Seville to Granada
 

We will be visiting Seville in November. Does anyone know of a reputable tour group (bus) that takes people from Seville to Granda for the day? Ive seen a few on TripAdvisor but the reviews are mixed.
Thank you

Wouldn't your daughter be in the best position to find one?

She’s a college student studying abroad… not very helpful ;)

Been there, done that...:)

Because of the long distance involved, a day excursion from Seville to Granada makes for a very rushed and not very fulfilling but long day (10-13 hours), which may explain the TA mixed reviews. These bus tours depart at 6 or 7 am.

The trip takes 3 hours one way by tour bus and doesn't allow much time to explore the Alhambra in depth or to see other sites in the center of the city (Cathedral, Royal Chapel) or to explore the.ancient Moorish quarter of Albaicín. Some of these tours include a ride up to the famous Albaicín viewpoint, Mirador de San Nicolás for a photo op.

And in November you'll have fewer daylight hours.

Here's one company that offers this, but I can't personally recommend it.
https://www.andalsurexcursiones.com/...-from-seville/

For me, the wonderful city of Granada deserves two nights. But if one day is absolutely all the time you have...
Can you make time in your itinerary to spend a night (or better still two nights) in Granada?

The speediest direct train rides on the AVANT take 2 hours, 30-43 minutes now, but the first AVANT train doesn't arrive in Granada until 10:22 am and the last return AVANT to Seville departs Granda at 5:20 pm.
www.renfe.com

Thank you Maribor for the information!
Do you have any opinion about us renting a car for the day and going to Gilbratar from Seville and back? Are the roads difficult? Is parking ok in Gilbratar? Any issues crossing through? I know that would also be a long day trip.
any information is appreciated.
Amy

I think the tours get poor reviews because it would be extremely difficult to make any one day tour from Seville to Granada (and back) a good trip. Especially in November, it will likely be bleak and most of your time will be on a bus, not a great use of time. We did not get to Granada until our third trip to Spain. We made it a priority that time and spent three nights. We fell in love with the city, not just the Alhambra. A day trip would have left us disappointed. Perhaps post your entire itinerary and someone could help with advice on a change that would make a visit to the Alhambra reasonable.

Amy,
The Seville to Gibraltar day trip would also be a very long one, and I don't personally feel that it's a good use of your time, especially if your days in Seville are limited.
For me, 3 full days in Seville would be a minimum.
I'm just not a big Gibraltar fan (but there are other Fodorites who have enjoyed it) and wouldn't take time out of a Seville stay to drive all the way down there.
As to roads, they're not difficult, but it's better to park on the Línea de la Concepción side and walk across.

A more interesting day trip (for me) would be a trip from Seville to Jerez de la Frontera (in Nov. for the Tues/Thurs noon horse ballet at the Royal School of Equestrian Art, impromptu flamenco at the tabancos, visitable sherry bodegas) or....

to Cádiz, one of the oldest cities in Europe founded by Phoenicians (for beach walks, a malecón that has served as a stand-in for Havana in several movies, Roman ruins, a friendly populace, great tapas bars, an excellent Fine Arts Museum, warm weather).
This can be done w/o a car, by a comfortable and inexpensive MD (Media Distancia) train from Seville's Santa Justa or San Bernardo stations.

It does take time to rent a car in Spain these days as the lines at the agencies can be long (we sometimes have to wait for 30-40 to complete the process with 5 car rentals already this year) and prices high.

For me,Seville-Gibraltar just wouldn't be worth it, especially if your time in beautiful Seville, my favorite Andalusian city, is short. There's just so much of tourist merit---museums, monuments, palaces, parks, plazas, markets, flamenco-- to enjoy in Seville.

And Seville to Granada would mean six hours of sitting in a bus, more time than you would actually have in Granada itself. I've visited in the winter several times, and with the reduced daylight hours, your touring abilities would be limited. When we visit Granada in the winter, we spend 3 nights.


Just my thoughts...

Thank you for all the information! It’s very helpful. I will take your suggestions to heart!
Amy

Are you going to Cordoba? That is a great city to pair with Seville. Easy to do by train and, while nice to stay over, is still a good day trip if you don’t have time for an overnight someplace.
Gibraltar is somewhat interesting, but a very long day from Seville, and, IMHO, not nearly as good for a day trip as Cordoba. We also really enjoyed Cadiz, but we were there in lovely weather when we had a beautiful sunny day to enjoy walking and the water, don’t know how it is in winter.

The Córdoba day trip from Sevilla is the easiest and often most rewarding of the lot, as it's only a 40-45 min. trip on the comfortable and speedy AVANT train (cheaper than the AVE that goes on to Madrid). The historic Judería quarter, where you'll find the major monuments/museums including the Mosque/Cathedral are a pleasant 20-minute walk from the rail station, down through the Parque de la Victoria.

Thank you! We will look into this!

Tourist info for Córdoba
https://www.turismodecordoba.org

https://mezquita-catedraldecordoba.es/en/