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Alhambra Tickets Sold Out in October

Hi all,

Our plan is to travel from Sevilla to Granada on Tuesday, October 3rd for two nights. We were hoping to visit Alhambra on Wednesday, October 4th but it seems to be sold out. Could that be right?

It appears that there are tickets available on Tuesday, October 3rd. How feasible is it to tour Alhambra in the mid-afternoon after a train trip from Sevilla?

Also, is this the correct website to buy a General Day Tour ticket to see Nasrid Palace, Generalife Gardens and Alcazaba? https://www.alhambra-patronato.es/

Last, we were hoping for a guided tour in English but I only see the Audio Guides on this website.

Thanks for your help in advance!

Posted by
28082 posts

Edited to add: You have the right website. I don't know whether the Alhambra itself has ever offered tours; the Nasrid Palaces are usually quite crowded, so it would hard to keep a group of any size together. There's also the issue that if you stopped to take photos, you'd probably lose touch with the rest of the group. I thought the audio guide was fine.

The Alhambra Complex is very large; that's one reason many people spend a good chunk of the day there. If you'd be satisfied with primarily seeing the Nasrid Palaces, you would need terribly long, I don't think. However, you need to be at the entrance point not long after your entry time, and the train station in Granada is not in the center of town, so it would take more than a few minutes to get to the Alhambra from the station. You'd need to figure what to do with your luggage, too.

It's really surprising to see tickets sold out this far in advance. I wonder whether the complex is going to be closed October 4-6, but I don't know why it would be.

The Alhambra General ticket is the one most people prefer. The Dobla de Oro General ticket (which includes some extra sights in Granada at modest extra cost) is a good back-up plan, as is the Night Visit to the Nasrid Palaces plus a separate ticket for a daytime visit to the rest of the complex (Gardens, Generalife and Alcazaba). The problem in this case is that all the alternatives are also sold out for October 4-6, even the Gardens, Generalife and Alcazaba tickets, which don't include the Nasrid Palaces and are very much an inferior option. I even checked a third-party website, and it had October 4-6 blocked off.

Something strange is going on, but I don't know what. If there's something special going on in Granada (a massive convention??) the middle of that week, rather than total closure of the complex, tickets may become available later if the middlemen who bought them up are unable to sell all of them.

I'm not optimistic in this case, but in the past the Granada Card has been a workaround when individual Alhambra tickets were sold out. The 48-hour and 72-hour Granada Cards cover daytime entrance to the Nasrid Palaces, the rest of the Alhambra and quite a number of other sights in Granada. Those cards are somewhat more expensive than the Dobla de Oro General ticket, and many visitors to Granada don't stay long enough to take full advantage of the city card, but it has historically sold out later than ordinary Alhambra tickets. Cards for October aren't on sale yet, and if there's something special going on at the Alhambra, it's quite possible they'll never put cards on sale that allow access between October 4 and October 6. Here's the website: https://entradas.granadatur.com/

Posted by
972 posts

Thanks for the response Acraven.

I did find a ticket on October 4th for All Alhambra: Skip-the-Line Guided Tour with Nasrid Palaces (link below). The 12:00 pm only time slot is available. However, I have never heard of Head Out. I'd rather buy tickets from the main website, I think. https://www.alhambra-granada-tickets.com/

All of the Eurostars Hotel Company hotels also are sold out so there must be an event in town.

I could start our Sept/Oct trip in Granada instead of going to Granada after Sevilla. Our flight lands from Los Angeles in Madrid at 2:00 pm on a Tuesday. The next train available to Granada is at 8:00 pm and arrives in Granada at 11:30 pm. BOY that makes for a long day!

Posted by
28082 posts

It might be worth it to reverse the itinerary. How about just going as far as Cordoba on arrival day? It's risky to buy train-specific tickets in advance for the day you're flying in, and those express-train tickets can be expensive on the day of travel. Since Cordoba's closer to Madrid, the train ticket won't be so painfully expensive. On the other hand, Spanish trains have a habit of selling out, so the train could easily be full before your flight even lands--maybe even a few days before.

Posted by
28082 posts

Thanks, Nick. I did some Googling, but obviously not enough to uncover that conference. I, too, would worry that the third-party ticket would simply not be there when the time comes.

Posted by
972 posts

Thanks both!

Our itinerary as of now is:
*Arrive Madrid Airport at 2pm nonstop from LAX
*Take a flexible 5pm or 6pm trains to Sevilla
*14 nights in Sevilla (Airbnb booked for some "slow travel") with a day trip to Cordoba
*2 nights in Granada
*4 nights in Madrid
*Fly home to LAX nonstop on Iberia

We are trying not to hotel hop so I think our choices are:

1) Go straight to Granada on the 8 pm train; arriving at 11:30 pm. Spend 3 nights there since our arrival day will be a long one. Are there taxis at the Granada train station to take us to our hotel that late? Will it be a bit desolate that late? I like this idea but am fearful of arriving in Granada at 11:30 pm.

2) Cut Sevilla short by one night so we can train to Granada on October 2. Tour Alhambra on October 3. If we back up Granada to arrive on October 2, do we want 3 nights there and 4 in Madrid? Or stay 2 nights in Granada and 5 in Madrid (day planned to Toledo.) This plan seems easiest perhaps.

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

Flights are booked, although changeable.

Posted by
28082 posts

I don't think you'll be sorry about an extra day in Granada. In the unlikely event you are, hop on a bus to the attractive smaller town of Priego de Cordoba--but do check the schedule carefully since buses aren't frequent. I also took a bus into the Alpujarras.

Priego de Cordoba photos

I love long stays, but rather than 2 weeks in Seville and a day trip to Cordoba, I'd do something like 11 nights in Seville and 3 in Cordoba. Cordoba's worth being more than a day trip.

Posted by
972 posts

Thanks Acraven. I agree about Cordoba. And I would add a couple of nights in Toledo too. Navigating the art of compromise ;)

Posted by
28082 posts

Yep, Toledo, too.

It's easier being a solo traveler, but I have no one (on most trips) to split hotel costs with me.