From Málaga Airport towards Cádiz: Estepona, Sotogrande, Gibraltar, Tarifa

West of Marbella the coast changes character: Estepona keeps its Andalusian town centre, Sotogrande and La Alcaidesa are golf estates, Gibraltar needs a passport, and past Tarifa the Costa de la Luz opens onto Atlantic beaches down to Cádiz and the sherry towns of El Puerto and Jerez.

We drive all of it from Málaga Airport at a fixed price, right down to Cádiz and Jerez: the fare covers motorway tolls, luggage and VAT, with no supplement for distance or arrival time. For the longest routes we ask you to book at least 48 hours ahead so the vehicle and driver are dedicated to your journey for the day.

Which stretch of the western coast suits you

The road west of Marbella falls into three stretches. The first, Estepona to Manilva, is still Costa del Sol: resorts on the New Golden Mile, the old town of Estepona, Casares up on its cliff, an hour or so from the airport. The second is the Campo de Gibraltar: Sotogrande's golf and polo, La Alcaidesa, La Línea for the Rock, Algeciras for the Morocco ferries, around an hour and a half. The third is the Costa de la Luz, where Tarifa, Zahara, Vejer, Conil and the Cádiz bay swap Mediterranean resorts for Atlantic beaches and white villages, two to three hours away.

Timing a long transfer

For anything past Sotogrande we ask for 48 hours' notice, so a driver and vehicle are dedicated to your trip. Journey times are steady because most of the route is motorway, but two things move them: the Estepona to Guadiaro toll section on summer Fridays, and the N-340 through Tarifa when the levante wind and the kite crowds arrive in July. Early morning and late evening runs to Cádiz are the smoothest. For the return we collect you with the journey plus a two-hour margin at the terminal, two and a half in summer or for flights outside Schengen.

Road notes: tolls, the border and the A-381

The AP-7 tolls end at Guadiaro, just before Sotogrande; from there the free A-7 carries you round the bay. For Gibraltar the standard drop-off is at the La Línea border, where you walk across in about five minutes with your passport; taking the car through can be requested when booking and depends on the queue that day. To Jerez and El Puerto the driver leaves the coast at Los Barrios and takes the A-381 through the cork forests of Los Alcornocales, faster and prettier than following the coast, while Cádiz itself is reached along the A-48 past Chiclana.