- Hello and welcome back. - [Dave] Today we're diving
into the heart of Paradise, Spain, Marbella. - We have come to love this place, but there are some tips
that I wish someone told us before we first visited. - So in this video, we're
going over game-changing tips for your next Marbella getaway. (upbeat Spanish music) Don't forget to check
out our detailed guide on theplanetd.com for more
on Marbella and beyond. Links are in the description. - If there's one thing we've
learned from our travels, it's that the devils in the details. Marbella, with its allure
and charm has its secrets, and today we're spilling them all. - [Dave] We've explored
pretty much every corner of this city to bring you tips that will transform
your visit to Marbella. (relaxing Spanish music) - First up, forget Ubers. We found that taxis offer
a smoother experience without the hassle of cancellations. And surprisingly, the prices
were pretty comparable. - Yeah, we did try both Ubers
and taxis when we were there. Found Ubers to be somewhat unreliable, like they wouldn't show up. We had one experience where
we're standing on the corner, you're watching, looking at your Uber app and he's just driving around in circles and he never ever came, it's crazy. - He just canceled after
we waited for 10 minutes. And then we had another
guy who was just stopped and we were like, "Are you
coming, are you coming?" Finally he said, "Oh, I
had to fill up my car." And then after 10 more minutes we're like, "Are you ever coming?" "Oh my car's an electric
car, I'm charging it." So we ended up having to
walk where we were going. We found taxis, they'll just show up. First of all, taxis are metered so you know exactly what you're paying, and there are taxi
stands all over the city. So you can just grab a
taxi wherever you go. We saw many people driving
by in their taxis comfortable while we were waiting for our Ubers. - [Dave] So our recommendation
is have your hotel just call you a taxi. That way you're guaranteed that they're actually gonna show up and you get to where you're going on time. - We had heard that
Bolt is better than Uber and far more reliable. I think a lot of the Uber drivers are from out of town nowadays and they don't know where they're going. So it's very frustrating. We were really frustrated with Uber, even though we love the app,
we didn't like it in Marbella. (upbeat guitar music) - When booking your flight,
aim for an arrival that syncs with more public transport options. Marbella's beauty is easiest to navigate when you've got choices. - Yeah, and what Dave means by that, is if you come in at night, buses probably won't be running. The local buses close at
around 6:30, 7 o'clock, depending on the time of year and the day. So when you're flying
in, you wanna make sure that you arrive when the
local transport is happening. - We don't take public transport, we intend to book a private transfer or some sort of transfer
beforehand through GetYourGuide. That way you know there's
someone there holding a sign with your name and gets you
straight to your destination or to your hotel without
having to navigate the public transport system. - Now remember, to fly into Marbella, you're actually flying into Malaga, which is 40 minutes away. So you don't wanna be
stranded at the airport. You wanna make sure
that your flight arrives when local transportation is actually open or you wanna pre-arrange your ticket because I think hailing a taxi might be quite expensive from there. So book your transportation in advance. - Yeah, and what I found actually is that if you are coming
into the the Malaga Airport and you want to get downtown, booking beforehand is
so much more convenient. It takes the stress out of finding the public transport
stand and getting down there. May cost you a little bit of extra money, but really most of the flights that come in later at
night will be cheaper. So the money that you would
spend on your transfer to go downtown, you could actually save it on your flight or break even. (upbeat Spanish music) A word of caution, avoid staying in the old city hotels if you're a light sleeper. the charm comes with a
soundtrack of nightlife that can last into the early hours. - You betcha, this is
very much a party town. And when the sun goes down,
the noise level goes up. We made a mistake of booking
a hotel in the old city, which was a great location. We were right between the
beach and the old town, but man it was loud. We just heard cars and partyers, and yelling and music all night long. So I recommend going a little bit outside of the downtown area. - Especially if you're not
there for the nightlife or you're not partaking in that. 'cause like we said, they
go out to dinner quite late, starting at nine o'clock,
so those parties go till the early morning hours. So if you do choose to stay down there, either participate in the
parties, plug some earplugs. - There's a lot of beach resorts that are all along the waterfront and like we said, it's a seven
and a half mile waterfront. So book a beach resort instead, that'll take you outside of the downtown but you'll be able to
walk along the promenade to get to the old town any night or you can take that taxi
that's very affordable. I do wish that we booked
one of those resorts that were on the beach, because you could have
your own beach umbrellas and your own beach chair with the resorts so you didn't have to fight for umbrellas with all of the rest of the public. (upbeat guitar music) - [Dave] A trip to Marbella
is all about the beaches and there are a lot of them, but there is some beach etiquette that you should know before visiting. - First of all, if you see
those beautiful sun umbrellas lined up on the beach, just asking you to come sit under them, you can't just go and plop your beach towel down underneath. You have to pay for them. Usually these start at about seven Euro, but they go up during high
season and with demand. - Yeah, and if you want a
guaranteed beach umbrella, then there are beach clubs in
Marbella that you can visit for a couple of hours
or even for a full day. Now prices do vary a lot, so
make sure to do your research. Some beach clubs charge as
low as 30 Euros per day, but you can pay up to 180
Euros per day, that's crazy. - They do offer food and
drinks and access to the pool so it can be a really nice
way to spend your day. - If you look at it as a whole day out. - Yeah, and as we mentioned earlier, in Marbella they dress for success. So when you go to the beach, make sure you have your
best designer wear with you. Put on, I'm talking like
a big wide-brim hat, designer sunglasses, and
your very stylish beach wear. - Yeah, and but remember
when you leave the beach, that you know you gotta
put a shirt on to cover up, especially guys, you
can't be walking around like you're in Daytona Beach all buffed out with no shirt on. You have to put a shirt on - And women should have their sundress or some other kind of cover
when they go into town. You don't wanna be walking
around with a bikini on. Actually, you are supposed to cover up when you go into town. - [Dave] Yeah, so those are
tips for hitting the beach. I wish we had known those before we went. (upbeat Spanish music) Adjust your schedule to the local rhythm. Most places close from
2:00 to 5:00 PM for siesta, translated to nap time. And most places are closed on Sundays. So plan your activities
and meals according. - [Deb] Yep, you won't be
doing much shopping on a Sunday 'cause shopping malls and
most small shops are closed. - But more of the restaurants are open, so it's great time to
go and eat, two to five. It's not unusual to eat lunch at this time because basically everyone in Spain goes to dinner at like 9:00 PM or later. So take advantage of siesta time and go grab yourself a bite to eat. - [Deb] And when you do
want to eat at 9:00 PM, you can eat earlier if you want, but you're really gonna be missing out. It's such an amazing vibe. Families are out at night,
it's really hot in Marbella so you want to eat later at
night, avoid the midday heat and it's just a fun and festive time. - Also, let me tell you,
you'll get some strange looks if you're going for dinner and asking for the dinner menu at 5:00 PM. I know that happened to us. - I know, we're silly Canadians
that went and ate earlier 'cause we were all out of
whack with our jet lag. However, just go for some
pinchos, get some appetizers and a pair of spritz and
then you'll be right in with the local rhythm. (upbeat Spanish music) Marbella's promenade is a must, but to escape the heat and crowds, opt for a morning or evening stroll. It's perfect for foodies and photo ops. - Yeah, we actually strolled along this promenade every morning. We'd walk along there, there's
hardly any people out there. You get to enjoy it free of crowds because we found later
on in the afternoon, it got really crowded. But you could stop for a coffee, you could have breakfast all along there and you get to take in
all the beautiful beaches. - At this time of the day, you have the beaches all to yourself. 'cause let me tell you,
these beaches get packed. And one of the most famous
places on the promenade is the Avenida Del Mar. Now go here early in the morning because it is a busy square in Marbella but it has Salvador Dali sculptures in it. There's 10 of them that Dali donated. And this is pretty amazing 'cause usually you have to
go to a museum to see it. But these are just open air sculptures and works of art by that
amazing artist, Salvador Dali. - [Dave] Yeah, and as you
walk down and you check out all these sculptures,
I'm not a huge Dali fan, but I really found them super interesting. And then you can continue on right along the promenade,
along the water. It's a great way to kick off your morning. - Did we say that It goes all
the way to Puerto Banus too? So you could spend your whole day, you could get up early in the morning, walk along the promenade all day 'cause it's seven and a half miles, and then by the time
you get to Puerto Banus, you can party all night long
down there, it's perfect. (relaxing guitar music) Underestimate the heat and you'll melt. So dress light, stay hydrated, and always have sunscreen at the ready. - Yeah, when we were
there it was insanely hot. I didn't really understand
how hot it was going to be. So getting out early in
the morning is a great way to beat the heat or when
it gets really, really hot, find a a nice place on the beach to sit with a fan and have a cocktail, or maybe go in for that
siesta, a little bit of nap if you're going out later on. It's a good way to beat
the heat is to stay inside during those peak hours. - So make sure that you book your tours or your sightseeing in
the morning before lunch or in the evening after the siesta time, because that's when you'll
be the most comfortable. - And there's also some great
places in downtown Marbella that you can get some
really super light clothing for quite cheap. So it'll keep you covered from the sun and you can still be out in that hot weather without completely dying. - Yeah, so make sure that you carry around a refillable water bottle,
you wanna stay very hydrated. That can be very serious,
not drinking enough water. And if you're like me, you may
wanna have a little neck fan. I wore that a lot when I was
in Marbella and I felt great. I had an automatic neck fan
that just kept my head cool. My little tricks of the trade. - Yeah, so just be aware
the heat, how sunny it is and how hot it is,
because when you're coming from all other places, the sun there is really a lot more intense
than you think it is. (upbeat Spanish music) - Hotels can get pricey last minute. Book early to lock in the best rates and avoid the sting of
peak season pricing. - And what I mean by this
or what we mean by this, is book really far in advance. I know it seems common
sense to book ahead of time, which it definitely is. But in Marbella, these places get sold out like a year in advance. There's lots of people that
we met there who are like, "Okay, I came and stayed
this particular two weeks and I've already booked for next year." So they come back to the
same hotel again and again. So in order to get your best
choice of accommodation, booking really early is super important. - Dave and I never thought of booking a year in advance before, but I noticed the prices were huge. When we were booking in Marbella,
we were looking at things 'cause we booked only
a few weeks in advance and it was 200-300 Euro for not
even a great, amazing place. But when I look a year in advance, I can save hundreds of
Euros on a great place. I'm not exaggerating, so the
price difference is huge. If you know you're going
somewhere next year, book it now. We use booking.com and the
one thing I love about that is you can book in advance, and then you can cancel free of charge. And we've canceled many times
and we get our money back. No problem, no hassles, no fees. - So you're gonna find you're gonna get much better accommodation the
further out that you book. You know you're gonna have the choice of those more luxurious places or even just more conveniently located. I know the place we stayed,
yes it was right downtown, but as we mentioned, you
know it was really loud and all that kind of stuff. But we didn't have a lot of
choice for our price range. So by booking in advance you're
gonna have a lot more choice and probably get things
for a little bit cheaper. - And for that place downtown,
we paid way too much money for what it was and that
was 'cause we only booked it about four weeks in advance, we really should have been smarter. - Yeah, I think the room
was a size of a shoebox too. It wasn't very big. (upbeat Spanish music) Orange Square is enchanting but expensive. Venture just outside for meals that are kinder to your wallet but generous in quality and atmosphere. - Mm-hmm, the one thing we found is Orange Square is beautiful. It has all these orange trees around it, it's a big open square and you
want to eat there for sure. You're just like, "Oh I want to eat here." And then you look at the prices compared to everywhere else in Marbella. Obviously it's a tourist destination. This is the main place everyone goes to. So the prices are more expensive. - We walked around and
actually looked at the menus 'cause we were thinking of eating there and we're like, "Oh wow,
this is quite expensive." And we had been into the few streets, maybe just even a block,
actually I think it was, it was just a block away, and it was really, really way cheaper for basically the same meals. So we ended up going and eating there. But my suggestion would be if you do want to enjoy the atmosphere of Orange Square, just drop in there for a
drink or maybe some pinchos or something like that. But have your main meal away
from the actual Orange Square. - Yeah, the Marbella old
town is beautiful everywhere and there are a lot of
other squares around, and there's a lot of
really picturesque streets with flowers and beauty
and outdoor terraces. - The rooftop bar.
- Yeah, there's rooftop bars, so you do not need to eat in Orange Square to have a really truly exciting and beautiful experience there. You can eat all over at
a more affordable price. - Yes, but don't miss it. Definitely go and check out Orange Square 'cause it really is
beautiful and grab a drink or grab some food somewhere else. (upbeat Spanish music) - If you're splurging, Puerto Banus offers lux cruises, but make sure to dress to impress. It's that experience where
there seems to be a dress code. So really make sure to show up wearing something
fancier than a bathing suit or the good old T-shirt and shorts look. - Yeah, that was us. We rolled up to Puerto Banus and roll in and we see people getting
out of their Ferraris and Maseratis dressed to the nines, and I got my flip flops, my shorts on. I'm like, "Well I feel
completely out of place." - I felt terrible. I wish that I would've dressed
up in a cocktail dress. Seriously, I thought, "Oh it's
a beach town, so we're fine." We were going out on a yacht and I was like, oh it will be fine. It'll be windy so I'll just
wear some pants and a T-shirt. Nope, I should have really dressed up because everyone looked beautiful there and I felt very inferior. - [Dave] Yeah, so just be
aware when you go there that you should actually, you don't necessarily need
to dress to the nines, but definitely dress up a little bit more than if you're going to the beach. - Yeah. 'cause Puerto Banus,
that's more of a place where people go to be seen. People were revving their cars, driving up and down the
strip, walking around. So it is a place where
people go to be seen. So if you wanna feel like
you fit in, dress up. Marbella's charm is undeniable. From its sunk-kissed beaches
to its lively streets. But navigating this paradise is all about knowing the ins and outs. - And now you're armed with our top tips. We hope that these
insights make your visit as magical as ours was. - We're curious about your thoughts. If you've been to Marbella,
drop your experiences or questions in the comments below. And if this guide helped, give us a like and hit that subscribe for
more travel insider tips. - Woo. (upbeat music)
