Tickets for Alhambra
 

We're going to be in the Costa del Sol for a week in March. Do you think we should get tickets for Alhambra before leaving from here via the Internet, or do you think it will be ok to wait and get them at the Banco Bilbao Vizcay once we're in Spain?

i would get them before you leave<BR>1. just to be sure you get them for the date/time you want<BR>2. to avoid spending part of your day waiting in line to buy them [we met someone who had spent the whole day getting to granada to find out they were sold out]<BR><BR>if you're not comfortable with buying over the net they have a phone number - that's what we did. very easy.<BR><BR>JP

I agree about reserving them beforehand. I had a really hard time using the website. I would get so far and as soon as I entered my credit card, they told me the website was down or something to that effect. <BR><BR>Finally, I just called my hotel and asked if they could make the reservation for me. The concierge at my hotel (the Alhambra Palace Hotel) did it easily and faxed me the confirmation of my reservation. There was a 1.70 euro charge (I don't know if the hotel charges it or the reservation service). All it all, it was better to reserve well in advance and have peace of mind.

BTW, we just went a few weeks ago (February 20, 2002), a Tuesday. They were selling tickets without reservations but it was still very crowded.

Rachel has a great point. I went to Granada two years ago without tickets to the Alhambra. I inquired at my hotel's front desk (name escapes me now), which was able to secure me a ticket for the next morning. I did have to pay cash up front, though.

Paula,<BR>If you have trouble with the <BR>www.alhambratickets.com web site, (as I have), just call as JP did, or as Rachel wisely suggests, call the front desk of your hotel and ask if they would be kind enough to make the reservation for you. We too found the concierge desk of the Alhambra Palace very accomodating, efficient and helpful. If you reserve on the BBVA site or buy your tickets at a BBVA bank, there is a slight surcharge of .88 euros for this service.<BR>Like the rest of the posters, I would secure the tickets in advance. Only 8,000+ visitors are allowed into the Palacios Nazaries of the Alhambra each day, and during peak times tickets can sell out completely for that day by 11 a.m. at the box office, and lines can be very long-don't know about your dates in March, but if your visit coincides with Holy Week and Spanish school vacations, you do run the risk of heavy crowds.

I agree with the others that you should secure tix in advance. I also know someone who took the bus to Granada only to find that the tickets they had left at the Alhambra (they are timed entry) were AFTER their bus would leave -- so they never saw it.<BR><BR>We tried to get tickets at the Banco Bilbao Vizcay in Granada, to no avail. We arrived on a Friday after the bank had closed and wanted to go to the Alhambra either Saturday or Sunday. Stumped, we then noticed a brochure at the front desk of our hotel that advertised a tour of the Alhambra. The tickets were cheap (around $20 or so) and included a round-trip bus ride from the hotel, tickets to the Alhambra (no waiting) and a very well-informed tour guide. It was perfect for us. Just another option.