Alhambra visit - strategy for timing of entry requested
 

I will be in Granada 4D/4N Friday to Tuesday in late October. I'll be visiting Alhambra Saturday night (hours are 8 - 9:30 p.m.) Then wanted to visit Sunday, but am somewhat flexible on when to go. It seems that Oc 29 is daylight savings time, so clocks are set back meaning sunrise is 7:35 a.m.
I thought to be at the Justice Gate for opening at 8:00 a.m. and visit Alcazaba for early morning photos, but then I don't know when to book entry to Nazrid Palace. Is 30 minutes enough for Alcazaba, or too much of a rush? Book 9:00 entry and see Alcazaba first, or book 8:30 and go back to Alcazaba after Nazrid.
Because of the hills, I thought to go back to Charles Palace after Narzrid, and then return into Partal gardens afterwards then keep heading towards Generalife from there.
I know there are set numbers, but I wonder when tours start to arrive?
Is leaving Nazrid entry until late in the day worth considering to avoid tours and get later day light?
Anyone want to suggest a strategy? It would be appreciated.

We arrived at 8:45 a.m.

Booked 11 a.m. Palacios Nazaries entry time.

Afterward we went to the GENERALIFE Gardens

We spent a total of 4 1/2 hours at the Alhambra. Definitely a fantastic experience. By 1:30 we were sipping GinTonics in town.

I know most people say you should also see it at night (we did), but in hindsight we thought the daytime visit enough and would rather have had dinner in town.

Here is our full day and night at the Alhambra. Have fun!.

<B>http://travelswithmaitaitom.com/chapter-seven-alhambra-by-day-alhambra-by-night/</B>

By the end of October, I'd be inclined to tour the Nasrid Palace later in the day. It will be cool to cold in the morning by that time of year. We found ourselves pretty chilled when we visited both the Nasrid Palace and Alcazar in Seville in March (when average temps are higher than they are in late October) even though we were dressed for it. Our entry at the Palace was 10:30. I wouldn't want to be uncomfortably cold during my visit. But that's me....

The Nasrid Palace was my highest priority, so I wanted to be absolutely sure to have as much time there as I wanted -- including enough time to let tour groups pass me. I opted for the 2nd slot of the day because I wasn't sure how long it would take to get there from the gate. I was at the gate -- NOT the Justice Gate, the OTHER one -- for opening and easily made it to the Nasrid Palace before my entry time. (So I could have taken the first slot without difficulty, except that it would have left me worrying....)

I didn't leave the Alhambra until 6 p.m., and would have liked another 1/2 hour. I also visited that night, and thought it magical.

Hope that helps!

Thanks MaiTaiTom. I have read your reports - several times in fact - as I wanted to list what you saw in comparable places. You 4 sure knew how to put on the miles and see a lot. Must have been a lot of research and planning. Long, leisurely Spanish dinners will be wasted on me, however. The thought of a 2 hour solo dinner - well, I would rather saw at my wrists with a butter knife.

Indyhiker, interesting observation about the coolness of the day. Historically, late October is still mid - high 70's with lows in the low 50's. Not sure I will be cold given I'll be leaving Ottawa about the time the first snows fly...but thanks for making me look.

kja - that sure makes for a long day. I have been known to doddle, but not sure I can doddle for 10 hours though even with a long lunch break. But I see your point that an early start and making my priority the Palace, gives me all the time in the world for the rest of it.

Thanks all.

:-) That day seemed to fly by!

Weather in October can be variable. Bring a shawl.

I've learned to enjoy leisurely solo meals. Maybe you'll discover their merits one day...

maitaitom got a LOT of great advice here on Fodor's. Here's his planning thread:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ke-a-plane.cfm

You must be looking at different weather sources than I am. I'm seeing highs in the 60s with lows in the 40s. I wore a light down coat at times in March. A shawl would not have cut it for me.

Just last year, the high in Granada was 84 on a few days in late October.
https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/...h=10&year=2016

I always pack my day-bag with options based on the weather forecast, so I would have a shawl or a lightweight jacket or an even warmer top or some combination of these with me, depending. IMO, indyhiker is wise to point to weather as a consideration; my advice would be to travel prepared for the day's potential widely varying circumstances.

Indyhiker, I use Wunderground for historical data as I can go back several years for variety.
As I looked some months ago, I tested outerwear when temps were similar this Spring/early summer.
I pack light but I have a great new mid weight merino wool cardigan that works for a variety of temps. Add arsin jacket if necessary and I am good to go. If not a jacket, I have great brocade pashminas for extra warmth for those first few hours of the day. I routinely head out for work at 6:30 for the bus, so have some testing of my wardrobe. Since I am in Spain three weeks and a variety of locations, I know my wardrobe will cover a wide variety of temps. As my work day starts with The Weather Network so does my travel days. I can only hope for good weather. Regardless, it will be THE Alhambra (can you see me doing a little dance of joy?)

Kja, thanks for the link to MaitiaTom's planning post, but I can tell you, 202 posts are too many. I have the itinerary planned, but have to be strategic for Sunday/Monday in Cordoba as I didn't know about the Medina el Zahra when I made my plan and I also want to give Toledo its due attention. At least I can return from Madrid if I think I need more time there.
I just don't normally travel with an hour by hour itinerary and commitment, so I find commiting to Alhambra times and prebooking trains a little stressful. But once booked, I'll embrace the decision. Being a little off season, other timed visits will be done once in Spain.
As to meals, I have eaten solo meals on and off for 40+ years, but I am not a night owl, nor am I patient....so I book apartments instead. I'll endeavour to have more leisurely mid day meals...another goal for this trip :-)

I know you have thought through your itinerary and options with great care, quiltingmamma, and it’s clear that you know yourself and your interests, so I would be absolutely sure that you will have a fantastic trip even if you weren’t going to Spain – and IME, it’s hard to have a bad time in Spain!

Put your dancin' shoes on, because you'll have lots of reasons for dances of joy. :-)

kja,I decided to read MTT's planning post link with liesurely coffee this morning. Having read the trip reports already, it was interesting to note all the itinerary iterations. I did pick up extra tips along the way, mostly for Madrid.I have a feeling there will be a return to Madrid for secondary museums and a road trip to some of the castle towns in the region.I am trying for Segovia for my birthday this trip, but we see what else draws me.
Thanks for the link.

I'm glad you found it useful. IIRC, you have an interest in art, and if so, I'm sure you will want to return to Madrid.

I would recommend the earlier possible time youncan get for the Nasrid palace in order to beat and stay ahead of the crowds. It is breathtakingly beautiful and photographs much better without people!

bookmarking

I decided for an 8:30 entry. I had posted similar question on another site and they mentioned the ability to see the Nazrid Palace with fewer people if attending the first time slot - so I went for that.
As an FYI, I have purchased the tickets with no problem at all. First try went through. I use a Visa card with Verified by Visa. I also entered my last name into the 'Middle name' and 'Last name' fields.
It worked a second time when I bought my Dobla de Oro Nocturno ticket (night visit with access to lesser sites over 3 days).
Thanks for all the input. I always learn something new :-)
Now just have to figure out train schedules and tackle the Renfe website. I can only hope it goes as easily as this purchase did.

Quiltingmamma,
I purchased my train tickets with Loco2 recently, and I didn't have any problems at all. Have you set up train alerts?

Nice! I hope you have a lovely time.

I also bought my Alhambra tix this past week. I, thankfully, had no problem using my regular credit card. (Capital One Visa.) I also ended up buying our Granada to Madrid tix on Renfre using PayPal (to avoid the credit card issue). I wanted to use Loco2 initially, but for some reason they didn't have the train option I wanted on their site, so I reluctantly used Renfre. Luckily that went smoothly too. Now I'm waiting for the Madrid to Seville Renfre schedule to open up. It currently only has a handful of options and I know they go about every hour to Seville on a weekday!

Thanks KarenWoo, I haven't set up train alerts yet - I think I am subconsciously boycotting the need to purchase ahead of time. One reason is that it isn't my preferred travel way. I would rather book closer to time, and also because I have to then commit to my Cordoba - Madrid/Toledo timing. Cordoba has become a little more complicated as I am there Sunday/Monday and have added items to my 'to do' list. The more I do there takes away from Sevilla and Toledo and I am not up to that yet.
Interestingly enough, I was looking at some bookings on loco2 to answer a travel question - it was an August date. Loco 2 had more trains listed than on Renfe, but all were 2-3 times the cost of the renfe site pricing. That had me rethinking booking on loco2. Of course, I will check both sites for costs and schedules.

PegS I hope you have a great time too. Glad to hear bookings went smoothly - we hear so many instances when they don't.

Interesting – you say you made your decision for an 8:30 entry to the Nasrid Palace because of the answers you received on a DIFFERENT site, and made a point of saying so after MinnBeef made that recommendation to you here on THIS site? I must admit that I don't understand why you would make a point of it.... JMO.

I know, Quiltingmamma. I was really worried I'd need to call Spain to order tix, the way Karen had to.

If you don't want to order train tickets this far ahead I don't see why you can't wait a bit. From most of what I've read, the main reason to purchase early is to get promo fares. If you're willing to pay a bit more you can hold off.