An Easy Day Trip From Malaga – The White Village of Mijas Pueblo
If you are looking to take an easy day trip from Malaga Spain, then a visit to Mijas Pueblo should be at the top of your list. Mijas Pueblo is one of Andalucia Spain’s famed White Villages, and can be reached in about an hour using public transportation from Malaga. In fact, Mijas Pueblo may be the easiest White Village to reach from Malaga. Let me show you how to take this easy day trip from Malaga, along with some of the top things to do in this beautiful hilltop village.
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Why Visit A White Village?
So…Mijas Pueblo is the easiest White Village to visit on a day trip from Malaga. But what are the White Villages of Andalucia anyway? And why should you go?
Here is a photo of Mijas Pueblo. It demonstrates many of the characteristics that make the centuries-old White Villages so charming…
A concentration of whitewashed houses. Often on the side of a hill (or hilltop). Packed in tightly together. Narrow streets. Amazingly scenic. Oozing both charm and history.
The vast majority of these Villages are located within a region of Andalucia bordered by Cadiz to the west and Malaga to the east. The most well-known and largest White Village is Ronda. A big part of Ronda’s fame has to do with its spectacular bridge – a 250 year old bridge that links the two main sections of town across a deep ravine.
Not far from Ronda is another amazing White Village called Sentenil de las Bodegas. Here, many of the white houses are carved into the side of a ravine – literal cave houses.
We stayed in one of Sentenil’s cave houses during a road trip through Andalucia a couple years ago. You can click here to read all about our experience staying it a cave house in Sentinel de las Bodegas, along with even more info about this beautiful White Village.
If you want to visit Ronda on a day trip from Malaga, the journey by car is about 90 minutes. But if you mostly focus on using public transportation like we do now, the journey between the two cities takes at least 2 hours via train or bus – and sometimes longer depending on the time of day. Consequently, many visitors find it easier to book a Ronda tour with private transportation (like this one on Viator).
Getting From Malaga to Mijas Pueblo
So then, one of the factors that makes a day trip from Malaga to Mijas Pueblo so attractive is the easy public transportation connection between the two places. It can take as little as an hour.
Here’s how you do it….
Suburban Train First
Malaga has a suburban train network called Cercanías. It’s comprised of two different rail lines. Line C-1 connects central Malaga to several coastal cities to the west, and includes a stop at the airport. The final stop on the C-1 line is a city called Fuengirola. Mijas Pueblo sits on a hillside above Fuengirola.
Malaga’s central Cercanías station is located just across the street from its Old Town’s western edge. From there, the C-1 goes to Malaga’s main train station (called Maria Zambrano) where you can catch it as well.
You can easily purchase tickets from the automated machines inside the station. The machine has instructions in English and accepts cards or cash. You will want to buy a Return Ticket (includes both directions) to Fuengirola. At the time of our day trip from Malaga it cost just a little over 7 Euros.
Trains leave about every 20 minutes, so not a lot of planning is required – another factor that makes this an easy day trip. You can basically go whenever you want (you can look at the schedule here). The journey from Malaga to Fuengirola takes 45 minutes.
Lots of people ride these trains – commuters and tourists alike – so they were always quite full any time we rode them. But by starting our journey at the beginning of the route (in either direction), we were always able to find a seat.
Then, Option 1 – Bus
Once you arrive in Fuengirola, you have two options for getting up to Mijas Pueblo….bus or ride share.
The bus leaves from Fuengirola’s main bus station every 30 minutes. The station is two blocks south of the train station. But don’t look for the bus to Mijas Pueblo directly outside the terminal.
The bus that runs between Fuengirola and Mijas Pueblo is number 122, and its terminal is on the street in front of the main bus station. It’s a bit confusing but I’ve marked the spot for you on Google Maps here. The current pricing is 1.55 Euros each way – paid directly to the driver. The bus ride lasts 25 minutes and makes multiple stops along the way. You can see the schedule here.
Or Option 2 – Uber
However, the name of this blog post is An Easy Day Trip from Malaga to Mijas Pueblo. And I don’t think it’s easy to take the bus in this circumstance. Not only is it a little tricky to find, but it definitely takes longer to reach Mijas Pueblo from Malaga if you use the bus for your second leg of the trip.
So I would recommend using Uber to get back and forth from Fuengirloa instead. This is what we did. Sure it costs a little more. But it’s so much easier and so much faster. And on a day trip, time matters!
The ride share companies Bolt and Cabify also operate in the area. There are taxis around as well.
Our Uber ride to Mijas Pueblo took only 15 minutes and was significantly more comfortable than the bus. The cost wasn’t terrible, averaging 12 Euros in each direction. Plus, we could step right off the train and grab a ride – rather than walking to the bus station and waiting for the next departure. This saved us a significant amount of time. Compared to riding the bus, it was well worth the 9 Euro price difference (for the two of us).
(Important Note: When booking your ride in the Uber App you need to specify Mijas Pueblo as your destination. This ensures that you will be taken to the White Village. The municipality of Mijas is actually much larger now than in ancient times, and extends all the way from the classic hillside village to the Mediterranean coast west of Fuengirola.)
Things to Do In Mijas Pueblo
Visit The Tourist Information Center
Our Uber driver dropped us off a short distance from Mijas Pueblo’s Tourist Information Center. And this is a great starting point for your time in the village. In fact, I’d suggest specifying it as your Uber destination. It’s in a perfect spot – right across from one of the village’s main plazas. It also offers some great first views out across the surrounding countryside and down to the sea from Mijas Pueblo’s elevated vantage point.
I stepped inside and grabbed a tourist map of the village. I found this extremely useful for our time in town. It showed me where I could find all the town’s major sites and a brief description & historical perspective on each.
Walk Straight Past The Donkey Taxis
Directly in front of the Visitor’s Info Center, you’ll see a long row of donkeys hooked up to small carts. Mijas Pueblo is somewhat famous for these donkey taxis. This unique breed of Andalusian donkey has long been a working animal in this region. At some point a few decades ago, the donkeys were turned into a tourist attraction (donkey cart is not a traditional mode of transportation here).
Prior to our day trip from Malaga, I’d come across a fair amount of online concern about the welfare of these animals. Here’s a good article explaining why it’s best to avoid riding the donkey taxis in Mijas.
And besides, Mijas Pueblo is very walkable. It’s best enjoyed on foot anyway. No real need to have a poor animal cart you around.
Fortunately, we did not see one donkey taxi carrying anyone during our time in the village.
Check Out A Unique Church
Adjacent to the Visitor Information Center and the Donkey Taxis, you’ll find the village’s most unique church – the Chapel of the Virgin of the Rock.
Honestly, it’s very easy to suffer from Church Fatigue when traveling through Europe. There’s always a historic church or three to see in every town. So I always appreciate one that is as unique as this one. In fact, it’s the only church in Mijas Pueblo we visited – due to our own case of Church Fatigue.
The chapel sits within the rock foundation of an old fortress. It was hand-carved from the rock by a very devout and determined Monk in the mid-1600s. It took him 26 years!
Inside you’ll find an alter. On top sits the Patron Saint of Mijas Pueblo – The Virgin of the Rock.
There’s quite the story associated with her as well. According to legend, the Virgin appeared to two children playing nearby during the 1500s. She asked them to free her from her hiding place in the fortress tower and build her a chapel. And indeed, the children and their father found the Virgin statue hidden in the tower. This was certainly hailed as a miracle by the townspeople. But it took another 100 years before said monk made it a point to honor her request and start digging out her current resting place.
All this backstory definitely adds to the intrigue of the place.
Enjoy Free Flamenco
If you happen to take your day trip from Malaga to Mijas Pueblo on a Wednesday or Saturday, then you’ll certainly want to catch the free Flamenco show held at 12pm on those days. The village of Mijas Pueblo sponsors this show, and its location alternates between two of the town’s main squares.
(I’m not sure if these shows occur year round or not. We visited mid March. Here’s the town’s tourism website so you can check for any updates.)
We visited Mijas Pueblo on a Saturday, and so after visiting the church, we next joined the crowd of people for some Flamenco in the town’s central square – the Plaza de la Constitución.
Flamenco is Spain’s most renowned style of dance. It originated in Andalucia. And so watching Flamenco in an Andalusian White Village makes perfect sense.
The show itself lasted an hour, there were multiple costume changes, and the performers danced to several different types of music which was delivered by sound system.
But if I’m being perfectly honest, the show was just OK.
We’ve been to Flamenco shows in both Madrid and Granada. And we’ve watched several Flamenco performances on the streets of Seville – where street flamenco is more common than any other type of street busking.
For me personally, the Spanish guitar and singer are an essential part of a Flamenco performance. That was missing here. But the show was still worthwhile nonetheless. Especially if it’s your only chance to see Flamenco while in the area. Plus the setting is great. And it’s free!
(If you are traveling to Madrid and want to check out the best Flamenco performance we’ve seen, then here’s a Viator link.)
Eat Typical Andalucian Cuisine
Eating local food is an essential part of any of our day trips. And in Mijas Pueblo, you’ll find plenty of restaurants and cafes – all in a beautiful setting of course.
We chose a gastrobar called Blue Coffee Bike. Partly because it had great online reviews, but also because it is located directly on Plaza de la Constitición. Their few terrace tables offered an unobstructed view of the noon-time Flamenco show. We made it a point to arrive about 20 minutes early, grabbed the last remaining outdoor table, and ordered coffee.
As the crowds lined up further on down the public terrace to watch the show, we had a perfect seated vantage point for the hour long performance.
The staff at Blue Coffee Bike were very friendly, and didn’t seem to mind that we waited until the show was nearly over to order lunch. When we did, I enjoyed their Iberian pork tenderloin cooked in a port wine reduction.
Visit Spain’s Smallest Bull Ring
Not far from Plaza de la Constitución, you’ll find the town’s Bullring. Bullfighting is traditionally one of Spain’s favorite sports, though it is gradually falling out of favor. Bullfights are no longer held in Mijas and the building now serves as a museum and historical site (only 4 Euros to enter). And while I don’t condone bullfighting, I still appreciate the history and architecture of Spanish bullrings, and the Bullring in Mijas is definitely worth a stop.
I’ve seen it referred to online as both the Smallest Bullring in Spain and the Smallest Bullring in the World. I presume the latter title is true – it’s hard to imagine one smaller. It’s also considered unique because of its oval shape. And its location is absolutely stunning…cliffside with a view out across much of Mijas Pueblo.
Your entry ticket allows you full access to the place. Walk out through the dirt covered arena. Explore the various chutes and passageways. Wander the stands. And park yourself in the luxury seats….
Take In The Views
Adjacent to the bullring, you’ll find the La Muralla Botanical Park. This is Mijas Pueblo’s largest green space and is located on top of some of the town’s original defensive walls. What a great way to repurpose this historic structure!
You should definitely take the time to walk out along the semicircular perimeter of La Muralla. We saw some spectacular views of the valley below and the Mediterranean just beyond.
And as we continued our way around…great views of the western half of Mijas Pueblo too.
Wander The Scenic Streets
At this point in our day trip, we stopped seeking out specific sites. A lot of this had to do with the fact that I’d left my tourist map behind at Blue Coffee Bike, and was mostly winging it.
But that’s the beauty of a scenic little village like Mijas Pueblo. It’s the type of place where you can put down the tourist map, and just wander. Never knowing exactly what you’ll find around the next corner. But knowing that it will likely be great.
Final Thoughts
All told, we spent about 4.5 hours exploring Mijas Pueblo on our day trip from Malaga. This was just about right for us, but it wouldn’t be hard to spend even longer in this beautiful Spanish White Village.
I encourage you to go check it out for yourself!
If you would like to read more about visiting Malaga and its surroundings, then check out these posts:
Is Malaga Worth Visiting? – All the Reasons It’s a Yes!
Visiting Antequera From Malaga – The Challenges & The Rewards
And if you would like to read about a few more of our easy day trips around the world, then check out these posts:
An Easy Day Trip from Budapest to Colorful Szentendre Hungary