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Alhambra sold out?!

I am wondering if there are any other places to purchase Alhambra tickets. I was looking for tickets for October 6th or 7th and unfortunately it seems they are sold out practically from now until late October. I am close to tears, as this was my #1 site to visit. Anybody know of any other places to purchase?

Posted by
16543 posts

Have you booked a hotel yet? If so, contact them and see if they can get tickets for you.

Posted by
23626 posts

We went through our hotel. Tickets are set aside for hotel guests. The Alhambra is the most popular tourist site in all of Spain for both locals and tourists. Think Disneyworld. Initially I thought you were asking about Oct 16 not in three weeks.

Posted by
46 posts

Yes it is for this coming October. I was not under the impression that it would sell out nearly a month in advance, but it seems that the dates from now until the end of October practically are sold out.

Posted by
5697 posts

Hope you can get Alhambra tickets -- it IS a marvelous sight. When I was planning our 2007 trip to Spain I tried for tickets months in advance and the date I wanted was sold out, so I shifted plans to be in Granada on a day that had tickets available.

Posted by
46 posts

Thanks, Laura. I hope I can as well. I am very disappointed and heartbroken that what I originally planned for didnt work out.

Posted by
56 posts

One option may be to see if a guided tour is available (group or individual) when you are there. Tours often include admission to the site. You will pay more...but you'll get in.

Posted by
2768 posts

There are ways. I have never done any of these but have talked to other visitors who have. This is they type of thing that you buy 2 months or more in advance. Often, they put up tickets 3 months ahead and they sell out fairly fast. But sometimes the tickets aren't put up until 2 months out. BUT there are work arounds:

Check with your hotel. If that doesn't work, check with guided tours. There is also a Granada Card that includes Alhambra admission. It's more than regular tickets (includes other things you may not be interested in), but may be an option. Google how this works, I'm not sure.

Finally, there are same day tickets. Get to the ticket office early (like at 7 if it opens at 8) and hope there are enough. If you have 2 people in your party, one should wait at the machines and one in the ticket window line to see which moves faster (and if your cc works in the machine!).

Once you get tickets MAKE SURE YOU KNOW HOW THE ADMISSION TIMES WORK. You don't want another problem. You get an "appointment" for the Nazrid Palace and have to be there at that timeslot (no later than 30 minutes past, better to be there at the time on your ticket). So a 10AM slot means be there at 10. 10:15, OK. 10:30 and you will be turned away. Period. The rest of the site can be visited that day (in the AM if your appointment is before 2, in the PM if after 2) - no specific timeslots. But for the palace, your exact time matters.

Posted by
46 posts

I appreciate your help. The guided tours have all booked up. There is the option to purchase an evening Palace only ticket so we will do that instead, as long as I don't hear back from our hotel in the next couple of hours

Posted by
46 posts

ok we are getting the Bono Turisto card...thanks for the advice everyone. What a nightmare! I'm glad it's resolved tho! It was completely my fault but I'm glad for the other options available!

Posted by
2158 posts

You could always get in touch with Emily from South Ole Spain Tours. We used her company for transportation and also guide services for a day of our journey in Spain. She also has group tours, including for the Alhambra.

www.southolespaintours.com

Since it sounds like you might already have travel to Granada arranged, just let her know, and she could probably arrange for you to meet the tour group in Granada vs. taking a bus from the typical group place.

You can also check out reviews for her company on www.tripadvisor.com

She is extremely responsive, and we highly recommend her. She is originally from America, fell in love with Spain, and now has a growing travel/tour business.

I'm sure she would be glad to help with any other portions of your trip, too.

Posted by
12313 posts

I arrived in town with no tickets/reservations. I followed the advice in Rick's book, first the book store (no luck), then the kiosk a block or so up the street. I bought a pass at the kiosk that included 9 AM reservations the next morning - problem solved.