# Costa del Sol without a car?  Feasible?



## Coribelle (Oct 31, 2010)

We are an active senior couple thinking of going to Costa del Sol for two weeks in June.  We strongly prefer not to drive, and would rather use local transportation.  We are not really stay-at-the-resort types, and enjoy flitting around on buses, boats, and trains, visiting local sights.  Is this reasonable/possible?  We are Marriott members and trade through II.  There are NO listings at the moment after March, but I am told that 90% of people who put in a request get it.  So, can someone suggest some particular resorts that would be easier without a car? They ask for two or three resorts. There are Marriotts at Marbella and Estepona, but we would be perfectly happy in a non-Marriott property.  I have also considered Mallorca, but that seems to be car-oriented, also.  Any help or info you can give me would be much appreciated.


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## andrea t (Oct 31, 2010)

We stayed 10 days at the Marriott Marbella this past July without a car.  We were out and about every other day and did fine between taxis, resort tours and private tours.  There were several restaurants walking distance along the beach.  Our trip was amazing and if I did it all over I wouldn't change a thing.


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## MALC9990 (Oct 31, 2010)

*Costa del Sol without a car? Feasible?*

My experience is that a car is really essential. We own at Estepona and trade into Marbella (both Marriotts) and always take a hire car from Malaga Airport. There is public transport in the shape of buses along the main highway along the Costa Del Sol but as soon as you want to go other places it gets more complex.

For trips into Marbella from the Marbella Beach Club - Taxis are viable but could work out expensive over a week but perhaps less than car rental for a week. Also both MVCI resorts are a long trip from the Airport at Malaga and a taxi will cost a significant sum.


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## chriskre (Oct 31, 2010)

I stayed in Marbella Marriott in December for 2 weeks and we tried to do it without a car but found it more expensive that way.  First off the taxi ride from the airport was like 70 Euros and the car ended up costing me 160 Euros for 6 days when we finally broke down on the second week and rented a car. 

We dropped it off when we left saving us the 70 Euros it would have cost us to get back to the airport.  You might want to try it out on your own and see how it goes and if not the cocierge at the hotel can help you rent a car.  

They do have some tours from the hotel which we did a few of but with 4 of us travelling together it was cheaper to just get a car and go on our own.  
I speak Spanish so I'm comfortable doing this and the roads were very decent in Andalucia.  Parking isn't too bad either but brush up on your parallel parking and stick shift skills before renting.


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## GrayFal (Oct 31, 2010)

Coribelle said:


> We are an active senior couple thinking of going to Costa del Sol for two weeks in June.  We strongly prefer not to drive, and would rather use local transportation.  We are not really stay-at-the-resort types, and enjoy flitting around on buses, boats, and trains, visiting local sights.  Is this reasonable/possible?  *We are Marriott members and trade through II.  *There are NO listings at the moment after March, but I am told that 90% of people who put in a request get it.  So, can someone suggest some particular resorts that would be easier without a car? They ask for two or three resorts. There are Marriott's at Marbella and Estepona, but we would be perfectly happy in a non-Marriott property.  I have also considered Mallorca, but that seems to be car-oriented, also.  Any help or info you can give me would be much appreciated.



As a Marriott owner, you can request one date and one resort - you do not need the 3 resort and/or 3 date thing.
We stayed at Marriott Marbella Beach Club and LOVED it but did rent a car.
The resort does have many tours and you could do it all without a car if you had to.

Enjoy your trip.


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## Zac495 (Nov 1, 2010)

I can't imagine having done it without a car. We went all over the place. That said, my husband scared me to death with his passing and speeding! At one point I got in the backseat of the car and covered my head with my sweater. No kidding! I should have put MY name on the car rental. A few weeks upon our return, we received a SPEEDING ticket from Spain in the mail. I guess some toll booth caught him. :hysterical: 

Seriously, if you're the adventerous get up and go type - get a car! I suppose you could do bus tours via Marriott ,but that wouldn't be fun in MY opinion. Oh - one more thing - if you can get a GPS I highly recommend it. Besides going too fast, we got lost a lot. We had a GREAT time!


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## hibbeln (Nov 2, 2010)

I agree with getting a car as we found it to give us great freedom.   If you are comfortable driving a car in the USA then you'll be comfortable driving there......as long as Zac495's husband stays stateside!   :hysterical: 
Signage is excellent and easy to understand even for English speakers.   Road conditions are far superior to our roads here in Michigan.   Like any busy area, stay off the roads during the early morning and evening commute.   There is such a mix of urban and rural that a car truly makes the most sense.


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## Coribelle (Nov 3, 2010)

*Thank you so much*

Thank you so much, everyone, for all the information.  It looks as if a car wins overwhelmingly.  Any suggestions on rental agencies?  I've heard it is much cheaper if it is reserved from the states. I'd also love to hear about the resorts where you stayed.

Thanks again, Coribelle:whoopie:


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## Pompey Family (Nov 3, 2010)

Coribelle said:


> Thank you so much, everyone, for all the information.  It looks as if a car wins overwhelmingly.  Any suggestions on rental agencies?  I've heard it is much cheaper if it is reserved from the states. I'd also love to hear about the resorts where you stayed.
> 
> Thanks again, Coribelle:whoopie:



I've always found Budget to be the most reasonable.  You can collect from Malaga airport.  The only downside with this company is the proviso that you pay for a full tank of petrol and bring it back empty.  You're never going to bring it back empty so they make a markup on the fuel.  It seems however that this is the way that most rental companies are going.

I found the driving to be easy enough especially considering that it's the wrong side of the road!


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## Coribelle (Nov 3, 2010)

Thanks for the response.  The wrong side of the road? That got my attention, and a quick look at your info!  A good lesson that the entire world doesn't march in time to the US.


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## Zac495 (Nov 3, 2010)

hibbeln said:


> I agree with getting a car as we found it to give us great freedom.   If you are comfortable driving a car in the USA then you'll be comfortable driving there......as long as Zac495's husband stays stateside!   :hysterical:
> .



:hysterical:


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## Coribelle (Nov 3, 2010)

Thanks for sending the pictures.  I really enjoyed looking at them.  Do you have any of the resort in Spain where you stayed?


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## Passepartout (Nov 4, 2010)

I concur that a car is really a must. Without one there's no good reason to endure the long flight. Stay at a sunny resort in Florida, Mexico or the Caribbean.

We've used www.carjet.com and had good results from Lisbon.

Love Spain, can't wait to get back (May)!

Jim Ricks


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## hibbeln (Nov 4, 2010)

We also booked through carjet.com and got the best rate through them.

Don't worry, they drive on the "right" side of the road!   :rofl:


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## Coribelle (Nov 4, 2010)

I just checked carjet.com.  They are $200-$400 cheaper than National through carrentals.com!  Thanks for the tip.  Did anyone use their "basic" service, which they describe as walking a bit farther?

Jim Ricks, I appreciate your comment about why bother to go to Spain if you don't have a car?  I had been wondering if the Costa del Sol resembles Miami or Fort Lauderdale.  So glad to hear it doesn't.

Again, thank you so much, everyone! The amount and quality of information that is being supplied is amazing, and I am so grateful to you all for your time and interest.


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## Passepartout (Nov 4, 2010)

Coribelle said:


> I just checked carjet.com.  They are $200-$400 cheaper than National through carrentals.com!  Thanks for the tip.  Did anyone use their "basic" service, which they describe as walking a bit farther?
> 
> Jim Ricks, I appreciate your comment about why bother to go to Spain if you don't have a car?  I had been wondering if the Costa del Sol resembles Miami or Fort Lauderdale.  So glad to hear it doesn't.



What I meant was in order to get away from the built-up resorty one-after-another high-rise area and see more 'real' Spain, you'll want a car. Don't know about carjet's basic. When I rented from them I got the car right at Budget's counter at the airport. A pretty basic model and had a few parking-lot dings. We marked them on the sheet when we got the car and didn't worry about getting more (don't think we did) before returning it. The Spanish do park pretty close together- especially in cities.

Have fun planning your trip. I think that's the best part of travel.... Jim


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## enma (Nov 4, 2010)

We stayed in Estepona (Marriott) last summer. I feel like you really need a car there. Driving is little scary also but we managed.


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## chriskre (Nov 5, 2010)

I rented from Marbesol.  They brought us the car at the resort but you can also pick it up at the airport.  We decided to only rent for one of the two weeks so we picked it up at the resort.  It was very reasonable.  They had cheaper cars than the 160 Euros that we paid but we got a 4 door "mid" sized which here would be a Ford Focus.  It was stick shift and had AC.

It was a good size for us.  Not too big that you couldn't park it parallel but big enough to hold all our luggage when returning to the airport.  I drive an SUV for the last 20 years so I had to brush up on my stick shift skills on the hill in front of the resort before venturing out onto the highways.  It's like riding a bike.  Once you do it you get it back quickly.  Of course all my friends were screaming when we rolled downhill but that was part of the fun.  :hysterical: :hysterical:


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