At the present, we are staying at the Carmen de la Alcubilla del Caracol in Realejo. How difficult is it to walk from there to the Albaicin and the Alhambra. There has been caution that the climb to the Carmen may be strenuous? Anyone that has been there, I would appreciate their comments. When looking at a map, Granada does not seem that large but it may be deceiving. Taxi drivers in some cities frown on "driving you around the block--lol" but having never been to Granada I do not know what the attitude is there. Some knee problems have given me pause to rethink our location.

I don't know the place where you're staying, but for Granada itself, the Albacin and the Alhambra both sit on top of a hill, separated by a small river. To get to either place from the main plaza (Plaza Nueva), is a real hike up fairly steep paths (or lots of steps). There are public minibuses that depart from Plaza Nueva to either place non-stop though.

In any case, no matter where you stay in Granada, you won't be able to avoid going up/down hills if you want to visit the Alhambra and the Albaicin. The center (where the Cathedral and Chapel Royals are) is flat.

Hi kakiebell,
I also stayed at the Carmen de la Alcubill del Caracol in the Realejo. I did find the short climb from the Carmen up to the neighboring Hotel Alhambra Palace in one direction or in the other, up to the Torres Bermejas, to be a good cardio workout. But I don't see it as a problem for anyone reasonably fit, just good old fashioned exercise. However, anyone with serious mobility issues would find it difficult. If you have really serious knee problems, and you need to avoid strenuous exercise on your knees, you may want to rethink this.

We stayed for 4 days at the Carmen. Each day we walked up to the Alhambra in the am and in the afternoon we walked down the staircase to the lower Realejo and over on flat sidewalks to the downtown sites, such as the Cathedral, Royal Chapel, etc.

At night after visiting the tapas bars, we walked to the Plaza Isabel la Católica to catch the red mini bus (1 euro) up to the Alhambra hill and got off at the stop in front of the Hotel Alhambra Palace, then walked down the cobblestone steps to the Carmen.

We also took one taxi from the Gran Vía up to the Carmen. I think the fare was about 6 euros. Taxis in Granada are plentiful and not that expensive.

About the very, very hilly, steep, cobblestone steps of the Albaicín-in your case, I would either tour the Albaicín by day using the red mini bus, or taxi up to the Mirador de San Nicolás for the sunset views (watching your wallet on that square very, very carefully), then slowly walk down or have your taxi wait for you, if you just want a photo op. If you decide to have dinner at a carmen in the Albaicín, you can have the restaurant call you a taxi to take you back to the Alhambra hill.

I have the mini bus info in my Granada guide.

What would be the best neighborhood to stay in if you want to 1. visit the Alhambra and 2. meandering through the Albaicin?
Any thoughts on the Casa Morsica Hotel in the albaicin? Is it noisy to stay in that area of town?
Many, many thanks.

It can be very noisy to stay in parts of the Albaicín, but the Casa Morisca is slightly removed from the busy-ness of the Plaza Nueva and tea shops of Little Morocco. You could read through all the Trip Advisor reviews to get a sense of what this little "riad-type" hotel is like. I believe danon stayed there and enjoyed it very much.

If you want to visit the Alhambra and meander through the Albaicín, as yk notes, there's no avoiding some steep climbs, unless you do your touring of each via the red mini bus system.

We considered staying at the Casa Morisca, but we thought that the Carmen was more "our style", and we very much wanted to stay in the Tower Room with spectacular views. We always enjoy staying on the Alhambra hill for the romance factor. We didn't mind a climb up to the Entrance Pavilion of the Alhambra or a climb down the staircase to the downtown section which is flat.

For our Albaicín meander (the walking tour that I've written in my Granda file), we did do this by foot, slowly, taking the entire morning and stopping at very plazas for a drink or tapas. But you can travel through the quarter on the mini bus as well. It goes right through the Albaicín then down to the Plaza Nueva, then up to the Alhambra, making a big loop.

But as I say in my lengthy review of the Carmen de la Alcubilla in my Granada file, it's not the best place for those who have serious mobility difficulties.

Well, thank you for all your information. I do not have serious mobility difficulties--just a small amount of knee pain that kicks up when I climb a lot of stairs. I am in physically therapy now and hope to be in good shape by October but was trying to get a better feel of how hilly and arduous getting around Granada is. It sounds challenging but I think with some rest stops and taking it slow and the help of taxis, it is all doable. I hate to give up our room at the Carmen so think I have 7 months away to see how I am doing then. I walked from one end of Rome to the other two years ago so when the knees are good, I am good to go. How long does it take to walk from the Carmen to Albaicin?
Thank you Maribel and everyone.

We are booked into the Carmen de la Alcubilla in Oct. because of Maribel's recommendations. It seems a good place to stay because we are driving and parking there is easier. But we are older and not looking forward to walking up or down stairs like these posts seem to indicate... I think the mini bus or taxi's will be for us. How difficult will it be to get a taxi to take us into town, or back to the Carmen? What will it cost?

Taxis in Granada are plentiful and not expensive. 6 euros at the most to take you downtown. And Miguel, your host, and his assistant, Paula, will call a taxi for you.

kakiebell,
Again, you don't want to walk from the Carmen to the Albaicín. Simply go up to the mini bus stop above the Hotel Alhambra Place, just above the Carmen, and take the bus that goes down to Plaza Nueva and then makes a loop through the Albaicín. I;ve written all about it in my Granada file at www.maribelsguides.com

We were just in Granada over New Years. We stay a block from P Nueva. There is a lot of climbing and stairs. The road to the Alhambra is total tore-up with construction. The taxi from P Nueva to the Alhambra was 5E. The area is very walkable but you will climb a lot of stairs.

From my Granada guide, about the red mini bus system:

"For the short-term visitor, the red minibuses with only about ten seats, designated Alhambrabús, are the most efficient way of seeing the city’s major attractions. These minibuses provide service to the Alhambra hill from 7:15 am until 11:00 pm. Buses 30 and 32 run from downtown to the Alhambra (the 32 bus making a swing or loop through the Albaicín) and the bus 31 runs from the Plaza Nueva to the Albaicín only. Bus 34 detours east to Sacromonte, where the gypsy caves are located. The fare for the minibuses is one euro.

City bus 8 runs to the Monasterio de la Cartuja. City bus 3 and 33 go to the bus station. Buses 3 and 9 run from the train station, down the Avenida de la Constitución to the cathedral. A taxi fare within the city should cost between €5 - €8"

Thank you Maribel for all the valuable information. It sounds like Granada has a great transportation system so you do not have to do all the hiking if you do not want to. The taxi fares seem very, very reasonable too so no problem in just jumping in a taxi when your feet get tired.

Hi, was hoping to catch Maribel. Your guides have a lot of great information. We are visiting spain for the first time in May for 10 full days there. We wanted to visit Madrid, Barcelona and Granada. How many days would you recommend in each city? 4 nights Madrid, 2 nights Granada, 4 nights Barcelona? Or what would you recommend for a first timer?

Thanks!!

Hi appletea,
sorry I didn't respond right away, but I was away from the board for a 3 week Spain trip.
I would recommend 4 nights in Madrid, 2 in Granada and 4 in Barcelona, just as you have planned. I see that you haven't included Sevilla but with only 10 days, I would save it for your next trip. I assume you'll fly from Barcelona to Granada, then fly or train from Granada back to Madrid?