Arriving in Ronda

Your first time in Ronda is likely to be quite confusing, Ronda doesn’t have a town centre like many other cities, mostly because Ronda is in fact a very large village, with things scattered around Ronda just like you’d expect in any smaller village. That said, the main tourism office is easy to find if you have instructions, so for those of you who arrive by bus or coach, keep reading.

We have separate instructions for people arriving in Ronda by car with details of Ronda parking facilities.

Arriving by Bus

Take a look at the map below; you’ll see three blue markers. The one closest to Calle San Jose is the Ronda bus station. From here to the tourism office you’ll be walking about 600m, but before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let me describe what you’ll see when you exit the bus station. Most buses and coaches park in the designated spaces within the bus station, and if they’re all taken then you’ll be dropped off in the main entrance to the bus parking bays.

Either way, you need to make your way to the front of the bus station, you can’t miss it, it’s the traffic roundabout your bus would have had to negotiate before entering Ronda’s infamously small bus station. Here’s what you need to do to get your bearings. First, stand directly outside the main entrance to the bus station looking toward the roundabout. Look to your right, and you’ll see a coffee shop across the road, and some shops selling homewares and knick knacks.

Map Showing Bus and Rail Stations in Ronda

A bit further down you’ll see a road to the right which is marked Calle San Jose, this is the road you need to take first, and keep going till you reach the 4th intersection which will be signposted as Calle Doctor Fleming. Now turn left, and keep walking until the road forks.

At the fork you’ll see a large church, painted white with the traditional Rondeño yellow windows, and a very attractive tiled fresco of Saint Teresa wearing a nun’s habit.

This is your first tourist destination in Ronda, the church you’re passing is known as La Merced, and is home to the blessed and incorrupt hand of Saint Teresa of Jesus, said to be able to cure illness and heal injuries. Across from La Merced you’ll see the entrance to a park.

This is the Parque Alameda del Tajo, and at this point you have two choices for getting to the tourism office, either continue along the road until you reach the bullring, or take a leisurely walk through the park and enjoy the view of the valley below Ronda. To reach the tourist office from here, simply follow the walkway to the left and you’ll soon (100m) end up in Plaza de Blas Infante with the tourist office directly ahead of you.

Arriving in Ronda by Train

Several times per day trains arrive from other Andalucian cities, but they all come to one place, the central railway station in Ronda. Despite being the only railway station in Ronda, it is certainly not in the centre of town. Luckily Ronda is small enough that the main pedestrian shopping arcade is only a few hundred metres away, and from there you can easily get to the Tourist Infomation Office or the main sights around Ronda.

As you exit Ronda’s railway station you’ll be in the station carpark, and directly ahead you’ll see a tree lined boulevard with a wide centre for walking. This is Avenida de Martinez Astein, and was built to cover one of Ronda’s main car parks. The car park isn’t a fantastic tourist destination but the street serves the tourist well as a location marker.

From here you need only walk about 250 metres till on your right you’ll see the top end of Ronda’s pedestrianised shopping precinct known as La Bola, although this is just our local name for the street which is either Avenida de Malaga or Carerra de Espinel. It changes name at Avenida Martinez Astein.

So, turning right into La Bola, you are greeted first with a bunch of discount stores, an optician, a music shop, and the first of a string of tapas bars you’re going to encounter as you walk down La Bola towards the Bullring.

La Bola is probably about 600 metres long from top to bottom, and if you’re venturing to Ronda as a tourist you probably don’t want to worry too much about the shops here. Once you get to the other end of La Bola you’ll see ahead of you a carpark and to it’s right, a large round building painted white. This is the bullring, and the Tourist Information Office is directly ahead of you inside it’s carpark.