El Malpais is split by Interstate 40 into eastern and western halves. Most visitors arrive from Grants, the nearest town, just off I-40 about 75 miles west of Albuquerque. The Northwest New Mexico Visitor Center is on the western edge of Grants and is the single best place to start: rangers, free permits for cave hikes, current trail conditions.
Highway 117 runs along the eastern edge of the monument and gives access to Sandstone Bluffs and La Ventana Arch. Highway 53 runs along the western edge and serves El Calderon, the Bandera/Ice Cave site and the western trailhead of the Zuni-Acoma trail. Allow a full day if you want to see both sides; the roads do not loop together and the only crossing is the Zuni-Acoma trail itself, on foot.
There is no public transport. You need a car, ideally one with reasonable ground clearance for the unpaved roads to the more remote sites.