granada/alhambra
 

on windstar cruise november 7th, stopping in malaga for 11 hours want to get to Granada/alhambra
best way to do it and is it possible to do both in about 6-7 hours???
know of any tour companies that will pick us up at port???
are cabs waiting at port for tourist????

I cannot tell you about transportation .. you HAVE to book time (ticket) for Alhambra ahead of time. It is a big place ..takes several hours.
Granada is a good size city of 250.000.

Topping for you

My off-the-top-of-my-head reaction to this is

No you cannot do both in that period of time

Depending on what you are EXPECTING from an Alhambra visit you might be able to at least see that (personally, PARTS of it reminded me of empty but interestingly-decorated rooms in other places in Spain, mainly Seville..but the gardens were worth the visit alone for me)

ALL of the "if it isn't in the depth that <B>I</B> think is appropriate then don't bother" folks will undoubtedly say you are wasting your time.

If you can get there, train, bus or car rental from Malaga, do it. I've been twice. The gardens are spectacular and the tile colors and patterns were the crowning achievement of the pre-1492 Islamic period. You don't go to the Alhambra for furniture, as the Spanish would have removed it in 1492, but the architecture is some of the best you will ever see. The Spanish did nothing to keep it up, but Washington Irving led a campaign to save and renovate the buildings. The Palace is Seville is good, but not as aesthetically subtle. Although I saw some interesting tiles and buildings in Morocco, they were not as good as the Alhambra. Read Washington Irving's, Tales of the Alhambra, and try to get a copy of some of Oleg Grabar's essays in the library to give you some perspective. Remember that Europe had nothing like this at the time, it was just coming out of the dark ages. The way fountains, gardens and light were used by the late Islamic culture in Spain was unique.

My first thought was don't try it, too exhausting. Then I remembered how amazing it is, if you're not planning on going back it's a must see. Just remember you have to have a reservation to the Nasrid Palace and you can't be late. You'll never forget it.

Do I presume you don't want to take Windstar's $279 Alhambra shore excursion?

my reason to not take Windstar excursion, it only does the Alhambra and I want to also do Granada. I do not need to spend hours looking at the Alhambra and would like to experience some of old town Granada. I thought Windstar was to
much money but in my web searches I see it is very expensive to get there.

I really enjoyed the Alhambra and the Albacin and went tapas hopping in a few bars but I was there for three nights, so rushed you could do it. But Malaga has interesting churches, museums, and shopping (I purchased beautiful clothing made in Barcelona). If you want to go then go.

Unless I missed big hidden parts of it, I visited the Generalife and the Nasrid Palace and the rest of the Alhambra in about 3-4 hours.

Then I walked down the hill and got lunch at a place near the Plaza Nueva.

I didn't try to go around the alleys of the Albaicin too much, just looked at the view of the Alhambra from along the river. Looked around the Cathedral a bit. Not particularly extraordinary compared to other Cathedrals.

My Rough Guide said Granada isn't particularly known as a food haven but I had no complaints.

You might be able to walk around Granada for a few hours but will you still have the legs after touring the Alhambra for 3-4 or more hours?

It is possible to visit the Alhambra, it is a 90 min. drive from Malaga to the Alhambra parking lot. You can hire a taxi that can wait for you and drive you back, for about 120 eur, I checked it some time ago for another poster. But it did not include the extra time for a city visit.