Eighteen ways to walk the boardwalk through the Gaitanes gorge, compared. Entry with a guide from $32, full days out of Málaga with the transport included, and one thing every listing assumes you know: this is a one-way route. 80,151 reviews behind them.
Entry with a guide
18 tours compared$32
A full day from Málaga with the coach included starts at $64
Average rating
Across all 18 tours4.73 ★
Across 80,151 verified reviews
The route
One direction only7.7 km
Of which 2.9 km is the boardwalk itself. You finish at the southern exit, not where you started
Everything you can book here
Eighteen tickets and tours, with the column that decides it: whether the transport is included. Two hours at the gorge and a seven-hour day out of Málaga are the same walk with very different days around it.
★ 4.8 · 9,605 reviews
★ 4.6 · 10,325 reviews
★ 4.6 · 15,431 reviews
★ 4.6 · 921 reviews
★ 4.6 · 904 reviews
★ 4.7 · 9,107 reviews
★ 4.8 · 1,057 reviews
★ 4.9 · 18,658 reviews
★ 4.8 · 100 reviews
★ 4.8 · 5,824 reviews
★ 4.8 · 3,908 reviews
★ 4.8 · 1,585 reviews
★ 4.5 · 901 reviews
★ 4.9 · 200 reviews
★ 4.5 · 1,533 reviews
★ 4.7 · 25 reviews
★ 4.7 · 32 reviews
★ 4.8 · 35 reviews
Two questions
Eighteen tickets and tours, and they come down to four decisions: whether you have a car, how you are getting back from the southern exit, whether you want the rest of the day arranged, and how many people you can bear on a metre-wide walkway. Pick what matters and the page picks the ticket.
See it before you pay for it
Three things, and the photographs only show the first. A metre-wide boardwalk bolted to a vertical wall a hundred metres above the river, a gorge that narrows to ten metres across, and a great deal of ordinary path at either end of it.
Side by side
Everything here is one of three shapes. Entry with a guide is two to three hours and assumes you arrived yourself. A day out of Málaga is six to eight hours with the driving done. A small group is the same walk with fewer people on the boardwalk.
Swipe the table sideways →
| OUR TOP PICKFrom Málaga & Costa del Sol: Caminito del Rey Guided Tour | Caminito del Rey: Entry Ticket and Guided Tour | Caminito del Rey: Tickets, Guided Tour, Shuttle & Water | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price per person | $75 | $32 | $43 |
| How long | 6–8 hours | 2 hours | 4–7 hours |
| Cost per hour | $10.71 | $16.00 | $7.82 |
| Where it starts | Málaga or the coast | The northern access | The northern access |
| Transport from the city | Yes, coach both ways | No | No |
| Shuttle back from the exit | Included | Not included | Included |
| Entry ticket | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Guide | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Rating | 4.8 · 9,605 | 4.6 · 10,325 | 4.7 · 9,107 |
| Best for | No car, and one day to spend | Driving, and the lowest price | Driving, but not solving the bus |
| Book this one→ | Check dates | Check dates |
Free cancellation · Reserve now, pay later
Verdict
If you have no car, the full day out of Málaga is the whole answer: coach both ways, entry, a guide and the shuttle from the southern exit, with 9,605 ratings behind it. If you are driving, the difference is not the walk — it is whether the ticket solves the return from El Chorro, and only three listings here do.
Check dates and availability→Before you book
Four listings here carry more than nine thousand ratings each and one has 18,658. Three carry fewer than forty, because they are small-group tours where the sample is naturally tiny. Neither fact is a verdict on its own, but when two listings look alike, the one with eighteen thousand people behind it is the safer booking.
Two-minute check
Eighteen tickets and tours, and one thing that decides more than the price: this is a one-way route, and how you get back from the southern exit is the whole problem. Three answers narrow it to one.
Do you have a car?This decides more than the price does
How much of the day do you want to give it?The walk itself is three to four hours
Where are you starting?El Chorro is about 60 km from Málaga
You'll get the ticket that fits your answers, the thing about it that catches people out, and an honest word about how you are getting back from the southern exit.
Six kinds of day
Ratings are the operators’ own numbers on GetYourGuide, shown as published. We do not write reviews and we do not average other people’s into a score of our own. Four tours here carry more than nine thousand ratings each, which is an unusual amount of evidence for one walk.
★★★★★
Based on 80,151
verified reviews
All sixteen tours on this page, rated by the people who took them on GetYourGuide.
Read all 80,151→From Málaga & Costa del Sol: Caminito del Rey Guided Tour
From $75 · 9,605 reviews
★★★★★
A full day out of Málaga or the Costa del Sol with the coach both ways, entry, a guide and the return bus from the southern exit all handled. 9,605 reviews at 4.8.
Caminito del Rey: Guided Tour and Entry Ticket
From $33 · 15,431 reviews
★★★★★
Guided entry with official guides, two hours on the route, and 15,431 ratings behind it — more than any other listing in this niche. It assumes you have arrived at the gorge yourself and will solve the way back yourself too.
Caminito del Rey: Tickets, Guided Tour, Shuttle & Water
From $43 · 9,107 reviews
★★★★★
Entry, a guide and the shuttle back to the northern car park. The Caminito is one-way and you finish several kilometres from where you left the car; this listing is the cheapest thing here that deals with that properly.
Caminito del Rey Guided Tour & Welcome Pack from Málaga
From $69 · rated 4.9
★★★★★
18,658 ratings at 4.9, which is the highest score on this page on an enormous sample. Coach from Málaga, entry, guide and a welcome pack. If you are choosing on evidence alone, this is the listing.
Caminito del Rey from Málaga, small group up to 7 people
From $139 · up to 7 people
★★★★★
The boardwalk is a metre wide and one-way, which means you move at the speed of the group in front. A capped group of seven changes that more than it sounds, and it is the only real upgrade available in this niche.
From Seville: Caminito del Rey Hike Day Trip
From $108 · 1,533 reviews
★★★★☆
Ten hours, two and a half of them driving in each direction. It is the only realistic way to walk the Caminito from Seville in a day, and 1,533 people have rated it. It is a long day and the listing does not hide that.
What it really costs
Entry with a guide starts at $32 if you get yourself to the gorge. A full day out of Málaga with the transport included starts at $64, and most of them sit between $69 and $86.
Swipe sideways →
| What you are paying for | Price | What you get | Cancellation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry with a guide | $32–$43 | Two to three hours, and you arrive under your own steam | Free cancellation |
| A day out of Málaga | $64–$97 | Six to eight hours, coach both ways, entry included | Free cancellation |
| From Seville, or a small group | $108–$191 | Ten hours from Seville, or a capped group from Málaga | Free cancellation |
The honest answer
Yes, with one expectation set correctly: the boardwalk is under three kilometres of a seven-and-a-half-kilometre route, and the rest is an ordinary path through a pine valley.
The walk, kilometre by kilometre
Tours meet at the northern entrance, where the ticket time is checked. Helmets are issued here and wearing one is compulsory for the whole route.
A short lit tunnel under the rock brings you to the start of the access path. From here on there is no way back except forwards.
About twenty minutes on an ordinary gravel path through pines, with the gorge still out of sight. People who have only seen photographs are usually surprised by this part.
The first section of walkway, bolted to the rock about a hundred metres above the water. It is a metre wide, it has a handrail, and the floor is solid.
In places the crumbling 1905 concrete walkway is visible directly beneath the modern one. It is the single most effective thing on the route for explaining why it was closed for thirteen years.
A suspension bridge across the narrowest part of the gorge. It moves, there is a glass panel underfoot, and it is what everybody photographs.
The walkway ends and the path drops down through the valley towards the southern exit, with the reservoir ahead.
The end of the route, several kilometres by road from where you started. The shuttle bus back to the northern car park runs from here.
The one decision that matters
Everything else on this page is a preference. This is the thing that catches people out. The Caminito del Rey runs in one direction only: you enter at the northern access near Ardales, you walk south through the gorge, and you come out at El Chorro. Those two points are several kilometres apart by road and there is no path back — the walkway is one-directional and the gorge has no other exit. A shuttle bus connects the two ends and runs to a timetable. If you drive yourself and buy entry alone, the return is your problem to solve, and people regularly discover this at the far end with no plan. Three listings on this page include the shuttle. All thirteen of the day tours from Málaga or Seville include the whole journey. Work out how you are getting back before you decide which ticket is cheapest.
Four things on the route
A metre wide, about a hundred metres above the water, and 2.9 km long.
One suspension bridge at the narrowest point, with a glass panel underfoot.
The 1905 original, visible below the modern walkway, and the reason for the reputation.
Limestone flour in the reservoir gives it that colour, and it is not enhanced.
Start here
Here is the thing every listing assumes you already know, and almost nobody does until they are standing at the wrong end of a gorge: the Caminito del Rey is one-way. You enter at the northern access near Ardales, you walk south, and you come out at El Chorro several kilometres by road from where you left the car. There is no walking back. A shuttle bus runs between the two ends, and whether your ticket includes it is the single most practical difference between the listings on this page.
The boardwalk is not the whole route. The full walk is about 7.7 kilometres including the access paths, and the spectacular part — the walkway bolted to the cliff — is about 2.9 of those. The rest is an ordinary gravel path through pine woods, pleasant and entirely unremarkable. People who have seen only the photographs sometimes spend the first twenty minutes wondering when it starts.
What you are walking on is a 2015 replacement. The original path was built in 1905 to let workers move between two hydroelectric plants, and it was named after Alfonso XIII, who walked it in 1921. By the 1990s it had crumbled to the point where sections were bare steel rods, and it was closed for thirteen years. In several places the old concrete is visible directly below the new walkway, and it is the most eloquent thing on the route.
The gorge itself is the point. The Desfiladero de los Gaitanes narrows to about ten metres across in places, with walls rising a hundred and more above the Guadalhorce. The water is a startling turquoise, which is not enhancement: it is limestone flour suspended in the reservoir. There is one suspension bridge across the narrowest section, with a glass panel underfoot, and it moves.
A word about who cannot go. Children under eight are not admitted at all — this is a rule of the route, not of any operator, and no ticket gets round it. A helmet is issued at the entrance and wearing it is compulsory for the entire walk. The route is closed in high wind and in extreme heat, which in an Andalusian summer is a real possibility rather than a formality.
On timing: entry is by fixed slot, as at most Spanish monuments, and the walkway is one-directional, which means you move at the pace of the people in front of you. There is nowhere to overtake on a metre-wide walkway. This is why a small group matters more here than the price difference suggests, and why the first slot of the day is worth having.
And the arithmetic of the day tours, which looks worse than it is. Entry with a guide is around thirty dollars; a full day out of Málaga is around seventy. For that difference you get the coach both ways, the entry, the guide and the shuttle from the southern exit — which, if you were driving yourself, you would have to solve anyway. If you do not have a car, the day tour is not the expensive option. It is the only sensible one.
If you want more than the walk
The Caminito takes three to four hours and the drive out there takes another two. These three fill the rest of the day rather than leaving you at a car park in El Chorro at one in the afternoon wondering what to do next.
Practical
Five things decide how it goes: the entry time on your ticket, how you get back from the southern exit, what is on your feet, the heat, and whether anyone in the party is under eight.
Where every tour starts and where the ticket time is checked. Helmets are issued here.
About 1.5 km of ordinary gravel path through pines before the gorge appears at all.
2.9 km of walkway a metre wide, bolted to the cliff about a hundred metres above the river.
One suspension bridge at the narrowest point, with a glass panel underfoot. It moves.
Visible below the modern walkway in several places, and the reason the route was closed for thirteen years.
The end, several kilometres by road from the start. The shuttle bus runs from here.
A rule of the route itself. No ticket and no operator gets round it.
Issued at the northern entrance and worn for the whole walk.
North to south. There is no walking back and nowhere to overtake.
Printed on the ticket, as at most Spanish monuments.
Anything bulky is refused at the entrance; there are lockers at the car park.
Decided on the day, and refunded. It happens in summer.
The surface is good but there is loose gravel on the approach paths.
And nowhere to buy water once you start. Carry it.
Plus the shuttle at the end, which runs to a timetable.
And nothing in between, for about four hours.
The walkway is solid and railed, but there are grilles and a glass panel with a hundred metres below them.
The gorge in the middle of a July afternoon is not somewhere you want to be.
Which makes booking early and watching the forecast costless.
Weekend slots in April and May go first.
Otherwise the return from the southern exit is your problem.
The coach is most of what you are paying for and it is worth it.
Two and a half hours each way makes it a ten-hour day.
Under-eights are refused at the gate.
Best time
The route is open most of the year and closes for high wind and for extreme heat. Spring and autumn are the good windows, and the difference is almost entirely about temperature in a gorge with no shade.
Mar – May
Warm rather than hot, the valley green, and the water at its most turquoise after the winter rain. The gorge has almost no shade, so this is the window where that does not matter. Also the busiest: tickets for weekends go weeks ahead.
Sep – Oct
The heat breaks in the middle of September and the light in the gorge is at its best in the late afternoon. Fewer people than spring, and the walk is comfortable at any hour of the day.
Nov – Feb
Cold in the gorge and short daylight, but the route is open and almost empty. Rain closes nothing by itself; high wind does, and that is the main winter risk. Tickets are easy to get.
Jun – Aug
Andalucía in July, in a limestone gorge, with no shade and no way to shorten the route once you are on it. The walk is closed outright in extreme heat, and the early slots sell out first for good reason. Take the first entry of the day or come another month.
Worth knowing
It is one-way, and you finish several kilometres from the car. The northern access and the southern exit are not the same place. A shuttle bus connects them; whether your ticket includes it is the most practical difference between the listings on this page.
The boardwalk is 2.9 km of a 7.7 km route. The rest is an ordinary path through pine woods. That is not a complaint — it is a useful expectation, and it explains why people spend the first twenty minutes wondering when it starts.
Children under eight are not admitted. This is a rule of the route itself, enforced at the entrance, and no operator can make an exception. Check before you book for a family.
There is no shade and nowhere to buy water. Carry your own, and in July take the first slot of the day. The route closes outright in extreme heat, which is a real event rather than a formality.
You move at the pace of the group in front. The walkway is a metre wide and one-directional and there is nowhere to overtake. This is why a capped group is worth more here than the price difference suggests.
If you have no car, the day tour is not the expensive option. Entry alone is about thirty dollars and a full day from Málaga about seventy, and for that difference somebody else solves the drive, the parking and the shuttle.
Round out the trip
Go deeper
Common questions
Entry with a guide starts at $32 on this page. A full day out of Málaga with the coach, the entry and the shuttle back starts at $64, and most sit between $69 and $80.
Three to four hours for the full 7.7 kilometre route, of which the boardwalk itself is about 2.9 kilometres. The entry tickets on this page are sold as two or three-hour visits; the day tours from Málaga run six to eight hours door to door.
Yes, with one expectation set in advance: the spectacular boardwalk is under three kilometres of a seven-and-a-half kilometre walk, and the rest is an ordinary path through pine woods. People who know that almost never regret it.
Yes. Entry is by timed slot and daily numbers are limited. A week ahead is usually enough, two in April and May, and weekends go first.
Regularly, especially at weekends in spring and autumn. Every tour on this page cancels free, so booking early costs nothing.
Not difficult underfoot: the walkway is solid, railed and almost level. What it asks is about four hours of walking, a head for heights, and tolerance of a one-way route you cannot leave once you have started.
Rarely, and not at weekends or in spring. The daily allocation is limited and it goes in advance. Turning up hoping is not a plan.
Yes, and most people do. From Málaga it is a six to eight hour day; from Seville about ten, with two and a half hours of driving each way.
Free · no account needed
One PDF: all eighteen tickets and tours by price and length, which include the shuttle back, the route kilometre by kilometre, and the rules that get people turned away at the entrance.
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Why trust this page
Prices, durations and ratings are read off the live listings rather than copied from other affiliate pages. The route, the distances and the rules come from the published record.
You finish several kilometres from where you started. That is the commonest surprise in this niche and it is at the top of this page rather than in a footnote.
2.9 kilometres of a 7.7 kilometre route. The rest is an ordinary path, and knowing that in advance is the difference between a good day and a puzzled one.
Eighteen listings, ranked on what is included, how the return is solved and how much evidence stands behind the rating. We earn a commission when you book and it does not change what we recommend.
The answer
If you do not have a car, book the day tour for $75: coach both ways, the entry, a guide and the shuttle from the southern exit, with 9,605 ratings behind it. If you are driving yourself, book entry with the shuttle included at $43 instead — it is the cheapest listing here that solves the one-way problem properly.
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From Málaga & Costa del Sol: Caminito del Rey Guided Tour
★ 4.8 · 9,605 reviews · Free cancellation 24 h
