Hi,

First, thanks to everyone who has responded to my other posts. I am finally closing in on our Spain itinerary.

I need some more advice about the AlHambra and moving between Seville and Granada.

The basic question is, do we have enough time to leave Seville in the am, drive to Granada and see Alhambra in the afternoon?

Alternatively, we leave from Malaga going to Barcelona the next day on a 6pm flight so we could get up early, see the AlHambra in the am and then leave imediately afterwards to catch our flight.

Or third option, cut out a night in Seville (only stay 2 nights), leave in the afternoon, meander to Granada, get there in the pm, have the whole next day for AlHambra, spend the night, leave the following day for our Malaga flight.

It is either 3 nights in Seville, 1 night in Granada (trying to make it to the Alhambra in the pm after driving from Seville or am before driving to Malaga) and then on to Barcelona

Or 2 nights in Seville, 2 nights in Granada and then on to Barcelona.

Any suggestions?

We are 3 adults and 1 infant traveling by car.

Thanks!

The winner is definetly option 3 spend the night in Granada.

We visited both cities several years ago and would recommend 2 nights in Granada--really liked it. I don't know when you are going, but it might be risky to plan to arrive in Granada and get tickets for that same day. It's my understanding they can sell out and then you'd be out of luck.

Sorry, should have previewed before posting. It is a bit confusing.

Better stated:
1 night, 2 partial days in Granada
or 2 nights, 1 full day in Granada

Thanks.

Whichever you decide (I'd do whichever would be the least rushed)--I suggest get tickets in advance for Alhambra--you can get them on the Internet.

Hi,

I would only do the "Alhambra in the afternoon" option if you buy tickets in advance on the internet. Otherwise, it often sells out, so showing up in the afternoon might not work.

Can I ask a silly question? If you are in Granada, and going to Barcelona, why are you flying out of Malaga? Just go from Granada - this will help with logistics.

I did 3 nights in Sevilla. On leaving Sevilla, I drove to Granada and toured around town that day, stayed overnight, saw the Alhambra the next morning, and then flew to Barcelona that night. It worked out well. Can this be an option for you? I had a 6pm flight out of Granada and it cost me about 30 euros.

Karen

Hi, We are planning on purchasing advanced tickets -- the main reason I am trying to nail down a day/time.

We tried to fly out of Granada, but it was much more expensive and could not get a good flight time on Sunday.
We checked spanair, iberia and europe air, travelocity, opodo, trenhotel, you name it. Flying out of Granada the tickets would have been around 500 euros for all three + baby, but Malaga came out at ~150 euros.

Normally, we would have waited a while for the fare to come around, but traveling with an infant requires a bit more preplanning so we jumped on the fare so we could finish up the main things -- apartments, tickets to sites we did not want to miss, etc.

I am mainly trying to get a feel of the drive between Seville to Granada, the effort/timeframe to tour and appreciate the Alhambra and whether Granada is a better choice to spend extra day hours/pokey time vs. Seville (or even Malaga or little towns between)

Any other thoughts with this in mind?

Thanks!!

We stayed outside of Granada, about 1 hour west and drove there in the AM. There was so much to see that we ended up driving back again the next day...and I am not the person who typically spends more than an hour or so in any museum.

I loved Seville. If I had to choose between a rushed short visit to Granada or an extra day in Seville, I would choose Seville. You'll love this trip.

Driving to Granada from Seville takes about three hours if my memory from last year serves me. I do however drive abit fast. I also recommend getting reservations for the Alhambra before going there. Your hotel conceierge in Seville might arrange it for you or I believe you can do it through one of the Spanish banks. If you are going during the high season or perhaps even the shoulder season I would probably do this well in advance. We did Granada for day day trip from Seville by leaving early. This allowed us to stay in one place as we hate moving hotels. Took a flight from Seville to Barcelona later. Might check with Maribel for a more definitive advice.

OK. Well, the drive from Sevilla to Granada is about 3 hours on a highway, very easy.

Granada itself was OK, but I loved Sevilla. I'd probably stick to what I actually did - spend 3 days/nights in Sevilla and 1 1/2 days in Granada (one night).

Karen

I would drive to Granada in the afternoon, see the Albaicin and have dinner, then get up and see Alhambra in the morning. You should have plenty of time, especially since your baby will probably limit your time sightseeing more than anything else. Generally speaking, driving during naptime works well with chidren.

Thanks everyone for you help. We have decided to get tickets for the afternoon session of the Alhambra and also for the evening session.

We will stay the night in Seville, get up early, drive to Granada, tour the Alhambra w/mom and baby, then meader around the city for the rest of the day. My husband and I will go back at night for the leisurely tour without the crowds. Spend the night and head out at some point the following afternoon for our flight to Malaga.

Thanks again!