From Britain a ferry to Bilbao or Santander cuts down on road mileage, driver fatigue and motorway tolls crossing France. The distance to Málaga from these two seaports is 953km (596 miles) and 937km (586 miles) respectively.

Motorways (autopista) are prefixed with the letter ‘A', or ‘AP' if it's a toll road (peaje) i.e. A-4 or AP-4. The speed limit on these roads is 120kph (74mph). Dual carriageways (autovias) and other major roads (carretera nacional) are generally indicated with three digits, i.e. A376. The speed limit on these roads is 100kph (62mph). Within towns, the speed limit is 50kph (31mph).

Breakdown emergency services:
Spanish Royal Automobile Club (RACE) (tel: 902 404 545; website: www.race.es).  

Eurolines international coach services (tel: 954 907 844 or 902 405 040; website: www.eurolines.com) run a service to Málaga from London Victoria Coach Station via the Dover-Calais ferry or the Le Shuttle train. The total journey time is around 33-35 hours.