Mobile data in Málaga: the airport train, the Rock and the boats south

Terminal to centre: the C1 train or the A bus

The Cercanías station sits under the airport, and line C1 runs in two directions. Towards Málaga it stops at María Zambrano, the AVE station with the main bus station next door, and ends at Málaga Centro-Alameda, a short walk from Calle Larios. The other direction goes to Torremolinos, Benalmádena and Fuengirola, so check the platform if you are staying in the city. The EMT express bus, line A, runs from the terminal to the Paseo del Parque by the port, and taxis wait outside arrivals.

With the eSIM installed before the flight, it connects to Orange or Movistar on landing. That is enough to look up the next C1 and work out which stop is closest to your flat before you leave the terminal.

Metro to Atarazanas and buses you pay with a tap

Málaga's metro has two lines. Line 1 now reaches Atarazanas, next to the central market, and line 2 ends at Guadalmedina, by the riverbed that separates the old town from El Perchel. Both meet at El Perchel, beside María Zambrano, which makes the metro useful if you arrive by AVE or by coach. EMT buses take contactless Visa and Mastercard cards, and phones or watches carrying one, at the validator, and the EMT Málaga app shows the lines and sells QR tickets.

The historic centre, the Alcazaba and the beach at La Malagueta are all on foot. The phone earns its keep on the climb to Gibralfaro and when you plan the train back to the airport on the last morning.

A day on the Rock

Coaches from Málaga bus station run to La Línea de la Concepción, and from the bus station there you walk into Gibraltar. It is a long day, and once you cross the phone has left Spain: Gibraltar has its own networks and is outside the Spain pack, so the eSIM has no data on the Rock.

There are two ways to handle it. Keep the Spain pack and prepare Gibraltar in advance, with an offline map and the cable car or tour tickets downloaded before you set off. Or travel with the Europe pack, which includes both Spain and Gibraltar, so one eSIM covers the whole stay. What happens to phones at the border is in the Gibraltar guide.

Tangier and Melilla: two ways across to Africa

• Tangier from Tarifa: ferries arrive at Tanger Ville, the port in the city centre, which suits a day on foot.
• Tangier from Algeciras: ferries use Tanger Med, roughly 40 km east of the city, so you need a taxi or a transfer on the other side.
• Melilla: ferries from the port of Málaga cross to this Spanish city in North Africa. It is Spain, on Spanish networks, and Morocco begins at its land border.

Morocco is in neither the Spain pack nor the Europe pack. For a day in Tangier, install a small Morocco pack at home next to the Spain one and switch the data line when you dock, or save an offline map of the medina before you board. In Melilla, keep the phone on Orange or Movistar: near the border it can drift onto a Moroccan network, where the Spain pack gives no data.

Choosing the size for Málaga

Spain packs come in 3 GB for 15 days and 5, 10 or 20 GB for 30 days. A long weekend in the city fits in 3 GB. A week that adds Ronda, Nerja or the Alhambra in Granada, with train and bus times checked on the go, is a 5 GB trip. If you rent a flat on the coast with weak Wi-Fi and plan to run a laptop off the phone's hotspot, start at 10 GB.

With Gibraltar in the plan, the Europe pack comes in 3 GB for 15 days or 10 and 20 GB for 30, with no 5 GB size. Morocco always needs its own pack. Days count from the first connection, and a top-up goes onto the same eSIM. The data calculator helps if you are between two sizes.