I tried going to the BBVA website to purchase advance tickets and the only available options on both days we are there is 18:00 or later.

I am correct in understanding that a)only a fraction of the tickets are sold online b)that we would be able to get tickets once we get there either through our hotel or by standing in line.

I have tried contacting our hotel via email with no reply, I'd hate to go all the way to Granada to find out that we can't visit the Alhambra.

Also, are the reserved times only for the Nasird Palace? If the tickets were all gone for those days, do they give admission to see the rest of the Alhambra grounds to pretty much anyone? I obviously want to see the whole thing but if it's not possible....

Thanks!

Is the BBVA website the same as alhambratickets.com? If so, then I can answer some of your questions:

The reserved time is indeed for entrance to the Nasrid Palaces, although that time is in the context of a 'session' i.e. a morning or afternoon visit (afternoon session begins no earlier than 14:00) during which you also can see the Generalife gardens and the Alcazaba fortress. So from 15:00 to 17:30, say, you can visit the rest of the complex, have a rest, then enter the Nasrid during your timed entry of 18:00.

So, don't despair about the 18:00 time. The light will actually be better for the palaces (soft early evening light is actually better for photos) and the crowds should be thinning. It will take you about 90 minutes to see the Nasrid at a leisurely pace.

I would advise taking what you can for the day of your choice - not all tix are reserved beforehand, but the majority (6,000 of the total 7,800 daily count) are sold in advance. Besides, you don't need the extra stress of lining up.

The alternative is to go for the Alhambra by moonlight, which goes on sale around 21:00 or so - check the site - and which rarely, if ever, sells out.

Thanks Sue, that's immensely helpful, I was thinking only a small percent of tickets were reserved online so maybe I should get those 18:00 tickets.

There's one person joining us the next day, would they be able to get on the grounds of the Alhambra without the reservations for the Nasrid Palace? Is there a charge for that?

As far as I know, you can buy tix for just the Generalife and Alcazaba, with no requirement for the Nasrid portion (which is the part that usually sells out.) Go back to the website and you should be able to find what I'm talking about. The tix are cheaper and supposedly much easier to get. (subsequent edit: I just went back to the site and found it: it's called "Visit to the Gardens" ticket and costs just € 5 per ticket.)

There's also supposedly a public section of the complex with no fee required at all that consists of places like the Charles V palace (except for certain sections therein.) I confess that I was too busy looking at stuff under the ticketed portions to have paid much attention to the public section, how extensive it was, etc. etc. (subsequent edit: having revisited www.alhambratickets.com, I can't find any mention of a public section at all - maybe it's been discontinued??)

I think the safest advice is for your friends that are joining you to get a 'Visit to the Gardens' ticket, even though it doesn't cover the Nasrid.

Enjoy Granada and the Alhambra.

From experience: buy the tickets and don't hope to find some at the door or through alternate vendors. More likely than not, you won't. And yes, evening light is tearfully beautiful at the Alhambra.

Just reporting back, we got the 18:00 tickets for the Nasrid Palace and there was plenty of light that time of day to take photos and we really enjoyed the visit. We got to the grounds a little after 2 pm when the afternoon session started, 4 hours was a little too long to spend seeing the rest of it even at a leisurely pace, we would have been fine with about 3 hours.

When we arrived to pick our pre reserved tickets up, the Palace was sold out and garden only tickets were the only thing you could buy.

Thanks again for your help!

Glad it worked out for you, Kristi. Thanks for the update!