Nerja is a small town with narrow streets, limited parking and lots of visitors, especially in the summer. If you want to come by car, make sure you know where you are going to park before you arrive and whether you want to spend some time looking for a free parking space or would rather the convenience of using one of the two large pay car parks in the town.
On Street Parking
On street parking is free everywhere in Nerja, but make sure you are parked legally or you will be given a parking ticket or have your car towed. Watch out for time restrictions, garage entrances, loading only bays and even streets where parking changes sides on the 1st of the month. If you find a section of a street with a whole row of empty spaces, there is probably a reason no one is parked there. You can stop to drop people off and unload/load luggage, but don’t leave your car unattended for more than a few minutes – the police will always give you a chance to move before issuing tickets. If you are unsure park in a car park to avoid a fine.
Free Car Parks
There are several large free car parks in Nerja:
Top of Burriana
This 165 space car park was opened in 2022 and is located at the top of the steep hill that goes down to Burriana. From here it is a 10 minute flat walk into the town centre and is a good free option if you don’t need your car close by. This is also an option if you are staying at Casa Anduez. The walk down to Burriana beach is steep and hot in the summer, but this car park might be the only place you can find a space at Burriana.
Medical Centre Site
This used to be known as the “dust bowl” car park and will be the site of the new medical centre (construction start date unknown). Although this used to be a much larger car park before construction work started, it still has a useful number of spaces and is very convenient for the town centre (and Plaza Cavana), being only a short walk away. The council are planning to build an 800 space multi storey car park and bus station on this site, but for now it is an open patch of dust.
Giner de los Rios
This small car park is where the old Giner de los Rios centre used to be on Calle Diputacion and is right next to Plaza Cavana and the Balcon de Europa. If you are very lucky you will find a space but it is perfect for dropping people and luggage off for Plaza Cavana.
Playazo
There are two large free car parks on Playazo beach, which are ideal for a trip to that beach, but are a bit too far out of town to really be viable if you are staying in town.
Pay Car Parks
There are several pay car parks in Nerja, take a ticket at the entry barrier and pay on exit with hourly and daily charges, with discounts for longer stays (buy a longer stay ticket at the office when you arrive). Daily charges are around €15 and weekly around €60, but vary according to the car parks.
Parking Carabeo
This is probably the best pay car park in Nerja, with easy access from the main road, yet still very close to the town centre (the pedestrian exits open on to Calle Carabeo and Calle Cristo where all the bars and restaurants are). This is a short walk from both Plaza Cavana (from the Carabeo exit) and Casa Anduez (from the Los Huertos exit).
Parking Balcon de Europa
This is the underground car park at the Balcon de Europa, underneath Plaza de España. This is a very convenient car park, but does get busy during the summer, with queues to get into the car park at peak times.
Parking Burriana
Multi storey car park at Burriana Beach – convenient for the beach. There is free parking on the seafront, but this gets taken very quickly in the summer, so if you want to be close to the beach the pay car park is your only option.
