Here's the catch almost nobody mentions before you book: the Caminito is not a there-and-back walk. You go in at one end and come out at the other, about 8 kilometres from where you left the car.
Still without a ticket? Sort that out before the car: here are the three ways to get one.
In short: the route is linear, north (Ardales) to south (El Chorro). A €2.50 shuttle bus links the two ends and parking costs €2. All you have to decide is which end you leave the car at, and whether you take the bus before or after walking.
You leave the car at the north end, in Ardales, which is where you go in. You walk north to south and, coming out at El Chorro, you take the shuttle bus back to your car. This is the most common option and the most intuitive: walk first, sort out transport afterwards.
The risk: you end the day depending on a bus. If you finish late or the queue is long, you wait — with your car 8 km away.
You leave the car at El Chorro, which is the exit, and take the shuttle bus before walking up to the northern entrance. You do the walk and finish exactly where your car is parked.
The advantage: you catch the bus with the morning ahead of you rather than on tired legs. When you come off the walkways, you're done. If you're with children or would rather not depend on timetables at the end of the day, this is the better one.
It costs €2.50 and links the two ends. Now the awkward part, and the reason you will not find a fixed timetable here: the official website itself gives two different time ranges on two different pages. One says one thing in its FAQ and another in its how-to-get-there page.
Publishing one of the two would be gambling with your afternoon. So the honest advice is: confirm the time of the last bus at the entrance itself, on the day, before you start walking. It takes thirty seconds and saves you the one genuinely bad surprise this visit can throw at you.
There is a dedicated train station, "El Chorro-Caminito del Rey", and it sits at the southern end — the exit. If you arrive by train you will need to ride the shuttle up to the northern entrance before walking: the same plan as option B, but with no car to recover. Timetables change by season, so check them at renfe.com.
And coming from Málaga, it is about 59 km (≈50 minutes) by car to the northern area, according to the official website itself.
The day trip from Málaga picks you up and brings you back to the starting point, ticket included. No parking, no shuttle, no checking the time of the last service.
CHECK AVAILABILITY →The official one costs €10 and sells out; tours with the ticket included are the plan B.
See options →7.7 km, 3-4 hours, minimum age 8 and a stretch with a glass floor.
Learn more →Parking and shuttle prices verified on the official Caminito del Rey website in August 2026. Remember you must arrive at the entrance 30 minutes before your slot. Independent guide: we are not the Caminito del Rey organisation.