We will be in Granada the last week in Dec. I have booked tickets for The Alhambra but thinking about a day trip on another day any suggestions? Ronda ? Sevilla ? Corba? We would have to take a train or bus.
Posted by
Washington DC
27120 posts
I'm not sure any of those options are close enough to be practical as day-trips. The shortest driving time is to Cordoba and would probably be 2-1/2 hours one way. A bus would surely be slower, and the train trips seem to exceed 3 hours each way. I guess if forced to choose, I'd opt for Cordoba or Ronda since you could come closer to seeing their highlights in a long day.
Must you stay in Granada for the entire week? Its location is rather isolated from the other top destinations in Andalucía.
I'm no fan of bus tours, but in this case it would be worth checking to see what's on offer.
Posted by
Minneapolis
1216 posts
Do you ski? There is a large ski area / resort; as I recall it is about an hour from Granada. We drove up, but seems like there might be bus service from Granada. Enjoy your trip.
Posted by
northern CA
2459 posts
If you hire a driver or rent bikes the Sierra Nevada national park would be an invigorating day in the mountains:
http://www.mapama.gob.es/es/red-parques-nacionales/nuestros-parques/sierra-nevada/
Posted by
Ontario, Canada
4574 posts
Antequerra would be a change of scenery and often overlooked. There are dolmans, but might require a car or taxi who will wait.
Posted by
New York
90 posts
How many nights will you be in Granada? I just came back last weekend from a 15 day trip to Spain. We spent three nights in Granada. Our first day we got in midday (coming from Sevilla on the bus), we had two full days of sightseeing (one FULL day at the Alhambra) and we left last AM on the last for Malaga. Granada is a wonderful place to linger and slow down. And walking the hills of the Albaycin take more out of you than what you might think.
We did do a day trip to Cordoba from Sevllla and loved it. In fact, we liked everywhere in Spain we visited.
Posted by
OP
11 posts
We will be arriving late Dec. 26. Alhambra on the 28 and we leave the 31 for Barcelona for 5 nights. I was thinking about doing the baths one day. Try to find a bus tour to Sevilla, Ronda, or Corba that is not to expensive. Found a day trip tour to Sevilla but it was going to cost over $900.
Posted by
TN, USA
2114 posts
Jeff and Kim,
Check out the offerings of South Ole Spain Tours, which does individual private tours as well as various group day trips, etc.
We used Emily (who is American, fell in love with Spain, moved there and now owns/runs South Ole Spain Tours) for a portion of our trip, and we highly recommend her company. She gave us excellent advice, and our trip was better for having connected with her.
Several years ago, when we visited Spain and Morocco, we started with 4 days in Barcelona and then flew to Granada. We did not want to rent a car, so the final morning of our Granada stay (we stayed at the Parador, which we truly enjoyed), she had one of her English-speaking drivers pick us up in a nice, modern small van, and we were driven to Ronda for a few hours, then went to Gibraltar (for a fabulous private tour of the Rock, the caves, and the siege tunnels (which was for my husband...he always wanted to visit Gibraltar). The driver connected us with the guide in Gibraltar that Emily arranged for us, then reconnected at the end of our tours, so he could then take us to our overnight stay in Old Town Marbella.
The communication from Emily was fabulous, and then she followed up to make sure we were pleased...we were very pleased.
Had I not already purchased my Alhambra tickets at the time I contacted her, she would have arranged to have those delivered to us at the parador.
I would suggest calling or emailing Emily, tell her what you are looking for (even if just in very general terms) and ask her for suggestions. I think by reviewing the reviews I and others have completed for her on Trip Advisor, you will have a high comfort level.
Enjoy your time in Spain. At the time we traveled with her, she was just beginning to expand her services into Barcelona, so perhaps she could help you with guides/tours there as well.
Posted by
Ontario, Canada
4574 posts
Why not just take the bus to Seville if that is of interest? However, whether bus or car, it is a long day trip. Or consider Malaga.