The airport you will most likely fly into when you are visiting Almuñécar and the Costa Tropical/Costa Granadina is Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport (IATA code AGP), located 45 miles to the west of Almuñécar. You may also enter the region from Federico García Lorca Granada Airport (IATA code GRX), located 31.5 miles north of Almuñécar.

ALSA (www.alsa.es, website in Spanish) operates an intercity bus which leaves from Málaga bus station, directly opposite Málaga Maria Zambrano train station, and travels east in the direction of Motril. The trip to Torre del Mar takes roughly one hour; thirty more minutes and the bus will reach Nerja; fifteen minutes after leaving Nerja, the bus will arrive in La Herradura; and twenty minutes after that, the bus will arrive in Almuñécar. The one-way journey between Málaga and Almuñécar takes just under two hours. ALSA also operates a bus which runs from the bus station in Granada to Almuñécar with a stop in Salobreña. The journey from Granada to Almuñécar lasts 75 minutes; Salobreña and Almuñécar are 20 minutes apart from one another.

Driving directions to Almuñécar from Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport: When leaving the airport, take the loop onto the MA-21 motorway. After approximately one mile, use the right two lanes to merge onto the MA-20 around their exit 5. At exit 12, use the left two lanes to stay on MA-20, which will become the A-7 freeway (this will be exit 240 on the A-7). Take the exit to the right at exit 305 (La Herradura/Almuñécar Oeste). Keep straight on the roundabout which will bring you to the Carretera de Almería. You will first pass by the town of La Herradura, and within three miles of driving you will have reached Almuñécar. Turn right on the Carretera Al Suspiro del Moro to enter the center of town.

Driving directions to Almuñécar from Federico García Lorca Granada Airport: When leaving the airport, drive on the A-4075 road and turn right on the A-92/A-92G motorway. In a couple of miles, turn right onto the E-902/A-44 toward Motril. This road is called the Autovía Sierra Nevada-Costa Tropical. Turn right and take exit 183 (Salobreña/Málaga) to join the A-7 motorway/Autovía del Mediterráneo. Take exit 314 (Almuñécar Este) and use the two roundabouts to cross the A-7. After one more roundabout, where you will keep right, the Carretera de Almería will take you to the edge of Almuñécar. Turn left on the Carretera Al Suspiro del Moro to enter the center of town.

The bus system on the Costa Tropical is called Urbanos Almuñécar, and it is run by Grupo Fajardo (www.urbanosalmunecar.es, website in Spanish). Buses leave from the Plaza de la Carrera near the Puerta de Granada in Almuñécar and connects the town with the nearby communities of La Herradura, La Velilla, and Taramay. Grupo Fajardo also operates three bus lines in Motril (www.grupofajardo.es/motril) and one line in Salobreña which connects the center of town to the beach (www.grupofajardo.es/salobrena). Bus journeys typically cost €1 for a one-way ticket, with longer distances costing as much as €2. Lines that you should know include Almuñécar Line 1 (The Circular), which operates during the summer only from 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. (9 p.m. on Sundays), and Motril Line 3 (The Circular), which runs year-round sporadically from 8:30 a.m. to 2:10 p.m. and again from 4:30 p.m. to 7:10 p.m.

While Urbanos Almuñécar does not link all of the towns of the Costa Tropical together, the aforementioned ALSA intercity buses do connect major towns for less than €10 per person one-way.

The major taxi companies in the Costa Tropical region are located in Almuñécar and Motril. Licensed taxis are white with a red stripe across the front doors of the sedan. In Motril there is one taxi stand that sits just to the north of the Parque de los Pueblos de América near the roundabout. In Almuñécar there are two taxi stands, one near the new Almuñécar Promenade on Calle Santa Amalia and the other at the bus station on Avenida de Juan Carlos. The taxi stands are staffed until at least 9 p.m. in the wintertime and midnight in the summer; call ahead if you need a taxi later. The number in Almuñécar is +34 958 630 017, and in Motril it is +34 958 833 303. Expect flagfall to be €3 on weekdays and €4 on weekends in Almuñécar and La Herradura, with a per-kilometer rate of about €1.20 and a minimum fare of €6. You will find prices in Motril to be similar. Motril's cab company serves trips to Playa Granada and Salobreña as well.

It is very easy to travel between towns and villages on or near the Costa Tropical. If you are picking up a rental car, you will do that at your arrival airport, which could be Málaga, Granada, or even an airport farther afield such as Almería or Seville. If you have a rental car, you are golden. The Carretera de Almería (sometimes called the Carretera de Málaga, labeled on signs as the N-340 motorway) connects all the coastal areas of the Costa Tropical, while the Autovía Sierra Nevada-Costa Tropical connects Granada with Motril and the Autovía del Mediterráneo connecting Motril with the Carretera de Almería. The Autovía del Mediterráneo (A-7 motorway) runs east from Motril toward Castell de Ferro and La Rábita, running parallel to the N-340/Carretera de Almería.

If you don't have your own car, that's fine! Buses in all of the towns of the Costa Tropical are very affordable, as are cab fares if you need to hop from towns to towns unconnected by Grupo Fajardo buses. The Costa Tropical is very compact, a little over 10 miles from west to east, so it won't break the bank to travel around, no matter the mode of transport.

Andalucia in general is very popular with tourists and expats because of the lower rates of crime compared to the United Kingdom or in other parts of Spain. The Costa Tropical is much smaller than other coastal regions nearby, such as areas closer to Málaga or Almería. While tourists do come here, fewer of them think to stop for more than a day, making this a great place to relax without throngs of tourists elbowing one another to get a gander at the local sights. Even though the Costa Tropical is safe, we recommend you exercise the same common sense techniques you would use in an unfamiliar city in the United States. It is safe to walk around at night, but call a taxi back to your hotel instead to ensure maximum safety.

Almuñécar and Motril in particular are home to modern shopping malls and many specialty shops. We definitely recommend buying some locally-made pottery and ceramics while you are in the Costa Tropical. These pieces are very unique and are hands-down the top local souvenir "buy". The most-recommended pottery store in Almuñécar is Cerámicas El Portichuelo de Almuñécar (Avenida de Europa 28), and in Motril you can find beautifully-designed and painted pieces at Artesanía Los Caireles (Calle Nueva 43).

The currency of Spain is the Euro (€) and U.S. dollars are not accepted for payment. Please be sure to have the correct currency on hand or be prepared to exchange your dollars for euros upon arrival. Currency exchange desks and ATMs can be found at your arrival airport and at many locations throughout the region.

Spanish is of course the official language in the Costa Tropical. English is widely spoken and understood in tourist areas, but it won`t be spoken everywhere. We suggest you get a good English-Spanish dictionary and familiarize yourself with common phrases such as hello, goodbye, excuse me and numbers 1-10. To ask someone if they speak English, say `¿Habla inglés?`.