The Caminito del Rey has a limited daily capacity, and between 2016 and 2025 it sold 95% of the tickets it put on sale, according to the Málaga provincial council's feasibility study reported by El Español. Spring and autumn dates go first. "Sold out" on the official site doesn't mean you have to give up, but know this upfront: there's no trickle of cancellations, because tickets can't be changed or refunded. These are the options left, in the order worth trying them.
What you can book now
| If you want… | Option | From |
|---|---|---|
| Entry with a guide, getting there yourself | Caminito del Rey ticket with official guide, 4.6★ (16,892) Book | €30 |
| Transport from Málaga | Guided tour with transport and ticket, 4.9★ (19,083) Book | €72 |
| A nature backup plan | Antequera dolmens and El Torcal, 4.7★ (102) Book | €65 |
| A white-village backup plan | Ronda and Setenil de las Bodegas, 4.7★ (8,742) Book | €35 |
1. Check the official website again
The official site is caminitodelrey.info. Before you write your date off:
- Check both ticket types. The general ticket is €10 and the official guided visit €18 (groups of up to 30, in Spanish and English). Each has its own time slots.
- Check every slot that day. Tickets have a fixed entry time from 9:00, and they don't all sell out at once.
- Watch for new release blocks. Tickets go on sale in blocks. In October 2026 the site says dates after 2 May will be released later: if you're travelling after that, you can buy as soon as they open.
- Check Mondays. The Caminito opens Tuesday to Sunday all year (except 24, 25 and 31 December and 1 January), and on some Mondays too. If your dates are flexible, look.
- Buy the shuttle bus with your ticket (€2.50): the route is one-way and you need it to get back.
2. The north entrance box office
The official site says you can also buy at the north entrance box office, "subject to availability". It gives no detail on how many tickets are sold there, and in high season you'll usually find nothing. The Visitor Reception Centre doesn't sell tickets at all. If you want to try your luck, do it on a weekday out of season and with a backup plan.
3. A ticket with a guide, or a tour that includes it
This is the safest option when the official site has nothing: operators book their places in advance and sell you the visit with entry already included. You pay more than on the official site, but you get in.
- Ticket with official guide, no transport (from €30): for when you're driving or taking the train to El Chorro.
- Tour with transport from Málaga (from €72): return coach, entry and guide. The easy option if you don't have a car.
Before paying, check that the listing clearly says it includes Caminito entry, and buy on a well-known platform: the official site warns that it can't guarantee tickets bought outside authorised sales points.
4. If there's no way in: what to do instead
Without a ticket you can't get past the entry control. What you can do:
- Visit the reservoirs around Ardales and El Chorro, with the turquoise water you see in every photo, and have lunch in El Chorro or Álora.
- Switch excursions. From Málaga, El Torcal de Antequera is the province's other great rock landscape, and it pairs with the Antequera dolmens, a World Heritage Site. Ronda, with its Puente Nuevo over the gorge, is the alternative if the drop was what drew you to the Caminito.
Mistakes to avoid
- Buying from sites that look like the official one. The official site is
caminitodelrey.info; tickets bought outside authorised channels aren't guaranteed. - Booking the trip and then looking for a ticket. Caminito date first, everything else after.
- Forgetting ID. Each ticket has to be personalised before you download it, and official ID is checked at the entrance, children included.
- Bringing under-8s. They can't go in, not even with a resold ticket.
In one sentence
If the official site is sold out, check both ticket types and every slot, and if that fails book a ticket with a guide or a tour that includes it; everything else is in how to visit the Caminito del Rey.
