Granada advice + city/lunch stop b/t Madrid and Granada

I enjoyed my stay of 3 nights at the Alhambra Palace last year, March 2024. The hotel is easily walkable to the Alhambra. I am a walker - I also had no trouble walking up and down the hill into Granada historic city center and even walking to the Sacramonte area from the hotel. Others might prefer taxis... If you want a city center hotel, this one is not that - but if you want views and an excellent property, I highly recommend.

Don't miss will depend on your preferences. I enjoyed Sacramonte - the former gypsy area, Royal Chapel, historic city center, wandering the Albaicin area.

I booked my Alhambra Palace tickets as soon as I knew my dates. They do sell out.

Most definitely on the Alhambra booking!

I am also pescatarian, and even when I am full-on vegetarian, Spain is not terribly difficult. Look for spinach with garbanzos, one of my faves.

I have not done this route, but in the Consuegra area you have windmills (think Don Quixote type windmills) and that is just under halfway. I have often seen Jaen mentioned and it is a little more than halfway.

Thank you so much! I will book the Alhambra right away. And the hotel and recos sound terrific!

Consuegra, with its windmills and castle are worth stopping at. They are easy to get to from the highway. Heading south from Madrid Consuegra is about 6 miles west of the highway while Campo de Criptana is about 28 miles east of the highway. You’d take the same exit off the highway since both towns are off the CM-42. The windmills at Campo de Criptana are the ones referenced in Cervantes’ Don Quixote and right in town.

The midpoint of your journey is Manzanares and slightly further is Vadepeñas. The scenery along that route isn’t overly scenic. That area is pretty dry. Thirty minutes southwest of Manzanares is Almagro. It has a pretty plaza mayor lined with restaurants and is on Spain’s list of pretty villages. There is free parking by the Parador (hotel) and from there it’s a 5 minutes walk to the plaza. You could head there, then get back onto the A4/E5 at Valdepeñas to continue towards Granada. I haven’t spent ant time in Manzanares or Valdepeñas, so cannot comment on restaurants in either.

This could be personal preference, but is there a better time to book the Alhambra? My daughters are not early risers so anything after 10 or 11 is better for us. Just wondering if some times are better than others.

We stayed at the Aurea Catedral, and highly recommend it. Very nice, modern, spacious rooms right by the cathedral. Cathedral view rooms are wonderful if within your budget. We preferred a hotel in the city center rather than by the Alhambra as it put us closer to restaurants and general walking around, but everyone has their own preference about this. The Alhambra is up a big hill from the main part of the city. We took a cab up to visit the Alhambra, walked back down, and were happy to be more in the center of things for the rest of our time there.

The booking time is only for entrance to the Nasrid Palace - you can visit the other areas before or after the Palace.

I picked a morning time that would enable me to walk over to the Alhambra area without committing to waking at the break of dawn, visit the Alcazaba, then be ready near the entrance area for Nasrid. When you leave Nasrid, you are close to Generalife so I visited there later. I don't remember my time exactly - but probably 10 or 10:30 as you are considering.

I don't know that there is a "best" time, but it seems a popular question. Here is a recent discussion:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/spain/alhambra-tickets-figuring-out-nasrid-entry-time
and another:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/spain/what-time-to-pick-for-nasrid-palace-entry-at-the-alhambra

Thanks, very helpful!

I just booked tickets for 3 pm because my preferred time was not available, but I think this time will work well for us. Does anyone know if guides are allowed there and, if so, can anyone recommend a guide? Or have thoughts on how we might find one?

The Alhambra is a large complex. You'll want to head over there and see some of it before your 3 PM entry time at the Nasrid Palaces.

Another sight I really liked in Granada was the Basilica of San Juan de Dios, an incredibly over-the-top church: https://basilicasanjuandedios.es/