Guided Tours vs. Nothing or Audio Tours

e did a private guide at the Alhambra and honestly thought it was the best money we spent on this trip. Not only did she explain what we were seeing, she also got us around the sprawling place smoothly (comes from actually knowing the place) and somehow managed to miss huge clusters of other tourists. We did manage the Alcazar on our own using info in a couple of guidebooks and the same for the Royal Palace.

We took a group tour of the Alhambra a few years ago that was excellent. However, I would not pay 130 Euros for a private guide. I would go with the audio tour. We have done many audio tours and most were excellent.

For the Alhambra, the audio guide is fine and I learned as much as a guide. 130 euros is highway robbery IMO.

It’s a personal preference. We never pay for a tour unless it comes with the admission price. Same goes for the audio guides. While they provide a lot of information, we don’t necessarily want to spend as much time at some stations and a guide does. Most of the time we want to move along at a quicker pace than the guides. At least with an audio guide, one can see things at one’s own pace.

The Alhambra is a sprawling complex, inside and out. A good guide certainly knows their way around the site, can share a lot of history and information, likely knows the best photo vantage points if that interests you, and importantly, can answer all your questions, which an audio guide or wandering around would not do. The guide can also make recommendations for other sites to visit, eating spots, shopping, etc. in Granada and nearby. I don’t know how many hours your private tour would involve, but assuming that would be 2 or 3 hours or more, I think the price is reasonable, certainly not highway robbery! Excellent guides are often in great demand, and need to make a living too.

Looking up tour companies for our trip. We will be on the October tour as well. At this point, have researched Context Tours & Top Day Tours. We have used private guides & group tours. I think it just depends on guide. Audio is good as well. Good luck, will pass on any good info!

Thank you all for sharing your thoughts and experiences. I appreciate it!

Larry, this is a 3-hour tour. Thank you for your input. I appreciate your thoughts and agree with your points.

12025rose, would love to hear any information you find out! The guides I've been looking at are recommended by RS. I haven't heard of those you mention, but that doesn't mean they're not good!

Do you have your Alhambra tickets yet? They are selling out. Most (all?) of the time, you need to buy tickets independently if you are hiring a private guide.

Chani, I did get our Alhambra tickets. Just a few days ago. I've been so focused on waiting for Sagrada tickets to go on sale that I didn't realize Alhambra already had. By the time I realized that, the earliest time on the day we need was 5:30pm. That's okay, though. I think it will work fine. Thanks for the head's up!

Well done. You'll have the whole day to visit the rest of the campus (and have a little rest) before seeing the Nasrid Palaces.