Caminito del Rey tickets sold out? What still works

Start with the official booking site

The Caminito del Rey is on Spain's list as "Hike the Caminito del Rey". The walkway belongs to the Diputación de Málaga, the provincial government, and its tickets are sold at caminitodelrey.info. The .info address looks like a fan site, but it is the real one: the Diputación links it from its homepage, and its decree on the visitor rules names it as the official sales channel.

This is a planning guide, not a report of a recent visit. The rules and prices below come from caminitodelrey.info, checked on 25 October 2026, and the availability described is what its booking calendar showed that day. The Diputación's own site blocks automated visits, so the details of its April 2026 ticket release come from an archived copy dated 6 April 2026.

Why it sells out

Every visit is booked in advance for a date and a time, and groups go in every 10 minutes. Tickets come out in blocks of several months. The block for 30 June to 6 December 2026 went on sale on 8 April at 10:00: around 220,000 tickets, released to the public, organised trips and travel agencies at the same moment. Right now dates up to 2 May 2027 are on sale, and the site says later dates will follow, without saying when.

On 25 October 2026 the official calendar showed the €10 general ticket sold out on every date checked from late October to the end of December, and on most January dates checked. In February only a few slots on a few days were left. Some days in late October and November had nothing left at all, guided visits included. From March 2027 general tickets were still on sale, mostly in the first slots of the morning and in the early afternoon.

Part of the supply never reaches the public calendar: the site says its tickets are for private use only and that agencies have their own allocation.

Official options first

1. Book the official guided visit (€18). It is on the same calendar, as a separate ticket type. Groups of up to 30 walk with a guide, in Spanish or English, starting from the ticket office at the north access. On 25 October guided places were still open on many dates where the general ticket was gone, which makes this the first thing to try.
2. Look at the official packages. The site also sells packages from local businesses. The one listed today is general entry plus a visit and tasting at the Cervezas Gaitanejo brewery in Ardales, for €29, with a fixed 9:40 entry time and parking included. The brewery sells it, through the official site. On 21 November, a day with nothing else left, it still had places.
3. Try the ticket office at the north access. The site says tickets can be bought there "subject to availability", and not at the Visitor Reception Centre. The north gate is at least a 25-minute walk from El Kiosko restaurant, so walking up on a sold-out day is a gamble, in must30's view.
4. Check the calendar again in the days before. On 25 October some slots showed one or two places left. There is no waiting list, so rechecking is the only tool.
5. Move to spring. If your dates are flexible, March and April 2027 still had general tickets.

Tours with entry included

The rules are clear about resale: "selling and reselling tickets (reservations) or counterfeits thereof" is on the site's list of prohibitions, and its FAQ warns that tickets from unauthorised points of sale are not guaranteed. So must30 does not link to resold entry tickets for the Caminito.

What the rules do allow is an agency tour. Travel agencies get their own allocation, released in the same blocks as public tickets, and a guided walk or a day trip from Málaga with entry included is how they sell it. Expect to pay more than the €18 official guided visit, and check that the listing says the entry ticket is included, not just transport or a guide.

If you book through these links, must30 earns a commission at no extra cost to you.

Timing that helps

The walkway opens Tuesday to Sunday and closes on Mondays, apart from a few Mondays the calendar marks as open. It also closes on 24, 25 and 31 December and 1 January. On 25 October the calendar showed it closed on 14 December 2026 and from 11 to 19 January 2027 as well, with no reason given. Hours depend on the season; this winter the calendar's entry times ran from 9:00 to about 15:00.

The route is one way, from the north access in Ardales to El Chorro in Álora: 7.7 km in all, 2.9 km of it on the walkways, and three to four hours overall. The shuttle bus back costs €2.50, bought online with your ticket or paid in cash to the driver. Rain, strong wind or heat can close the walkway. Closures are announced on the website, by SMS and email to buyers, and on the official Telegram channel. If no notice reaches you 24 hours before, the visit goes ahead, though it can still be called off on the day.

What not to do

• Do not buy a resold ticket. Reselling is prohibited, and the site will not stand behind tickets from unauthorised sellers.
• Do not bring children under 8. They are not allowed in, and older children need original ID to prove their age.
• Do not arrive at your entry time. Be at the north gate 30 minutes before it.
• Do not count on changing your plans. There are no changes or refunds unless the walkway closes, and then you have four calendar days to move the date or ask for your money back.

Keep planning

• Spain's list, where it appears as "Hike the Caminito del Rey".
• First trip to Spain: the Andalusia question, for where Málaga fits in a first trip.
• The other ticket guides, including the Alhambra and the Real Alcázar in Seville.