I am planning a trip to Sevilla in 3 weeks and was wondering if the Costa Del Sol was accessible by train/bus? I am looking to get to Marbella and Estepona in particular (I have appointments there). I really won't be able to rent a car. Is this do-able by means of public transportation?

Topping...

Not sure Estepona has rail service; for Marbella a combo of rail and bus might work.

Go here for some information about bus services:

http://www.andalucia.com/travel/bus/home.htm

Costa del Sol is accessible by bus from Seville. You may want to go to the bus station in Seville couple of days earlier and ask for the bus company that goes there and the schedules. Each bus company serves a different segment. You may have to change buses to get to Estepona from Seville. If you can get on a direct bus specified as driecto on the schedule, do so. They are much faster.

Don’t know about trains. I found bussing around convenient enough. They were also on time.

Thank you so much! I'm so glad to hear I have a public transportation option, such a worry off my shoulders! I will be in Sevilla for a few days before I head to the cost so I will head to the bus station and inquire.

Are there options to get to the Santa Cruz area from the airport as well?

Kalikiana – You’re welcome. You can also ask the hotel about the bus schedule. Most hotels I stayed at had the schedule or could actually call and get it. I mostly picked up the schedule for my next destination when I arrived from another city to the bus station. I do not remember if Seville had one or two bus stations, you may want to make sure of that. You also want to find out if you need to reserve or purchase the bus ticket in advance. I never had to but you never know.

I took the bus to 12 destinations in Andalusia/Costa del sol. The only time the bus was not on time was from Marbella to Ronda where the bus had some problem and they had to bring another bus. An earlier bus might be better if your appointment is important.

I took a bus to Seville. I do not remember how I got to Santa Cruz. I think I took a cab.

Have a good trip.

perfect! Thank you! I'm still trying to figure out exactly where I want to go. I'm just glad I can rely on public transportation, I just don't feel comfortable renting a car when I'm going to be travelling by myself.

If by Santa Cruz you mean the Barrio de Santa Cruz just north of the Cathedral in Seville (which, BTW, is the ONLY correct English term for the capital of Andalucia, and the sooner this silly fad of pretending we're speaking Spanish is killed the better):

Just get the bus into Seville and walk. Santa Cruz - no more interesting IMHO than any other elderly area of Seville, and a lot less interesting than Triana - is exactly as accessible as the Cathedral or the Alcazar, both of which it marches with.

And do stop calling it Sevilla.

Flanneruk – I understand your comments were towards the original poster. With all due respect, you also used the Spanish spelling of Andalusia according to Merriam-Webster dictionary in the same line that you were mocking the original poster.

Main Entry: An•da•lu•sia
Pronunciation: "an-d&-'lü-zh(E-)&
Variant(s): or Spanish An•da•lu•cía

Neither spelling bothers me but I thought you might want to know.

Kalikiana – I was traveling alone as well. I know exactly what you mean about renting a car.

Z-
Did you stay in Estepona at all? I'm looking for somewhere not too expensive, but is within walking distance of the beach. I don't want anything fancy, just something that isn't remote.

How did you like Costa Del Sol as a solo traveler?

The names of places are proper nouns like the names of people. Nobody refers to the Italian composer Mr Green (Verdi) or the former German chancellor Mr Cabbage (Kohl). Sevilla is the name of the city and that is the way it appears on maps, bus timetables, railway timetables, road signs, etc. In the case of Sevilla, the old English name is similar to the city's actual name, but I wonder how many foreign visitors have been puzzled trying to find trains or road signs to "Florence" which is actually Firenze.

Kalikiana
Check out http://www.andalucia.com/travel/bus/seville.htm
The bus operator is Los Amarillos - You'll see why they're called that !
Your best bet is Sevilla - San Pedro de Alcántara. San Pedro has very frequent bus links with Estepona and it's less than 30 mins journey. Alternatively Sevilla-Algeciras and on to Estepona.
A good reasonably priced hotel in Estepona is the Aguamarina, used to be called the Carácas. Check out http://www.sol.com/en/modulo2.asp?Id...lojamiento=585
It's 2 mins walk to the beach and to the town centre.

kalikiana –

I did not stay in Estepona.

It was very easy to travel solo in Costa del Sol. I never felt uncomfortable. I followed the usual caution I take as a solo female traveler. Since there are many tourists around, the infra structure is there to help you and that makes it even easier for being solo. I was there last August.