Whether you want to enjoy all of the best tapas, learn about the history of this city, or get out on the water, there are plenty of Malaga tours that you will no doubt love.
There are so many awesome things to do in Malaga and there are some fantastic day trips that you can enjoy with Malaga as your base as well. If you decide to hire a car in Malaga, you can probably opt out of some of these tour options and simply explore them on your own.
However, sometimes there is no replacement for a knowledgeable guide. If you want to learn about the history of the Alcazaba, the Roma ruins, or about why one of the largest collections of Picasso’s art is in Malaga, then you’ll need to get yourself a tour guide.
This list is extensive and includes everything from free walking tours in Malaga to boat tours in Malaga and everything in between. You’re sure to find the right Malaga tour for you and your family.
Boat Tours in Malaga
If you want to take a Malaga boat tour, you have several great options depending on your budget and how much you want to see and do on the water.
- Fly Blue is the most famous boat company in Malaga and one of the most affordable options when it comes to taking a boat trip in Malaga. The cheapest option is a €12 boat trip that takes you out into Malaga bay and operates three times a day and lasts for one hour. You can also take a €15 trip that lasts for an hour and a half and goes a little bit further along the coastline. For €18 you can take a sunset cruise that lasts for an hour and a half. The trip is on a catamaran and during the summer months, it can be pretty busy. Book one of those boat trips here.
- Mundo Marino is another popular option for a boat tour in Malaga. They offer catamaran cruises for an hour for €13 and unlike the Fly Blue, the Mundo Marino boat is a sailboat, so you will get to enjoy the beauty of being on a sailboat through the bay around Malaga. Check the times and book that tour here.
- Feel confident enough to captain your own private boat? This boat trip in Malaga is completely self-guided and you don’t need a boat license to enjoy a trip out into the bay. This is a fun way to explore the coastline at your own pace, stop when you want to for a swim, or slowly explore the bays around Malaga with a packed picnic. Prices vary depending on how long you want to rent the boat for. Check prices and book it here.
- Go to Gibraltar and explore the coast here by boat with this tour. You will be picked up in Malaga and transported to Gibraltar by bus where you will then get on a boat to explore the area. The idea of the tour is to go dolphin-spotting, but you also get the chance to spend some free time in Gibraltar doing some tax-free shopping or having some lunch. Book that tour here.
Enjoy sunset tours out on the water or from the best beaches in Malaga like nearby towns like Marbella.
Free Walking Tours in Malaga
If you want to take a free walking tour in Malaga, there are several great options.
If you aren’t familiar with free walking tours, they are not exactly free, but rather they are a tip-based tour system that allows you to “give what you feel it was worth.”
You meet the tour operator and they have a knowledgeable guide take you around the city offering interesting stories and information. At the end of the tour, you can give the guide a tip based on your experience on the tour. This is the only pay the guide receives, so be generous.
- Free Tours Andalucia is a great company for your classic Old Town Malaga free walking tour. If you want to get to know the history of the Old Town they offer a tour three times a day that lasts for about two hours and takes you around to 19 different sites where you will learn about the history and present-day importance of many of these different locations in Malaga. They also offer free walking tours of the Alcazaba. Check all of the times and book a slot on their website here.
- Explora Malaga is another company that offers free walking tours in Malaga. They have two tours a day of the Old Town of Malaga as well as a free tour of the Alcazaba available twice a week on Tuesdays and Saturdays. The Old Town tour is particularly fantastic for history lovers because it focuses on spots like the Roman Amphitheater and Malaga Cathedral. Check all of the availability and book it here.
- Paraguas Naranjas or Orange Umbrellas is a company in Malaga that has a nice selection of free walking tours as well as other types of tours with set prices. They have historical walking tours, tours of the Alcazaba and Roman Amphitheater as well as tours of the Malaga Cathedral. If you would prefer to hire a knowledgeable guide and build your own itinerary, this is the best company to get a tour guide for price and quality. Check all of the options and book here.
The entrance to the alacazaba and Roman theater where you can explore on your own or on a walking tour of Malaga.
Malaga City Tours
There are tons of different ways to explore Malaga. If you don’t want to take a free walking tour, you can also opt for things like segway or bike tours as well.
You can also book tours that take you inside some of the most famous sites like the Alcazaba or Cathedral, which the above free walking tours don’t actually do (they only take you to them and explain their significance).
These Malaga City Tours all have set prices and offer something a little bit different. All include interesting and knowledgeable bilingual (sometimes trilingual) guides.
- Alcazaba and Roman Theatre Tour includes your entry tickets to both locations as well as a guide who will walk you through the two locations offering insightful information about the history of the buildings. These are two of the most important sites in Malaga, so if you love history and want to learn more about Malaga, this is the tour to take. It starts at a only €13. Book that tour here.
- City Tour by Electric Tuk Tuk is the perfect Malaga tour that means you don’t have to do much walking or exert much effort at all in fact, but you’re still moving slow enough to see all of the sites and get information from a guide. This is a great way to get a better understanding of the city’s layout and learn about the different sites that you’ll pass by while you’re riding around town. Regardless of how many people (up to four), the tour costs €70. Book the tuk tuk tour here.
- This Bike Tour of Malaga is a fantastic way to get active and see a lot of the city in a short period of time. You’ll cycle through the port area, along the beach promenade, past Picasso’s birthplace, and you’ll visit a neighborhood full of street art and colorful homes. This is a fun tour to do on a sunny day which also allows you to learn more about what you’re seeing along the way. The tour costs €30 per person. Book that tour here.
- 3-Hour Walking Tour in Malaga is a good option if you like the idea of the free walking tours, but you want to go inside all of the different sites and really explore the city deeply. This tour will require you to be on your feet walking the cobbled streets for three hours, but you’ll see and go inside the Alcazaba, Cathedral of Malaga, and you’ll finish with a glass of local wine. The walking tour includes entry and skip-the-line tickets to the Alcazaba, Roman Theatre, and Malaga Cathedral. The tour costs €32 per person. Book a slot onto one of those tours here.
- Segway Tour of Malaga is a fun and unique way to wizz around the city. This is a group tour that includes a knowledgeable guide as well as some initial instruction on how to ride a segway safely if you’ve never been on one before. This will be the easiest way up to the top of the Gibralfaro Castle where you will get some of the best views back over Malaga. The tour costs €45 per person and you can book onto it here.
Wandering the streets of Malaga is a great way to get the know the city, but it’s even better with a knowledgeable guide.
Malaga Hop On Hop Off Bus
One of the most affordable ways to tour Malaga in the shortest time period is on a hop-on, hop-off bus.
If you have never done one of these bus tours around the world before, you purchase a ticket and it is valid for a set period of time.
It allows you to get on and off at as many of the different stops as you want and it goes to all of the main tourist attractions around the city, which means you don’t have to worry about other modes of transportation.
The hop-on, hop-off Malaga bus tour is a double-decker bus with an open top, which means you get to enjoy the beautiful sunshine of the Costa del Sol while sitting back in comfort. The bus also includes an audio guide so that while you are riding around, you can learn about some of the history and interesting facts about the sites you are seeing.
Depending on which ticket you choose, you get free entry to some of the city’s most famous museums like Carmen Thyseen Museum Art Museum and the Interactive Music Museum (MIMMA).
If you opt for the 24-hour Experience ticket, you’ll also get entry to the Picasso Museum, a free boat trip, and the Museo Pompidou to name a few. This ticket costs €35 and the cheaper ticket only costs €25, so if you think you’ll use the museum entry and boat trip, it’s well worth upgrading to the more expensive ticket.
There are several bus routes to take around the city, all of which are included in both types of tickets. See all of the ticket options and book one of the buses here.
Exploring the different historical sites of Malaga.
Malaga Food Tours
There are so many great places to eat in Malaga and this region of Spain has some of the best cuisine (in my humble opinion). There are the espetos (sardines) grilled up to perfection on the beach. There are chilled cups of gazpacho or bowls of arroz meloso filled with seafood.
Like everywhere in Spain, there are tapas bars serving up great options and the best way to sample a lot of different foods and the best restaurants for that food is to take a food tour in Malaga.
Whenever I visit a new city for the first time, I always make sure to take a food tour. Not only do you get to learn about the food, but you also get a knowledgeable guide who is usually local to the city. You can ask them where they like to eat and what local dishes are their favorites that you should look out for on menus around the city.
- This Tapas Crawl takes you on a three-hour food journey around Malaga. The tour promises to take you to the city’s most emblematic tapas bars where you’ll sample traditional Andalucian tapas. It includes 10-12 samples and as well as 3-4 drinks at some of the different stops to help wash it down. What’s a selection of tapas without a good wine or cold beer? It finished with a dessert and includes a local guide who is passionate about the local cuisine in Malaga. The Malaga tour is €69 per person. Book that tour here.
- This Tapas Tour includes a visit to the Atarazanas Market where you’ll sample local ingredients as well as different tapas with those traditional and locally-sourced ingredients. You’ll get the chance to try seven different dishes and four drinks at four different tapas institutions around Malaga. The tour costs €69 per person. Book that tour here.
- Go on this Food Sample Walking Tour to combine a walking tour with a food tour. You’ll stop into local markets and small local tapas spots as well as visit some of the city’s top sites like the Alcazaba, theatre, and cathedral. The tour starts with churros and chocolate before taking you to a Manchego cheese and Iberian ham tasting. You’ll also sample local, seasonal fruit and finish with a typical local ice cream. This tour costs €50 per person. Book that tour here.
Be sure to try some espetos on the beach in Malaga!
Pub Crawls in Malaga
Malaga is something of a party destination in Spain. People from around Europe come here for bachelor and bachelorette parties, including Spanish people from other parts of the country.
You can, of course, completely avoid the partying and enjoy the culture, cuisine, and history of Malaga without ever seeing much of the partying going on. However, if you are visiting with a group of friends or you simply want to have a fun night out while you’re here, join one of these fun Malaga pub crawls.
South Tours Pub Crawl is one of the most affordable and biggest options in Malaga. If you want to join a Malaga pub crawl that is full of fun travelers from around the world, this is probably your best option.
At only €15, this pub crawl includes five drinks, two bars, two clubs, VIP entrance to the clubs, and a guide to get you around to the coolest spots in town. The fact that it includes five drinks makes this one of the best value-for-money options out there. Book onto the pub crawl here.
There are so many different vineyards to visit if you have a rental car and want to get out and explore nearby Ronda.
Wine Tasting Malaga Tours
If you want to combine local wine tasting with some delicious tapas, you’ll find plenty of great wine-tasting tours in Malaga.
If you have a rental car and a designated driver, ditch the tour guide and head directly to one of these nearby wineries for tours and tastings.
Andalusia is home to so many different vineyards, especially from nearby Ronda, but there are so many different areas in this huge autonomous region of Spain that you have a lot of options when it comes to wine tasting in Malaga.
- Three-Hour Wine Tour with Flamenco Show. This Malaga tour is an absolute experience that you won’t regret having. On this tour, you will visit the oldest wine cellar in Malaga, you will visit two restaurants where you will sample 5-6 different tapas dishes, and you will finish the night with a flamenco show. The show includes a drink to enjoy while you watch the dancers. This tour costs €87 per person. Book this tour here.
- Market and Winery Tour. This is a fun tour in Malaga that takes you to Atarazanas where you will learn to tell the difference between Serrano and Iberian ham. You will then try a few different tapas as you explore more of the market. You will then go to a tavern that is run by the oldest winery in Malaga. You will sample a traditional Andalucian wine, a wine at the restaurant, and 10 different snacks along the way. This tour costs €55 per person. Book this tour here.
- Wine Guided Tour. This tour will take you to several different bars and taverns around Malaga where you will be able to sample five different local wines as well as up to eight different tapas. Your local guide will explain all of the different types of wines and where in the region they come from. This tour costs €79 per person. Book onto it here.