Granada Travel Forum

I will be Granada to visit Alhambra...Can someone tell me how far it is from the station? Is it far from the station? Public transportation available. Safe to travel alone? How about the hotel...Please provide some information.

it is a long walk, Try to get to Plaza Nueva from the station and from there the little bus that goes up to the Alahambra

As safe as any other city, the perfect city to seat in a bench with a book and enjoy the views of the Alhambra or the people around for the sunset! :-) (My favorite area for all this is Albaicin, in front of the alhambra!)

Last time we stayed in Hostal Atenas ( I have to check the info) but price was very reasonable 30 euros and the situation can not be better (in Gran Via)

Thanks.

Did you tour alone or took one of the guided ones?

I do always the tour on my own. My family is from Granada so I used to go often, also later on my best friend went to University there, and I tried to go as often as possible . As soon as some friends come to visit us, we go to Granada, as I think Alhambra is one of the most beautiful places, something you should not miss...

If you only go for a day and you like people to explain you all in detail, do not hesitate and get a guided excursion at Alhambra, if not, you can miss lots of details. (the only inconvenient is the price!) But most of them include the ticket, that means that you do not have to worry about buying Alhambra entrance in advance or going there at 6.00 in the morning to queue to get a ticket as you did not book in advance (and there were not tickets for the following month, by own experience!) lol

yes make sure you have made a computer reservation for entry in advance ! Choose the best time on that entry slot for the 30 minute entry to the Nasrid Palaces which are the key parts of the Alhambra to visit. If the times are not good, then just go out of the booking page and re-try !
There are audio guides at the entrance to the complex which allow you to hear a good description of each area. And of course you could always 'over hear' the neighbouring guided tour !!

From the railway station at Granada you can take a bus from the main road that goes along the main GRAN VIA road which leads to the Cathedral and at the end to the street that leads up to Plaza Nueva. can't remember the number of the bus but just ask at the bus stop? When you exit the station proceed up the entry road to the top and the main road.
Actually if the weather is not too hot, (or cold) it is a good walk.

Hi,

I don't know much about you by your profile, like age and I guess maybe you are female? Okay, well, I did traveling on my own and I do travel with my daughter alone in Spain. Mostly Spain is safe and Granada I think is quite safe. I have talked to policemen from there to get the inside scoop about safety because I am somewhat paranoid after some things that happen to me when traveling to foreign countries in the past. Granada though is good, you just use your common sense and should be fine.

I studied at U. of Granada when I was in university and I just came back last year and this year. I have friends that live there so it's always really fun and I feel secure. Maybe you could find someone around same age and sex who is also going to be there? I found a great friend from Granada online who is a nurse there and we have a good time hanging out when I come!

I hated the Atenas, good location but... I wrote a tip about it on my page. My favorite hotel was the Hotel Dauro, but I don't know about their prices now. I have a tip about them. There are other hostals that I haven't tried which have decent prices. It was kind of hard to find a decent, reasonably priced hotel in Granada this time around, the euro is so strong against my American dollar. I used Spanish travel site, "MuchoViaje" and got a great deal on a room in a 4 star hotel! But I booked months ahead and got lucky.

Public transportation in Granada is very good and convenient, cheap, safe and reliable. You should have no trouble getting around. People there are the best! It's great city, my very favorite one. If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me, I would love help you if I can!

What a dope I am, I didn't even mention the Alhambra in my reply.

You didn't say what station you meant. I assume the bus? From the bus station you can get a bus to just where Carmela says, Plaza Nueva or Plaza Isabel la Catolica, and there are stops at the bottom of the hill, little Alhambra mini buses, that go up around the Albaicin and Alhambra every 15 minutes or so, it's around 1.10 euro a trip.

Tell the driver to alert you when they reach the "taquilla" for the Alhambra, the ticket place. You could book your tickets in advance. If you are American, it's a bit of a pain because they won't print out and they have to confirm our credit cards, charge us some extra exchange rate fee, but you could prebook if you are POSITIVE your plans won't change. They WILL NOT give you a refund, not even if you are the Pope from Rome, trust me on this! I had to change my plans and got to Granada a day later, missed my prepaid appointment and not only didn't I get my tickets, I got a scolding from the lady at the ticket booth for having the nerve to ask if I might be rescheduled. I lost $37 dollars and had to buy all new tickets. That day I arrived at the taquilla around 10 a.m. and I waited in line with about 40 people (it was June 15th I think) and got new tickets no problem.

I would walk over hot coals to see the Alhambra, it is THAT spectacular so even though it was a pain in the buttocks to get in, lose my money be abused by power tripping matron behind the bullet proof glass and wait half an hour under blistering sun, it was STILL worth it. It's a very, very special place. Too bad they have made it more like visiting a museum than the magical place I remember being able to just walk up and enter almost anytime as a student.

A couple more things to enhance your trip to the Alhambra, read some or all of "Tales of the Alhambra" by Washington Irving. If you are a fanciful, romantic type like me, t's very cool to see parts of where the stories took place. Visit ARAMCO's, the Saudi Oil companies, website on the Alhambra, they have a guided tour which is quite amazing, so you can get an idea of what you will see and some info. I also do this sneaky thing where I eavesdrop on tour guides in the Alhambra to here what they are describing in the palaces. I don't like headphone tours, I want to see, hear and smell, use all my senses when I am inside and not block any of it out. A good pocket tour book with information about the Alhambra, depending on how interested you are, would be worth getting at a bookstore, in Granada maybe or online before you go!

You are a lucky, lucky person to get to see this wonder! Enjoy! I love it!