Arrival time at the Alhambra

The justice gate is about a 2 minutes walk from the Nasir’s palace, if that. People begin lining up at the palace about 20-30 minutes prior to their entry time. I’m not certain why you’re going to the justice gate unless it’s a meeting place, or you just want to see it. Anybody can walk around the grounds without a ticket as there is no actual gate keeping you out. The ticket is for entrance to the palace.

And there is no need to line up for the Palace. Makes no difference if you are first or last in line. I would prefer to be close to the end. You have a 30 min time window. Don't miss it.

We actually timed the Nasrid Palace so that we'd be at the end of our group then by lingering a bit, we could go thru the palace surrounded by fewer people. I think we arrived right at the entrance time and then went up to the entrance ahead of people lined up for later times. The Justice Gate is a couple minute walk from the entrance to Nasrid Palace, however, we were dropped off at the main entrance which made it about a 20 minute walk to Nasrid Palace. We decided that since we were going to do a lot of walking/standing, we wanted to get some transportation to the Alhambra instead of walking. Then we realized that the cost of a taxi was pretty close to the cost of the bus for two people.

For the evening visit, I'd go through the Justice Gate (the mini-shuttlebus stops there after stopping at the main entrance, and line up by 9.45. It sounds like 10 is the last entry, so the sooner you are in, the more time you'll have before they close.

For the morning visit, you could go through the Justice Gate, but when I was there several years ago, you could only get maps, information and audio guides at the main entrance. If you choose the main entrance, allow another 20-30 minutes to walk to the Nasrid Palaces. If you have large bags or backpacks, you will probably have to check them at the building near the Nasrid entrance - allow time for that since there may be a line. There are also toilets there. Expect that people with 10.30 tickets will be lining up before 10.00 so be sure not to get stuck behind a lot of people who aren't going in - you could miss your entrance time and be out of luck.

Not all of the Nasrid Palaces rooms are open for the evening visit, so you'll exit near the entrance. In daytime, the exit is somewhat far from the entrance. If you don't have to circle back to the entrance to pick up bags, visit the Alcazaba first since it's very close to the Nasrid entrance.

Thank you all so much for your helpful replies.

When we visited the Alhambra in September 2017, we purchased audio guides just inside the Justice Gate. There is a vendor selling them in front of the Charles V Palace, so it was very convenient. I had a map but I don't remember where I got it. I know we did not go the Main Entrance. Perhaps it was from my guidebook, or the vendor who was selling the audioguides had them. We lined up at the Nasrid Palace about 30 minutes before out timed ticket entry.

It's all a lot more simple when you are actually there. You can buy audioguides etc at the official shop in the Carlos V Palace just next to the Nasrid entrance (we were there in March). Here is some more information you might find useful
https://slowtravelitalyspain.blogspot.com/2019/04/granada-tips-for-visiting-alhambra.html

kmwkoo and Tinac, thank you both so much. I've been taking notes. This is all so helpful. We start our trip later today and are so looking forward to it. Tinac, your blog is a lovely one.

Thank you :) and I hope you have a lovely time

You will love the Alhambra! Have a great trip!