Please sign in to post.

Alhambra tickets - just nuts!!!

​I'd read that this is the most popular sight in Spain, and now I really believe it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alhambra

http://www.alhambra-patronato.es/

I'd also read that some tourists just show up in Granada for a visit of a few days, hoping for the best, and aren't able to get in. Imagine how disappointing that would be. So I wanted to book tickets well in advance.

I tried their web-site multiple times in March, but they hadn't made tickets available yet for May (we'd originally planned to visit the Alhambra on Wednesday the 27th, preferably in the late morning), so I wanted to try the site today, April 1st, thinking that April/May would come up all at once.

I logged in at 1 this afternoon my time and all that was left on the 27th were a few tickets at 8:30 am and a few more at 4:30 pm! So I looked at the 28th. There was already nothing at all left for the morning, but there were 6 tickets for 2 pm (the earliest ones you could book in the afternoon), so I bought them fast, and now we have them.

Mind you, technically, it became 1 April in Granada at 3 pm on 31 March in Vancouver. But STILL! I figure that tour groups must swoop these up like crazy the moment they become available. Even at that, you're only allowed 10 tickets at a time, so they must either have very cheap labour on-tap or a computer program that repeatedly returns to buy these admissions by the hundreds!

Anyhow, boy am I glad we booked as early as possible and that we're going to get to see it!

Posted by
23626 posts

Keep in mind this is the most popular site in Spain. Not just American tourist but locals and other Europeans as well. Think Disneyworld for example. We went through our hotel for tickets and that worked very well. It is my understanding that the local hotels are allocated a block of tickets for their guests. That was a couple of years ago so hope that program still exists.

Posted by
2768 posts

It is nuts! I've gone in March and October, when it was nowhere near as crazy as it apparently is now. I booked on the day it was made available, and almost all time slots had openings. I guess May is that much more popular, I'd hate to see July or August!

I just looked at May 27. Morning is near sold out now (8:30 AM has a few available), but there is plenty of afternoon availability, all after 4:30. May 31 (Sunday) has late morning times, as well as PM. Very early May is sold out, but all the rest of the month has availability sometime during the day. So it looks like morning and early afternoon sells out first, but if you book well ahead of time you should be able to get in, albeit maybe not at your preferred times.

Posted by
11294 posts

Do remember that the "time slot" is only for the Nasrid Palace. So, if the earliest you can book is 4:30 PM, you would be able to enter the Generalife Gardens and the Alcazaba any time after 2 PM, and can see much of the rest of the grounds at any time.

Posted by
51 posts

We just got our tickets for May as well; same level of crazy. But just so people know to check every day - the May dates/times actually opened up on Monday, March 30th, not on April 1st. We had been checking every day just in case; and were just lucky we did. So I'd just recommend everyone check daily whenever you're waiting for the next month to open...

Posted by
32 posts

I purchased Viator "Skip the Line" Tours - very reasonable. Did this for Sagrada Familia in Barcelona as well.

Posted by
12313 posts

We showed up without reservations in mid April. I followed Rick's advice for getting tickets. The bookstore he mentions had no tickets, even night visits. Next/last alternative was the kiosk that sells passes for multiple sights in Granada and an audio guide - got a 9 a.m. entrance the next day.

It is a crowded sight. If I knew exactly when we were going to be there, I would've booked ahead. We generally travel without reservations and only a loose itinerary, so couldn't pin down a day to reserve. I often end up skipping sights that require reservations too far in advance.

Posted by
73 posts

I just bought tickets for the afternoon of May 26, with entrance to the palace at 7:00 pm. The website showed 72 tickets available before I purchased ours.

Posted by
119 posts

I just tried to check on ticket availability for the Alhambra and once i clicked on buy tickets, everything converted back to Spanish. How do i check date availability in English? tips?