
Rank weekend
Neither station is on the hotel strip. Benalmádena has two stops on the C-1 line. The main one sits inland and uphill; the other is on the coast but at the far western end. If you're booked into a beach hotel or near Puerto Marina, the train leaves you with a second journey to make.
verified To your door, not the station
Fixed price, any hour
€35
Costa, Arroyo de la Miel, or Pueblo?
One municipality, three quite separate places, spread across about five kilometres and 200 metres of altitude. Most confirmations just say "Benalmádena", which is how people end up a long way from their hotel with a suitcase. Sort this out before you book anything.
Benalmádena Costa
The nine-kilometre coastal strip: the beach hotels, Puerto Marina, Bil Bil castle, Santa Ana and Bonanza beaches. This is what almost everyone means by "Benalmádena", and it's where the overwhelming majority of visitors stay.
check_circle Clear addresses, easy access
Arroyo de la Miel
The inland commercial town where most residents actually live — and where the main railway station, the cable car and Tivoli World are. Perfectly pleasant, considerably cheaper for dinner, and about 2.4 km uphill from the sea.
warning Not the beach — check your booking
Benalmádena Pueblo
The original white village up in the hills, with the Buddhist stupa and views down the whole bay. No railway, no reliable rank after dark, and a climb that makes public transport largely theoretical.
warning Pre-booking genuinely matters here
Two stations, and neither is where you're staying
The C-1 line is excellent and it does serve Benalmádena — twice, in fact. What almost nobody tells you before you land is where those two stops actually are relative to the hotels.
Benalmádena–Arroyo de la Miel
The main station · underground · about 18–20 min from the airport
It's in the middle of the inland town, not on the coast. Puerto Marina is roughly 2.4 km away and downhill — a 25 to 35 minute walk, or a five-minute local taxi at around €5–8. Local buses run down to the seafront but not frequently.
Torremuelle
A small platform station · genuinely on the coast
This one is in Benalmádena Costa — but it serves the Torremuelle neighbourhood at the far western end, several kilometres from Puerto Marina and the main hotel strip. Useful if you're staying right there. Most people aren't.
And don't get off at El Pinillo
It's a different stop, a good way back toward Torremolinos, and people make this mistake every summer. If you are taking the train to a marina hotel, the stop you want is Benalmádena–Arroyo de la Miel, then down the hill.
None of that makes the train a bad choice. For one or two people with a bag each and no hurry, €3 and a walk downhill is perfectly sensible. But the honest total for a beach hotel is roughly 45 to 60 minutes and two vehicles, against about 20 minutes door to door — and with cases, a buggy and children after a three-hour flight, that second leg is where the day goes wrong.
How much is a taxi from Málaga Airport to Benalmádena?
This is one of the shortest runs on the coast, so the sums are small. Málaga Airport uses a closed destination tariff: Tariff 1 Monday to Friday 06:00–22:00, Tariff 2 at weekends, on public holidays and on weekday nights from 22:00. No toll applies — the AP-7's charged section starts further west.
Licensed rank taxi
Regulated destination tariff
-
Mon–Fri, 06:00–22:00 Tariff 1~€30
-
Weekends, holidays & nights Tariff 2~€36
Four passengers maximum. Five or six means two cars, so about €72 at the weekend rate.
Global Airport Taxi
Fixed pre-booked transfer
-
Saloon (1–4 pax) any day, any time€35
-
MPV (5–6 pax) any day, any time€49
-
Large van (7–8 pax) any day, any time€69
No Tariff 2 uplift. Same figure at 01:00 on a Sunday as at noon on a Tuesday.
On a weekday the rank is cheaper
About €30 against our €35, and we'd rather say so than dress it up. Over 22 kilometres there isn't much room for a saving and we aren't going to invent one. What €35 buys is a figure that doesn't move for a Saturday landing or a delayed midnight arrival, a vehicle sized for your group rather than whatever's next in the queue, and a drop at the hotel door rather than a station on the wrong side of the hill.
Getting to a beach hotel, all in
The comparison that matters isn't airport to station — it's airport to the door of a hotel on the seafront.
| Option | Cost | Total time | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed private transfer | €35 per vehicle | ~20 min | Anyone — groups, families, late arrivals |
| Rank taxi, weekday | ~€30 | ~20 min + queue | Cheapest door-to-door if you land midweek |
| Rank taxi, weekend or night | ~€36 | ~20 min + queue | Works, but dearer than booking ahead |
| C-1 train + local taxi | ~€3 each + €5–8 | ~45 min | One or two people, light luggage |
| C-1 train + walk downhill | ~€3 each | ~55–65 min | Solo, no cases, no rush |
| C-1 train + local bus | ~€4–5 each | ~55–70 min | Cheap, but infrequent |
The last train leaves the airport at around 23:10, so anything landing later has no rail option at all — and the first service back in the morning is too late for the early departures bank. Full timetable detail is on the Fuengirola page, since it's the same line.
Frequently asked questions
Does the C-1 train go to Benalmádena Costa? expand_more
Not to the main hotel strip. There are two stations: Benalmádena–Arroyo de la Miel is inland, roughly 2.4 km and a 25–35 minute downhill walk from Puerto Marina; Torremuelle is on the coast but serves the small neighbourhood of that name at the western end. Most beach hotels need a second leg from either.
What's the difference between Costa, Pueblo and Arroyo de la Miel? expand_more
Three parts of one municipality. Costa is the coastal strip with the hotels and Puerto Marina. Arroyo de la Miel is the inland commercial town with the main station. Pueblo is the white village up in the hills. Confirmations often just say "Benalmádena", so give us the hotel name.
How much is a taxi from Málaga Airport to Benalmádena? expand_more
Around €30 on Tariff 1 (Monday to Friday, 06:00–22:00) and about €36 on Tariff 2 — weekends, holidays and weekday nights from 22:00. No toll. Our fixed transfer is €35 on any day.
How long is the drive? expand_more
About 20 minutes for 22 km on the toll-free A-7. Benalmádena Pueblo takes around 30 because of the climb inland.
Which station do I want for Puerto Marina? expand_more
Benalmádena–Arroyo de la Miel, then walk down or take a short local taxi. A common mistake is getting off at El Pinillo, which is a different stop some way back east. Torremuelle is nearer the sea but well west of the marina.
Do you go to Benalmádena Pueblo? expand_more
Yes — about 4 to 5 km inland and uphill, roughly 30 minutes from the airport. No railway and no reliable rank at night, so it's one of the places here where booking ahead genuinely matters.
What if my flight lands after midnight? expand_more
The last C-1 leaves the airport around 23:10, so there's no train at all after that. Our price is the same at 02:00 as at midday and the driver meets you inside arrivals.
Book your Benalmádena transfer
To the seafront, the marina, Arroyo or the village up the hill — whichever Benalmádena is actually yours. Fixed price, any hour, no second leg to arrange.
book_online Book Málaga Airport to Benalmádena arrow_forwardOther Costa del Sol routes: Fuengirola · Marbella · Puerto Banús · Estepona · All Málaga Airport routes