We got entrance tickets+ bus, but we forced to pay a bus ticket. Bus driver did not give the ticket, but put money in the pocket.
El Caminito Del Rey used to be the most dangerous walk path in the world. Walking along the newly constructed path high above the stunning gorge, you can see remnants of the old path and understand why it had that reputation. The walk runs in one direction, starting from a point near the village of Ardales where we stayed overnight prior to the walk. It is advisable to prebook but each morning a number of tickets are available at the ticket office at the start of the walk. We were lucky enough to get such tickets. You need to queue from about 7am to ensure one of these tickets. The walk is just over 7kms through beautiful gorges along paths perched high above the river and jutting out from the rock. Groups of hikers are dispatched from the entry point at various times to stagger hikers along the route. All hikers are given a hard hat which must be worn. This was a very"high" point of our tour of Spain and a must do for people of all ages. A very easy walk, managed well with buses at the end of the route to transfer people back to their start point.
Booked the tickets in February, for the Caminito del Rey in April. Absolutely no regret, despite the somewhat "cool" temperatures for late April. We absolutely enjoyed the walk and the scenery... Would recommend it to all (NB : bear in mind the height though, as well as the stairs in case of health issues).
The Caminito, itself is amazing and should not be missed. Get your direct park tickets well in advance, because you do not need a guide. What will make that more difficult than it should be is that so many of the direct tickets are grabbed up by tour companies in something of a Spanish scam.
One of those to avoid is Alora (Áloratur), which will give you little more than added hassle for the significant markup. On the tour we took, billed as a “small group tour in English,” 31 people speaking multiple languages were assigned to 1 (very talented) guide. The tour left the meeting point late, was delayed at the entrance because the group was so large, and took over 2.5 hours to walk the Caminito (twice as long as necessary).
This was an impressive walk which took less time than anticipated. We bought our tickets well in advance and opted for the first time frame of the day. Later in the day gets hotter and hotter so for us earlier was definitly better.
