Are you planning a day trip from Fuengirola to Estepona?
Estepona is just under an hour’s drive from Fuengirola, and a great place to spend the day exploring.
This article has all the practical tips and information you need to plan your Fuengirola Estepona journey!
Fuengirola Estepona: Travel Options
Are you wondering which commute to use for the route Fuengirola Estepona?
Here are the options available:
Fastest & most convenient: by car, under 50 minutes travel time one way. An easy trip on the highway with cool views too!
Cheapest: probably with a car (if you don’t count rental price into account), but the bus is also affordable with tickets starting around 5 euros one way.
Without renting a car: the bus is your only option as no trains run to Estepona (or beyond Fuengirola)
Fuengirola Estepona by Bus
There are two ways you can get from Fuengirola to Estepona by bus – either a direct route on a long-distance Avanza bus, or by using the local connecting bus from Marbella.
The long-distance route option was only a last-minute discovery for me, as they’re not easy to find unless you know about them in advance.
The journey takes only over an hour, and it is so much faster compared to the connecting option from Marbella.
The only disadvantage is the fact that there are roughly 4 buses per day available, so you’re very limited with the travel time options (not ideal if you’re planning only a day trip, but if you’re staying overnight it’s fine to use these). The bus connection is the route to Algericas (arriving at Fuengirola from the direction of Cordoba).
It’s best to book the tickets in advance online (I put the link to the timetable below – it also shows you prices for each trip which differ).
Unfortunately, you can’t select the seats, so getting on a bus with a fellow traveler or a family can be a bit of a gamble. On my recent trip, the bus was very full and I had to sit separated from my family, but if you’re traveling with kids there is always a nice person who will move and let you sit together.
The second option is taking a regular local bus that goes to Marbella, they run roughly every half an hour, and the journey takes 1.5 hours (it stops very frequently – and of all places on the highway – which can be quite annoying).
Get off at Marbella main station and take the connecting bus to Estepona.
It’s best to check the schedule ahead of time so you don’t end up wasting a lot of time in Marbella waiting for the next bus, which is not as frequent.
Fuengirola to Estepona Bus Timetable
I found the local timetables to be not very reliable and found it best to check on online booking forms which will show you the buses available on a particular day, along with the different prices.
Head over to the Avanza website and enter your destination and dates, a few bus options will pop up. You can buy the tickets in a few clicks and just show the QR code from your phone to the bus driver.
Please remember you have to take your ID with you.
Tickets from Fuengirola to Estepona bus start at only 6 euros one way.
Fuengirola Bus Station
The bus station in Fuengirola is not very well organized, and the buses stop at two sides of the terminal.
My ticket to Estepona was indicating that the bus will stop on the south side of the station (where local buses to Mijas depart), but it wasn’t true and it stopped by the main road, at the junction with the traffic lights.
This happened many times, so even if your ticket indicates a certain street name, you need to keep an eye on the arrival of the buses and expect them to stop alongside the main terminal building – even if it gets crowded and there may be sometimes 3 buses stopping same time.
There is a small ticket booth at the station, but apart from that almost zero facilities.
Estepona Bus Station
Estepona has a very small bus station at the beginning of the town, it’s quite far off from the centre alongside a long stretch of the highway. I would imagine it’s probably 15 – 20 minutes walk if you want to go there on foot.
Just behind the bus station is a taxi rank, almost hidden behind the bushes, where you can get a local taxi to your hotel or the old town.
The taxi to the old town would cost around 5-7 euros, the journey to my hotel which was on the other side of the town (practically outside of Estepona), was nearly 12 euros (8km journey on the highway).
There is no Uber service in Estepona.
The terminal building is small, but there are toilets, ticket machines and a small vending machine.
Fuengirola Estepona by Train
Unfortunately, the train network doesn’t run any further south of Fuengirola, and the only way to get to Estepona from Fuengirola is by car or bus.
Fuengirola Estepona by Taxi
According to estimates online, the taxi from Fuengirola to Estepona would cost between 60 to 80 euros, depending on the number of people traveling. If you’re planning to travel by taxi, it’s best to search online and ask for a quote in a few places to get the best price available.
The distance between Estepona and Fuengirola is approximately 60 km.
Fuengirola Estepona by Car
The journey from Fuengirola to Estepona by car takes under 50 minutes (around 60 km in total) and it’s very easy to drive on a highway.
There are two route options to get to Estepona, one involves the paid toll highway option via AP-7 (one toll gate where you have to pay), and the second option is traveling via A-7 which is the route the local bus takes and it does not have tolls (also nice views of the coastline).
Fuengirola Estepona with Travel Agency
If you’re staying in Fuengirola for a holiday and want to venture out to Estepona for a day trip, there are quite a few travel agencies that organize regular bus trips that you can take there. All it takes is investigating which one happens to run the day trip while you’re in Fuengirola.
I’ve used Days Out Andalusia once before, and they also do a tour of Estepona, but it’s maybe once a month or once every few weeks.
Other options include a private tour guide with a drive, and a tour of Estepona included – might be worthwhile if there is a bigger group of people to split the costs.
Frequent Questions
Is Estepona near Fuengirola?
It’s not very near, the distance between Estepona and Fuengirola is approximately 60 kilometers, or 50 minutes drive in a car.
How far is Estepona from the airport?
The closest airport to Estepona is Malaga airport, the distance is approximately 65 kilometers. You can take a bus to Estepona directly from the airport – buy your tickets online in advance to ensure a secured seat.
How much is bus from Fuengirola to Marbella?
The bus tickets are under 4 euros one way and can be bought directly from the bus driver or at the ticket terminal in Fuengirola bus station.
How much is bus from Malaga airport to Estepona?
The tickets start from 8.70 euro one way and can be bought online at Avanza website. There are lots of bus connections available daily, with an average journey duration of 1hr 10mins (express buses or standard buses).
