Alhambra visit on RS tour - any problems with new ticketing system?

I can't imagine a "best of Andalucia" without the Alhambra. I'd pursue why they couldn't get tickets and what they are replacing it with.

Thanks to you both, I am waiting for a response and hoping that they will have a solution so we can see it as I think this will be one of the highlights of this tour.

There are several locations I know of that have changed ticketing procedures for groups. The Vatican Museums and the Colosseum are two that come to mind. Many tour groups, not just Rick Steves, are finding that they can’t get tickets on a consistent basis. Some tour groups have responded by dropping those locations from the group portion of the tour, and notifying participants that they will need to visit those locations independently during free times on the tour.

When I read the itinerary for the day at the Alhambra, it still sounds like the tour has every intention of visiting. The disclaimer at the bottom of the page looks like an effort to be transparent that the ticketing process for groups has changed and tickets can’t be 100% guaranteed for every tour.

If you remain concerned after you hear back from RS tours, I think you should consider buying individual tickets as “insurance.” Just make sure you buy from the official website. https://tickets.alhambra-patronato.es/

Not too many years ago there was a multi-day period when no public tickets could be purchased for the Alhambra because there was some sort of major international meeting going on in Granada. It was if the entire complex had been rented out. That must have been a very rare occurrence, but no doubt it caught a lot of tour operators flat-footed. I wonder whether that might be part of the reason for the warning.

The Alhambra has been advising for several years (at least as far back as 2019) that ticketholders must show ID to match the name in the ticket. If strictly enforced, that policy could cause problems for tour companies that have bought tickets two months (?) in advance to assure availability and then have some cancellations and late bookings.

We are on the Best of Spain Tour in early October. A similar disclaimer appears on the itinerary for this tour. I spoke with the RS sales department. They indicated a local guide is used for the Alhambra and also Sevilla’s Alcázar palace and tickets to both were included in the tour. I am not sure what difference a local guide makes; perhaps local guides have access to a different pool of tickets?? Call the RS sales team to make certain you don’t need to purchase your own tickets.

Hello all,
Thanks for the responses. Here is what we received from RS so all seems well.

“ Due to the current group booking conditions imposed by the Alhambra in Granada and Alcazar in Seville, we now put ‘when available’ on our Spain and Andalucia tour descriptions. For instance, they require passport information for all individuals at the time of purchase, with only a few changes allowed thereafter. Luckily, over the past couple of years, we did secure these tickets for all tour groups. This year, we have started making our bookings about 90 days ahead, to feel even more secure on the issue. However, anyone who books the tour closer to departure or provides passport details later will have a different level of "risk."

We typically take the group to both Granada's Alhambra and Seville's Alcazar in the mornings, but if we can only secure tickets for an afternoon visit, then we'll work with that timing. In the unusual circumstance that we can't get group tickets for the Nasrid Palace section of the Alhambra, we still visit the grounds, the Alcazar, and the gardens. We also supplement with a different group activity instead.

The chance of our group not being able to enter these key sites is very slim, but again, we are hesitant to give a 100% guarantee. There is no need to book the tickets yourselves at this time, as we are taking care of that for you and the price is included with the cost of your tour. If you have any more questions, please be sure to let us know.

Happy Travels,”

Thanks so much for reporting back! This will undoubtedly help others.

Have a wonderful trip!!

I went to Alhambra Jan 2020, and you needed to buy a ticket online in advance, but I just showed up the next morning, and there was no line, and went right in. It's a pretty huge place. It's kind of more impressive from outside. If you walk up the hills, there is a little stony park where everyone congregates to take pictures with the Alhambra in the background. In fact, RS filmed a bit there. I just found it by walking around. You can walk all the way to the top of that big hill looking down on the Alhambra.