Arriving at ten past six on a Thursday in September gets you a closed gate. Arriving at the same moment on a Friday gets you in. The park’s closing hour moves five times a year, and twice it moves inside the week as well.
What time does Benalmadena Butterfly Park close? At six or seven in the evening depending on the date, across 5 separate timetables. In spring and September the hour also depends on the day. Opening is always 10am, general admission is €13.50, and last entry runs 30 minutes before closing.
Monowa, formerly the Benalmadena Butterfly Park, is a covered tropical butterfly house on the Costa del Sol charging €13.50 general and €11.50 reduced, free below 3 years. Its old web address now redirects to monowa.es. It opens at 10am all year and shuts at 6pm or 7pm depending on the stretch of calendar.
The name it no longer uses
The park’s old web address now redirects to monowa.es, and the site publishes its tariffs and calendar under the name Monowa. The older name remains what most people type into a search box, which is why the two rarely meet.
For a visitor that matters at the practical level rather than the sentimental one. Anything found under the previous name is not maintained by the park, so a price or an opening hour taken from it carries no guarantee. The live figures at monowa.es are €13.50 general admission, €11.50 reduced and a 10am opening at Calle Muérdago in Benalmádena.
Five timetables, and two that shift inside the week
Opening never moves: it is ten in the morning on every one of the five stretches. Closing is what changes, and in two of them the day of the week decides it.
| Calendar stretch | Closing time |
|---|---|
| 1 January to 28 March | six, every day |
| 29 March to 30 June | six Monday to Thursday, seven Friday to Sunday |
| 1 July to 31 August | seven, every day |
| 1 to 30 September | six Monday to Thursday, seven Friday to Sunday |
| 1 October to 31 December | six, every day |
The trap sits in the two mixed stretches. A plan built around August hours arrives an hour late from the first day of autumn, and a midweek visit in spring or September loses the final hour that a weekend visit keeps.
That matters most for anyone combining the park with a beach morning. In July and August the seven o’clock close leaves a full afternoon of margin, but from 1 September a Monday or a Tuesday pulls the shutters an hour earlier, and the last way in falls back to half past five.
The half hour to subtract every time
Alongside the calendar the park adds one line that applies to all five stretches: the last admission is half an hour before closing.
That turns the published timetable into a different one in practice. Where the gates shut at six, the last way in is half past five. Where they shut at seven, including all of July and August, it is half past six. The number to plan around is that one, not the closing hour.
Monowa also states that it opens 365 days a year, so there is no annual closure to check. If the weather turns, the indoor alternatives across the city are gathered in Malaga when it rains.
What a ticket costs, with no online discount
Pricing is short and carries no advance-purchase clause, which is unusual on this coast.
| Ticket type | Price |
|---|---|
| General admission | €13.50 |
| Over sixty-fives | €11.50 |
| Children aged three to twelve | €11.50 |
| Under-threes | free |
The absence of an online saving changes how the day gets organised. Nothing has to be decided the night before to protect a discount, which is the opposite of the aquarium in the same town, where buying at the gate costs more and the detail sits in Sea Life Benalmadena.
One family of four with two children aged between three and twelve therefore pays €50 flat, whichever day and whichever route they book through. What else works with children along this coast is in Malaga with kids.
What is inside, and what is a claim
Monowa states more than 1,800 butterflies from Asia, the Americas and Africa, kept in a covered tropical setting. The address is Calle Muérdago, postcode 29639, in Benalmádena.
The figure and the origins are the park’s own published data. The line it presents itself with, “the most beautiful butterfly park in Europe”, is its own marketing and is not treated as verified here. Nor does the park publish a species count, a recommended visit length or any access rules.
Getting there from Malaga, and what shares the station
The Cercanías C1 runs from Malaga to Benalmádena-Arroyo de la Miel without a change, and a single ticket on that line costs €1.80. How the service works is in Malaga Cercanías trains, and arrivals straight from the airport use the same line, covered in Malaga airport to the city centre.
Two other ticketed attractions share that station: the cable car, in the Benalmadena cable car, and the Colomares castle, in Colomares Castle. What else the town holds is in what to see in Benalmadena, and the wider set of one-day outings in day trips from Malaga.
Notes for a first visit
- Search Monowa, not Butterfly Park. The old address redirects and the live tariffs sit under the new name.
- Subtract half an hour from whatever closing time applies, because that is last entry.
- Check the weekday between March and June and through September, when closing shifts.
- Do not hunt for an online discount, since the park publishes none.
- Bring under-threes free, and pay €11.50 for ages three to twelve.
Frequently asked questions about Benalmadena Butterfly Park
What time does Benalmadena Butterfly Park close?
Either six or seven in the evening, depending on the date. The park runs five separate timetables across the year, and in spring and September the closing hour also depends on the day: six from Monday to Thursday, seven from Friday to Sunday.
When is the last entry to Benalmadena Butterfly Park?
Half an hour before closing, on every one of its five timetables. That means half past five when the gates shut at six, and half past six in July and August when they shut at seven. The published closing hour is not the one that lets you in.
How much is a ticket to Benalmadena Butterfly Park?
General admission is €13.50. Visitors over sixty-five and children aged three to twelve pay €11.50, and under-threes go free. No advance-purchase discount is published, so buying at the gate costs the same as booking ahead.
Is the Benalmadena Butterfly Park still called that?
Not by the park itself. Its old web address now redirects to monowa.es, and the site trades under the name Monowa. The older name is still what most visitors search for, but the current tariffs and timetable are published under the new one.
How much is Benalmadena Butterfly Park for a family of four?
Fifty euros for two adults and two children aged three to twelve, at €13.50 and €11.50 each. Under-threes add nothing. Since the park publishes no advance-purchase discount, that total is the same whether the tickets are booked ahead or bought at the desk.
How do you get to Benalmadena Butterfly Park from Malaga?
The Cercanías C1 runs from Malaga to Benalmádena-Arroyo de la Miel with no change. The park sits on Calle Muérdago in the same town, and the cable car and Sea Life aquarium share that station, so the three can be chained in a day.
The hour on the sign is not the hour that admits you. Take thirty minutes off it, then check what day it is.