Cruise port Malaga 2012: Scale in a prime destination

The Andalusian city of Malaga is becoming an attractive alternative when it comes to cruise the Mediterranean ports. Although Barcelona is still the main cruise port in Spain, Malaga as cruise port of embarkation or scale is entering the routes of major companies and ships.

Throughout the year 2012 thirty cruises pass through the Costa del Sol. In Malaga arrive cruise ships from all the major cruise companies such as Royal Caribbean, MSC Cruises, Iberocruceros, Pullmantur, Norwegian Cruise and Costa Cruceros.

The Costa del Sol

Malaga is the capital of the Costa del Sol and the largest city in southern Spain after Seville. Its proximity to Cordoba, Granada, Cadiz and the Andalusian capital Seville make it ideal for a holiday in Andalusia. Hence, before embarking on a cruise you can get to know the south of Spain and even the Rock of Gibraltar, a British territory with a long history.

The Costa del Sol is one of the most popular tourist regions of Spain; cities and villages like Marbella, Mijas, Fuengirola, Benalmadena or Nerja, with their white houses and ports are other options for a large scale before or after your cruise.

Routes and trips

Routes that have the city of Malaga as an embarkation point or scale are mainly of two types. The first are the purely Mediterranean cruises, calling at Barcelona, Morocco and the Balearic Islands and take normally a week.

Then there are those cruises that run along the Italian coast, stopping in Sicily, Naples and Rome. Others are directed to Sardinia, Corsica, Venice, the Adriatic ports of Dubrovnik and Split or the French Provence.

Greece is one of the cruise destinations departing from Malaga. After scales in the western and central Mediterranean (Morocco, Tunisia, Sicily, Sardinia, Italy, Malta), the cruises tour the Greek islands and come to Athens or Istanbul.

The Atlantic Ocean is another possible route from Malaga. Thus, after stops in Morocco, the ships reach the Canary Islands and Madeira to return to the Costa del Sol. These routes are new and allow us to see Lisbon and Funchal in Madeira, and some cruises even go to the Azores.

There are as well transatlantic cruises from Florida or South America with a stopover in Malaga before entering the Mediterranean Sea towards Venice, Rome, Athens and Istanbul.

In any case if you plan to visit Andalusia and want to combine your trip with a cruise remember that Malaga is a port of maritime tourism. And Malaga, as Europe's southernmost capital, is certainly worth a visit.