The Caminito Del Rey (literally translated the path of the king) is a fantastic hike in southern Spain’s Andalusia region. It is one of the highlights of the region and well worth a visit. The path takes you over a tens of meters high gorge and through the rocks. The spectacular views and the feeling of raw nature make sure you can’t get enough of it. Read below all our tips for the Caminito Del Rey hike, how to buy (last-minute) tickets, how to get there and what not to forget to bring.
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History of the Caminito Del Rey
The Caminito Del Rey was built in 1900 to accommodate an electricity project. It was named Caminito Del Rey after King Alfonso XIII walked the path in 1921 to open a reservoir.
In 2000, the Caminito Del Rey was closed after several people died during the hike. This caused the Caminito Del Rey to become one of the most dangerous hikes in the world. The trail was renovated over 15 years and reopened to the public in 2015.
How do I buy tickets for the Caminito Del Rey?
This is probably the most important question when you are preparing for the hike, how do you buy tickets for the Caminito Del Rey? There are several ways to do this:
1. Through the official website: the cheapest tickets
You can buy the cheapest tickets to the Caminito Del Rey through the official website(https://www.caminitodelrey.info/en/tickets/buy). The only downside is that the tickets on the official website sell out incredibly fast. You have to buy tickets months in advance. This is – if like us you love living day to day while traveling – not ideal. Fortunately, there is another option where you can make more last-minute plans.
2. Via GetYourGuide
Through GetYourGuide you can often buy tickets (with guide) up to 2 days in advance. These are a bit more expensive than on the official website, but then you have a fun, enthusiastic guide who knows a lot about the Caminito Del Rey and you can make last minute plans. Through GetYourGuide there are a lot of tour operators for the Caminito Del Rey, so check out what suits your dates and needs. Check here for all operators and dates.
There are no more tickets available for the Caminito Del Rey, what to do? Our tip!
We are real last minute travelers, because the night before we decided we wanted to go to the Caminito del Rey the next day. Nice, but how do you do that when there are no more tickets anywhere online? Then you just try at the entrance!
So we boarded the first train early in the morning in good spirits and arrived at the entrance to the Caminito Del Rey at 11:00 am. After making it clear that we did not have tickets yet, we were sent to the ticket office, where we were able to buy 2 tickets without any problems, top!!! You can pay with both cash and your debit card.
You will have to buy the more expensive tickets of €18 with a guide. However, if you don’t need a guide and would like to walk through on your own you can indicate that and you can just walk through.
We did the Caminito Del Rey in March, when it was still low season. Therefore, we cannot say for sure that you can still get tickets at noon in high season as well. To be on the safe side, we would recommend coming to the entrance extra early during the high season (May through September) for a better chance of getting tickets. Or buy your last minute tickets through a tour with GetYourGuide, then you can be sure to get in.
What you should bring to the Caminito
What you should not forget to bring with you to the Caminito Del Rey is:
- Your debit card and/or cash for security
- Sunglasses
- Sunscreen
- A cap
- A rain jacket (it can still rain in the off-season)
- Enough food and drink (1 liter of water per person)
- Possibly a cardigan or sweater
- Camera to shoot beautiful pictures. Leave your drone at home, as it is prohibited in the park.
How do you get to the Caminito Del Rey?
There are several ways to get to the Caminito Del Rey. By car or by public transportation. Of course, it depends on where you are coming from, but most people do the Caminito Del Rey from Malaga
By car
By car from Malaga to the Caminito Del Rey you will take a little over 1 hour. You will drive a beautiful route through the mountains, after which you will arrive in the village of El Chorro. Here you will find a parking place at the southern entrance, but it is more convenient to drive to the northern entrance, where you can park the car and walk straight to the starting point. In fact, to get from the southern entrance to the northern entrance you have to take a shuttle bus, which we explain in more detail below.
Taking public transportation to the Caminito Del Rey from Malaga
From Malaga, you can also take public transportation to the Caminito Del Rey. This is very easy.
- Book train tickets in advance through trainline. From Malaga to El Chorro. We have booked trains in Spain several times through them and it is always well arranged. It is most convenient to immediately book the earliest train (often around 08:00 or 09:00).
- You may be able to buy tickets at the train station itself, but we did not do this ourselves.
- From Malaga center, you can easily get to Málaga María Zambrano train station by bus or by walking. So from here you take the train you have reserved to El Chorro. The train ride takes 1 hour and takes you – in a beautiful route – to El Chorro.
- Once you arrive in El Chorro (southern entrance), catch a shuttle bus to the northern entrance. Below we explain the shuttle bus further.
- What is good to know: if you are also going back to Malaga by train, you do not need to buy tickets in advance. You can just do this on the train when the conductor comes by. This way you are not stuck with a specific time for the train and you can walk the Caminito Del Rey at your own pace.
How does the shuttle bus from the south entrance to the north entrance work?
From the train station in El Chorro (and the parking lot at the southern entrance), you can be taken by shuttle bus to the northern entrance. At the northern entrance, the Caminito Del Rey starts. In fact, the southern “entrance” is not a real entrance, but the starting point of the shuttle bus. So there is only one real starting point of the Caminito Del Rey, and that is at the northern entrance.
The shuttle bus runs all day between the south and north entrances. You buy a one-way ticket for €2.50 per person. You can pay with cash and with your debit card. When the bus is full, it will take you to the Caminito Del Rey visitor center in about 20 minutes. Here you can go to the restroom one more time (there are no restrooms anywhere on the route of the Caminito Del Rey).
Then you can walk to the entrance point via 2 routes. To the right it is 1.5 kilometers to the entrance point, while to the left it is 2.7 kilometers. Both routes are beautiful and already show how beautiful the nature around the Caminito Del Rey is.
What should you pay attention to during the Caminito Del Rey hike?
It is a very easy route to follow by yourself. There is only one path you can follow through the Caminito Del Rey, so it is really impossible to get lost. The only thing you do have to be careful of is not going off the path.
We saw other tourists sitting on a large stone about 5 meters from the path. Enjoying the sun and eating lunch at the same time. We wanted that too. So when we found a nice stone slightly above the path we climbed to it. We were sitting here, but after a few minutes we were whistled down by angry Spaniards that it is not the intention to leave the path. We really didn’t know this, but herewith we warn you about it.
Caminito Del Rey tickets without a guide
You don’t need a guide for the Caminito Del Rey hike, but it can make it a little more fun if you’re interested in the trail’s history and want a little more information about Andalusia.
However, we have heard that the assigned guides with the official tickets can be less enthusiastic and fun to narrate than if you book with a specific organization through GetYourGuide. These groups are also generally a lot smaller, so you won’t be strolling around with 40 people (we saw those groups, too).
How long is the Caminito Del Rey hike?
From the visitor center, you will hike in about 20 minutes to the official entrance of the Caminito Del Rey. From the official entrance it takes 1.5 to 2 hours to walk the Caminito Del Rey completely. Of course, this depends on how many photos you take and whether you want to have lunch somewhere extensive in the sun.
All in all, we got off the train at 10:30 and were back at the same point at 2:30. This included a very long break in the sun on a terrace, which you see after walking the Caminito Del Rey.
Extra tip: take an extra lap after the Caminito!
We found the Caminito Del Rey route not at all as long in terms of kilometers as we expected. It is about 7 kilometers from the visitor center until you get back to the train (shuttle bus). We actually wanted to hike a little further, because the area is really beautiful. Therefore, we hiked an additional loop and can definitely recommend this to you as well.
It takes 45 minutes to an hour to hike this loop, with some elevation gain, but it is so incredibly beautiful! You walk quite a bit through the woods, under the trees with pine needles, while seeing the tens of meters high rocks opposite you. This is the Google Maps route we followed, starting and ending back at the El Chorro train station. After this we were completely satisfied and caught the train back towards Malaga at 16:30.
How much does the Caminito Del Rey cost?
Through the official website, tickets for the Caminito Del Rey cost €10 each. If you opt for the guided tickets (which sell out less quickly), you pay €18 per ticket.
When you book a ticket + guide through GetYourGuide you often spend around €30. This depends on which operator and group size you choose. Sometimes a drink or some food is also included in the price.
If – like us – you try to buy tickets on the day, you can only choose guided tickets. So these then cost €18 per person. However, you don’t have to use the guide, if you don’t want to, you can walk right through.
What about Caminito Del Rey and vertigo?
Noelle is afraid of heights, so she was very apprehensive about the Caminito Del Rey. Fortunately, this turned out to be not that bad. The whole hike is doable, until the end. Here you have to cross a gorge via a suspension bridge. Below you only see the dozens of meters deep abyss, which is really very scary.
Fortunately, there is an employee here, who is a tremendous help to you if you are afraid of heights. He gives you tips on how to walk, what to look for, and he makes sure you are allowed to cross the bridge by yourself, so it doesn’t rock and wobble. This was a really exciting moment, but otherwise the Caminito Del Rey is perfectly doable with vertigo (this is our experience).
Caminito Del Rey hotels
You can choose to spend the night in a hotel near Caminito Del Rey. The surroundings are insanely beautiful. Besides the Caminito Del Rey itself, there is a beautiful lake where you can swim or hike a bit. If you want to spend the night in a hotel, we recommend these hotels near the Caminito Del Rey.
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