Cultural activities received 6.800 cruisers last Saturday in Malaga

The streets in the centre were yet again filled with jazz exhibitions, flamenco shows and classical music concerts in a new day of maximum tourist influx

After the success of April the 27th, the Tourist Board once again organised a new program of cultural activities in several streets of the city’s historical centre receiving over 6.800 cruisers and 2.000 crew members that arrived at the city on three cruise ships.

The aim of these organised events is that the visitors find their stroll through our city even more attractive and so that they can discover Malaga as a lively city, with shows specially designed for all the profiles of tourists. Saturday’s program took place between 10:00 and 12:30 in the Plaza de la Constitución, where a flamenco fusion show was carried out by the group Flamenkura; on Cister street, an exhibition of traditional jazz with guitar and piano; and on Caldereria street, the Murillo Quartet offered a concert of classical concert.

As the Culture, Tourism and Sport councillor, already explained at the time, these activities were carried out during the days of most influx of cruisers. With this, the Tourist Board hoped to achieve that the visitors fall in love with the city and consider organising a longer stay in the destination in the near future.

“The tourists don’t want to just settle for discovering the city’s patrimony, they need to live unforgettable experiences in the destination, knowing that the city that they’ll be arriving at is culturally alive and can offer all kinds of activities, which is why we organised this wide range of shows and events, to value the richness of our culture”, pointed out the councillor.

These activities also contributed to the promotion of the city’s culture. In fact, the events (dance shows, music, performances or wine and olive oil tastings) were carried out by local professional groups or students of these disciplines.

The Orange Festival in Coín

Last Sunday the 13th of may, the village of Coín held the XVI edition of the Orange Festival. Quite an attraction for the locals and the tourists that visit this town located in the province of Malaga

Municipio de Coín (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

, that yet another year participated in masses. Over five thousand people had a great time and participated in the tastings, different activities and samples of the festival, battling against the suffocating heat by grabbing plenty of drinks and searching for a shady spot in the park where the event took place.

The star product of the festival was obviously the orange, that was shared out amongst the participants in many different ways. In the morning, from very early, many people made their way to the San Agustin park to visit the many different food exhibitors that had almonds, cheese, bread or sweets, as well as traditional ceramic of the area or flowers. The participants were presented with refreshing orange juice which was very much appreciated due to the heat.

A total of 4.000 kilos of freshly squeezed oranges were served throughout the morning whilst enjoying several musical shows carried out by Pepi Fernandez’ dance academy and the ‘Old Rondalla Orchard’. Other activities took place throughout the day like the ‘solidarity shopping’ of the flea market organised as a fundraiser or the petition with signatures to oppose to the courthouse’s abolition. The 2012 Orange Award was also given out, that this year went to the artist Carmen Escalona for promoting the traditions of the area, as she has spent years making ceramics that gather the best traditional spirit of the village’s culture. Other awards went to the desserts elaborated with oranges. This festival is declared as Touristic interest and is traditionally attended by thousands of people.

Malaga City And Costa Del Sol in Spain

Benalmádena Marina, Costa del Sol, Spain Español: Puerto Deportivo de Benalmádena, Málaga, España (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Spain has not only firmly established in world football, but as well in the cruise sector it is has a prominent position. Thus Málaga, the capital of the Costa del Sol, has become in recent years an important cruise ship destination in Spain.

Overall, Malaga has experienced in the last 15 years a rapid economic development and is representing today a meeting point of the Mediterranean Sea and an ideal city destination. Ready accessibility by sea, land and air, the climate, the historical old town with impressive buildings and the wide range of gastronomic and cultural offer, with 23 museums, such as for example, the Picasso Museum (Malaga is the birthplace of Pablo Picasso) make the city worth visiting and encourage guests to chose Malaga for a trip and combine it with a stay of one or more nights.

Since the port is a few steps away from the old town of Malaga, cruise guests can easily explore the downtown area of Malaga on their own. Also, the recently expanded Malaga airport is conveniently situated only a few kilometres from the capital of the Costa del Sol.

As a main tourist destination of the province, the Costa del Sol offers a large amount of opportunities to enjoy leisure, the beaches and the climate and to make the holiday stay eventful. All these opportunities have turned Malaga over the years into one of the most popular holiday destinations on the Iberian Peninsula for domestic and foreign visitors.

In this section of coast are the largest towns of the province which have made tourism, sun and beach their trademark: Benalmadena, Torremolinos, Fuengirola, Estepona and of course Marbella, are the most visited towns on the Costa del Sol.

In addition to these communities visitors can find the smaller villages situated next the coast, enjoying a great location between sea and mountains, such as Casares, Benahavis, Manilva, Mijas, etc., to name a few. In these places you can enjoy the fantastic surroundings of nature and an impressive view of the coast.

These places can be reached best with a car and it is advisable to reserve a car hire at Malaga airport in advance, because here the transport is scarce. Discover during your stay the other side of the Costa del Sol, which offers so many cultural, historic and beautiful natural places.

Related articles

• The popular Costa del Sol (malagaweb.wordpress.com)
• Costa del Sol sun and sea tourism deals better with the crisis (malagaweb.wordpress.com)

Malagacar.com will release soon new discount voucher codes for the summer season

Our contact in Malagacar.com has told us they will soon release new discount code vouchers for car hire in Malaga during the summer season. Those waiting for the best deals should pay attention during this month of May.

How to get the new car rental discounts?

Just follow Malagacar.com in Facebook, Google+ , Twitter or subscribe to their newsletters and you are done.

What about car rental availability?

Malagacar.com has a fleet of more than 2000 vehicles and about discount voucher codes, it depends…sometimes are until end of existences and sometimes they release a voucher for the whole year.

What is the fuel policy for car hire in Malaga?

While other companies bill for a full tank of fuel, Malagacar.com offers half tank of fuel, enough for most of us.

Do I need my credit card for booking online?

No, under no circumstance malagacar.com will ask you for your credit card details online.

What about cancellation fees?

If you don’t have to pay in advance, that means…there are no cancellation fees! What if your holiday start a few days later, a new volcano erupts, or lollipops start falling from sky and planes can’t fly? it is good to know you will not have to pay any penalty.

Do I really need to hire a car in Malaga?

Well…you are not obligated!, but it is a good idea because in Malaga most popular destinations are not close to each other. Let’s say you are in Marbella, and want to visit Ronda (a must), or just visiting Malaga centre…distance is a bit large if not using a car.

Where can I subscribe to the car rental newsletters or check prices?

http://www.malagacar.com/mail-list/

The magazine that Ryanair hand out on their 96 routes will dedicate June to Malaga’s tourist offer

Vista de Málaga (Photo credit: Figuelo)

A journalist and a photographer of this magazine will be staying in Malaga from today until next Sunday with the aim to discover the main monumental sites of this destination

A journalist and a photographer from the ‘Let’s go magazine’, Ryanair’s monthly publication, will be staying in Malaga as from today, right through till next Sunday with the objective of writing a six-page article in the issue of the following month of June.

This magazine is given out regularly on the 96 routes that the company currently operate, so it’s estimated that it reaches more than six million passengers every month. Amongst its content, ‘Let’s go magazine’ dedicates a large space to the main tourist destinations all over the world, as well as other articles on fashion and lifestyle.

For this occasion, the Tourist Board of Malaga’s Town Hall has organised a wide program of activities so that both the journalist and the photographer can thoroughly explore the city’s wide tourist offer and its main cultural resources.

This way, this familiarisation trip includes a visit to the Botanical Garden of ‘La Concepción’, the monumental complex of the Alcazaba, the Roman Theatre and the Gibralfaro Castle, the Cathedral, the Picasso Museum and the painter’s house of birth, the Carmen Thyssen Museum, the Glass Museum or the Motor Museum. On the other hand, the program also includes a bicycle route from the historical centre of Malaga to the beaches of Pedregalejo.

The Culture, Tourism & Sport councillor, Damian Caneda, has emphasised the importance of this type of reports so that Malaga’s tourist offer gets the chance to be seen in the main markets all around the world. “These press and familiarisation trips are proving an enormous efficiency to promote our destination, so we want to keep on investing in these type of publications that have a great outcome for us”, he pointed out.

According to the journalist in charge of the report, the magazine is particularly interested in highlighting Malaga’s potential as one of the most important destinations for cultural and gastronomic tourism in the Mediterranean. Consequently, apart from the visits to the main monuments of the city, the Tourist Board’s promotional experts have also scheduled a visit to three of the main gastronomic areas of our destination.

This way, in ‘Muelle 1’, the port’s new shopping and leisure centre, the journalist will have the chance to interview the well-known chef Jose Carlos Garcia. They will also get to discover some of the most popular restaurants in Malaga’s historical centre and will be able to taste our famous ‘pescaito’ (typical and traditional fish dish) in one of Pedregalejo’s ‘chiringuitos’ (beach bars).

Finally, the program also includes a work meeting with Gloria Noblezas, manager of the hotel Husa Guadalmedina, establishment that will be collaborating with this visit and where the invited journalists will be staying; and a visit to the Room Mate Larios hotel.

This familiarisation trip, included in this year’s action plan of the Tourist Board, also coincides with the celebration of the Malaga Spanish Film Festival, so the journalists will also be able to enjoy one of the cultural activities with more touristic and cultural projection in the city of Malaga.

The popular Costa del Sol

Beaches in the Costa del Sol. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The popular Costa del Sol, considered one of the major tourist areas worldwide, is covering 160 kilometres of coastline in Malaga, southern Spain. Malaga city is situated in its centre, serving as the imaginary line between the eastern and the western Costa del Sol.

Bathed by the Mediterranean Sea, on the Costa del Sol the beaches are the main attraction. They are among the best in Europe, being annually awarded with the “Blue Flag” by the European Community. These distinctions are awarded based on environmental conditions, infrastructure, equipment, accessibility, etc. Besides its beaches, on the Costa del Sol the visitor can find many attractions for its monumental and cultural quality or impressive landscapes.

We can visit the province of Malaga at any time of year, but especially the Costa del Sol, which is guarded by a succession of mountains of considerable altitude, positively affecting its meteorology. One of the reasons that have made this stretch of coast a prime tourist destination is the mild Mediterranean climate. As the name suggests, the Costa del Sol is one of the best and sunniest climates in Spain, with over 300 sunny days and mild temperatures throughout the year.

But in addition to its beaches, tourists have more reasons to visit the Costa del Sol. Thanks to the diverse cultures that have passed through this land, every corner has historical and artistic values, archaeological sites, monuments, churches, museums.

In addition, visitors can enjoy an extensive agenda of culture and leisure whatever the time of year you visit the Costa del Sol. In the field of family entertainment can be found an amusement park, several water parks, zoos, aquariums, many sports facilities, hiking trails for outdoor sports, water sports, adventure, etc..

If you are looking for a place with night live, you will have trouble choosing in which area to stay. All coastal towns in this part of Malaga have their own nightlife district, with countless places to have a drink… or two. Boredom is banned in the Costa del Sol.

Windstar Cruises includes the port of Malaga in their new itineraries

msy Wind Spirit (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The luxury cruise line Windstar Cruises has chosen the Port of Malaga as a stopover on their new Mediterranean itineraries planned for next year. Thus, the shipping company is planning eight stops in Malaga facilities in 2013.

The vessels Wind Spirit, Wind Star and Wind Surf, which make up the fleet of this company, will make eight scales between April and November next year.

The luxury shipping company is expanding its range of scales in the Mediterranean, including the Port of Malaga, where are programmed six scales for 2012; next year the entire fleet will visit the capital of the Costa del Sol.

The fleet of luxury sailing boats have a capacity of between 150 and 300 passengers and are considered equivalent to a 4 star Hotel. The cruise terminal has been renovated recently and is within walking distance of the historic centre of Malaga.

Royal Caribbean operates the only transatlantic cruise with boarding in Malaga

Liberty Of The Seas docked in San Juan, Puerto Rico. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

From Malaga to San Juan, in Puerto Rico. This is the itinerary of the only transatlantic cruise that will allow the boarding of passengers at Malaga port this year, according to the Malaga port’s managing director, Sebastian Camps. The ship company Royal Caribbean has been the one in charge of programing this fifteen-day trip, that will departing Malaga on the following 3rd of November, and that’s successfully selling tickets from 750 euros.

“It’s the first time we strongly focus commercially on this product, although last year a transoceanic cruise also departed from Malaga port”, the ship company pointed out. The ship chosen for this trip is the ‘Adventure of the Seas’, that as from next Saturday and until the 3rd of November will be initiating at Malaga port a one-week cruise around the Mediterranean.

The trip to the Caribbean will be marking the end of the operation as the base port of the Royal Caribbean in Malaga, given that the ship, with a capacity for 3.800 passengers and 311.1 metres long, will carry on touring the American coasts during the winter.

Itinerary

The passengers of this transatlantic cruise departing from Malaga will be able to discover, over these fifteen days of the trip, the Funchal islands (Madeira), Lanzarote, Las Palmas, Gran Canaria and Tenerife before beginning five days of sailing. After these, the cruisers will enjoy the Caribbean islands of St. John’s, Antigua; Phillipsburg, St. Maarten and Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas until the end of the cruise in the port of San Juan, Puerto Rico. “It’s a very attractive itinerary that’s very demanded in the national market with many foreign clients. In fact, it’s expected that the vast majority of passengers are from several different countries, highlighting the UK. In Spain’s case, they have sold many tickets to groups in Malaga that have come all the way from Canarias”, explained the ship company, that also pointed out that some of the passengers plan to extend their stay in Puerto Rico, from where they’ll be returning by plane.

This ship company will be playing the star role in the cruising activity in Malaga today with the arrival at the port of the biggest ship to sail around the Mediterranean, the ‘Liberty of the Seas’, with a capacity for 4.328 passengers. This ship will be sharing the dock with  Pullmantur, that will be bringing around two thousand tourists to Malaga. In total, over 6.000 cruisers will be visiting the city.

Don’t be alarmed: This is only a drill

Malaga airport carried out a drill of an airplane accident yesterday as part of their self-protection plan. An airplane hypothetically crashed at the 12th header of the second runway during a landing manoeuvre, in an exercise that tested the ability of a fast and efficient reaction at the airport. 50 students from Malaga’s nursing university also participated.

The biggest sailing ship company in the world chooses Malaga as its base port until 2013

The American sailing ship company, the biggest in the world, launches in Malaga a new way to travel around the high seas sailing under full sail and places Malaga port on the map of luxury cruises. Star Clippers, the one that all the rest of the companies of these type of small passenger ships look up to, those that combine the tradition with the services of a tourist capable of paying a minimum of two thousand euros for a seven-day trip, has chosen Malaga portas its base for its 2012 and 2013 program. Therefore, the announcement of placing a ship in Malaga to schedule five regular departures as from September this year and the same next year, is an extra value for the port of the Costa del Sol’s capital, beyond the volume of passengers that this sailing ship company moves.

The Port of Málaga. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Marie Krafft, the company’s sales manager, advanced yesterday on one of the decks of the Royal Clipper, under the ship’s five masts, that they have programed a one-week cruise with the Star Flyer, that will be leaving Malaga to sail around the coasts of Andalusia and Morocco, as from the 15th of September till the 20th of October. Furthermore, she also advanced that for the 2013 program, that’s still in process, they’ll be contemplating this port once again to schedule many other departures with embarkation and disembarkation in Malaga.

The Star Flyer, with four masts and 16 sails, that will be based in Malaga, can carry 170 passengers that will be able to discover Tangier and Casablanca, flanking the mountains of the Atlas, Cadiz, Gibraltar and Motril. “We trust that the response of the national market proves that there is potential for these type of cruises that combine activities of a smooth adventure, the introduction to sailing and some romantic routes. Our clients, from 25 different nationalities, are people in search of something very different. In a way, it’s as if we have gone back in time 100 years”, said Krafft.