Full day trip with beautiful views and dolphins

We’ll start the trip by traveling from the apartment to the cable car station in Benalmádena. The good news is that the lower station of the cable car is about 100 meters from the train station from Fuengirola. You can go by car, but taking the train is also an option. By car, the journey will take about 20 minutes, and by train, just under an hour. In summer, the cable car operates from 10:00 a.m., and in winter from 11:00 a.m., so we recommend planning your departure between 9:00 and 10:00 a.m. It’s also a good idea to set off a bit earlier because the cable car has limited capacity, and especially during the season and on weekends, queues tend to form. We visited it on a weekend in September and waited about 45 minutes around noon.

You can buy a cable car ticket either on-site or online at https://www.telefericobenalmadena.com/en/comprar. When purchasing online, you’ll save €3 compared to buying on-site. If you plan to do the full trip, including a visit to the zoo park, we recommend purchasing a combined ticket at https://www.selwomarina.es/en/entrada-general/single-ticket-selwopack/select-visitors. Prices vary depending on the season, but a combined ticket will cost €26 or more. A standalone cable car ticket costs at least €15.

Hop on the cable car and let it take you up to Monte Calamorro. The highest point is at an altitude of 770 meters above sea level, and the cable car drops you off about 50 meters lower. The cable car ride is a pleasant 15 minutes. The cabin doesn’t move too slowly, but the cable car is relatively long, almost three kilometers. The cabins are small, accommodating two adults or one family with children. Throughout the ride, you can enjoy views of Benalmádena and its surroundings.

From the top of Calamorro, you’ll get breathtaking views of a large part of Costa del Sol. Looking towards the sea, you’ll see Fuengirola to the right, reaching as far as El Faro. On the left, you’ll spot Benalmádena and Málaga. Beyond Málaga, you’ll notice the peaks of the Sierra Nevada mountains rising in the distance. In good visibility, you can even see the Rif Mountains across the Mediterranean in Morocco.

A pleasant walking trail runs around the summit. It’s not very long—about a kilometer with several dozen steps and an elevation gain of up to 50 meters. The surface is firm, and even children can easily manage it.

If you want to spend more time on the mountain, there’s a hiking trail (PR-A 55) about 100-200 meters below the summit that circles the peak on a longer route. It’s about 5 km long and takes 90 minutes to 2 hours to complete.

After enjoying the views, take the cable car back down to the lower station.

You can either return home if you’d like to shorten your trip or continue to the Selwo Marina zoo park. The zoo park is a 15-minute walk from the lower cable car station. If you purchased a combined ticket with the cable car, there’s nothing more to arrange—just present your barcode at the entrance and walk in. If you’re buying individual tickets, they’ll cost €25 on-site or €16 or more online, depending on the season.

Selwo Marina is a small zoo. If you just want to walk through it, it can take no more than 30 minutes. However, we recommend planning your visit to align with feeding times and animal demonstrations. The exact schedule can be a bit tricky to figure out, but we’ll help.

The zoo has three types of feedings and demonstrations. Let’s start with the smaller ones. In smaller enclosures, standard feedings occur, much like those you might know from Czech zoos. A keeper brings food, cleans the enclosure, checks on the animals, and shares interesting facts with visitors. The current feeding schedule is as follows:

• 10:30 Discover The Tropics
• 11:00 Penguin Environmental Enrichment
• 12:20 Get to know the Sea Lions
• 12:45 & 13:25 Environmental Enrichment: Saimiri Forest
• 13:00 Get to know the Penguins
• 14:00 Get to know the Sea Lions
• 15:00 Amazon Quiz Challenge
• 15:00 & 16:00 Environmental Enrichment: Saimiri Forest
• 16:00 Penguin Environmental Enrichment
• 17:20 Get to know the Sea Lions

Weekdays and weekends differ slightly, so we recommend checking the schedule at https://www.selwomarina.es/en/experiencias/actividades-educativas/charlas-didacticas.

The second activity is a "Talk on Exotic Birds," held in the amphitheater. It’s a 20-minute show where a keeper brings out various parrots and other animals to introduce to the audience seated in the stands. The show takes place three times daily at 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 4:30 p.m. This program didn’t interest us much, mainly because it faces stiff competition within the zoo.

Right next to the amphitheater is a large pool complex for dolphins. When we visited, several keepers were training dolphins, which we found significantly more captivating than the bird presentations, especially as we’ve seen similar shows in Prague Zoo. It appeared that the dolphins were also being trained outside the "standard" shows, and it was fascinating to watch them outside of a scripted program. We spent almost half an hour just observing the dolphins. Besides these "unscheduled" training sessions, there are two official shows for spectators in the main pool at 12:00 noon and 5:00 p.m. If you follow our itinerary, aim for the second show at 5:00 p.m., which aligns well with the 4:00 p.m. penguin feeding or the monkey presentation in Saimiri Forest. However, it’s better to check the current dolphin show schedule at https://www.selwomarina.es/en/experiencias/actividades-educativas/charla-educativa-de-delfines.

After finishing the zoo visit, you have two options: return to the train station and head home or enjoy a stroll along the promenade and beach. Selwo Marina is 500 meters from the beach. A pleasant promenade with many restaurants and a nice beach starts at the cultural center in the former El-Bil-Bil fortress.