If you are one of the many millions of people expected to fly out on holiday to the Costa del Sol this year, there is a good chance you’ll be jetting into Malaga Airport. As Spain’s 4th busiest airport, Malaga Pablo Picasso Airport sees approximately 13 million passengers through its gates each year, which results in the 2 terminals (soon to be 3) getting a little chaotic especially around peak season. With this in mind, it pays dividends to know in advance exactly where everything is. So once the luggage has been collected, the main priority for most people is getting out of the airport and to accommodation as quickly as possible so the fun can start. This more often means finding the right car hire at Malaga Airport.

Whether due to impatient kids, size-able baggage or the unfamiliar temperatures, trying to grapple with confusing airport signage and wade through golfers, foreign students, hen parties, as well as regular holiday-makers, can prove a trying way to start a holiday, unless forearmed with the right knowledge. Our Idiot’s Guide can ensure you move like a heat seeking missile through the swathes of people, reach your target desk and be out of there before you’ve even had a chance to break a sweat.

When you collect your keys, the staff member behind the desk will inform you which level of the car park your vehicle is situated on and the number of the bay. This will either be on your key fob or will be written down for you. From there you go to the opposite end of the hall to the entrance ramp, which takes you through to Level -1 of the car park. At the moment, the cars are spaced out over three levels: Ground Floor, Level -1 and Level -2. Most pick-up cars are parked between two floors with Auriga Crown, Europcar, National Atesa, Record, Solmar and Sixt on the Ground Floor and Autos Lido, Avis, Goldcar, Hertz, and both National Atesa and Record represented again on Level -1.

To return a hire car, there is a special entrance for rental cars which is just past the regular P1 and P2 parking entrance bays. There is no ticket to collect when entering and passengers do not have to return the keys to the original terminal-based office as there is a corresponding office for each company on one of the three floors. Sixt is the only one that has 2 offices and these are on the ground floor and Level -2. Autos Lido, Avis, Goldcar, Hertz and Record all have their offices on Level -1, while Auriga Crown, Europcar, National Atesa, Sixt and Solmar´s are situated on Level -2. These offices are also for use by people renting a car but not flying from the airport. The much smaller Terminal 1 also has 5 car hire check-in desks which are on the left as you coming through into arrivals. They are Auriga Crown, Autos Lido, Europcar, National and Sixt.

Most of the off-airport rental firms are located on a slip road running adjacent to the approach road into the airport called Avenida Garcia Morato. These Malaga car hire companies are Cargest, First Car Group, Global, Helle Hollis, Holiday, Malagacar, National, Niza and Top rent-a-car. Getting to these is incredibly simple as each puts on a specially-dedicated courtesy bus that either schedules runs to and from the airport every 15 minutes or uses the flight details of the customers to turn up at the right time. These buses collect from just outside the arrivals terminal by the regular bus stop which is around 50 metres down on the right after exiting the building.

When returning the vehicle, drivers are advised to go round the roundabout and come back on themselves to turn right into the slip road called Avenida Garcia Morato. The final four Malaga Airport car rental firms are located just over the roundabout, after the BP garage on the right hand side and are Autolink, Marbesol, Tony´s and Yellow Car. They are also reachable via a footbridge that runs over the road. To find the footbridge turn right out of the Malaga Airport departures hall and follow the signs for the train station, which will lead you a little further down before making you cross the road and go through the car park.

• Niza
• Hertz
• Europa
• Pepecar
• Crown
• Sixt
• Car Gest
• Marbesol
• National Atesa
• Car Gest

Here at Spain car hire, we offer a huge variety of Spanish rental cars sourced from Malaga’s top car hire companies. Search today for a low cost Malaga rental car.

There are bus and train services available from Malaga Airport.

Over thirteen million passengers used Malaga Airport in 2008. It is the 4th busiest Spanish Airport with over 120,000 flights a year. There are two terminals in Malaga Airport with Terminal Two by far the busiest accounting for ninety percent of passengers.

The following services are available at Malaga Airport;

• Unicaja Bank (Terminal 2) on the ground floor – includes currency exchange facility.
• Post  Office (Terminal 1)
• Currency Exchange Counters (Terminal 2) – Arrivals and Departures area
• VIP lounges – Costa del Sol (Aena) lounge (Terminal 2) + Europa (Aena) (1st floor Terminal 1) – These must be booked in advance
• Catholic Church (Terminal 1) mass on Sunday mornings – 10.30am

Both Ryanair and Aer Lingus offer flights to Malaga. Aer Lingus began a four day sale today which is certainly worth a look. Hiring a car in Malaga opens up a wealth of touring possibilities. Search for a cheap car hire Malaga deal today.

Due to an abundance of flights from Ireland, Malaga has become a starting point for many Irish setting off on a sun seeking mission to Spain.  Aer Lingus offers the following routes –

Dublin Airport to Malaga Airport
Cork Airport to Malaga Airport
Belfast Intl Airport to Malaga Airport

With Ryanair the following routes are available

Dublin Airport to Malaga Airport
Shannon Airport to Malaga Airport

Both airlines offer regular sales so keep an eye on the national press and sign up for both airlines newsletters as there are plenty of opportunities to grab bargain flights to Malaga throughout the year.

There is no shortage of things to do once you arrive in Malaga. The Picasso museum is a must visit for those with an interest in art and history. Pablo Picasso is one of Malaga’s most famous sons. He was born not far from where the museum is situated.

There are 2 museums located at the Alcazaba Castle. You can check out some Gothic and Greek artifacts at the Archaeological Museum while the Museum de la Ceramica has pottery on show from many different periods of history. You can also find a Roman theatre which dates from the 1st century on the grounds of the castle.

The Museum of Arts and Popular Traditions contains the work of many local artists from various time periods. Those with an interest in architecture should pay a visit to the Cathedral in Malaga. Work on the cathedral began in 1528 and was continually built over the following centuries which led to a mixture of different styles.

There are many superb restaurants in Malaga boasting wonderful fresh seafood delights. There are some great places to shop in the market area of the city as well as it being the perfect place to observe some Malaga city life.

If you need a hire car we can have one ready and waiting for you as soon as you step off the plane at Malaga Airport. Our cheap car hire Spain service operates all year round in many locations including car hire Malaga.