Hola!
Are we missing something? We are planning to travel from Malaga to Granada in early November, preferably Nov 2 or Nov 3 by train or bus. I will outline our research below in the hope of getting some advice as to better options which you may know or comments on your experience with this type of day trip.
Since tickets are not available for purchase yet for November, we have been checking July schedules. We would like to depart from Malaga around 8 am or a bit earlier. The Trainline website shows the following options for July:
46 euros for 2 people one way direct depart Malaga 9:26 arrive Granada at 10:50 (Renfe)
or
92 euros for 2 people one way with a change, depart Malaga 7:55, arrive Granada at 10:20 am. Train station is closer to Alhambra than the bus station.
As for bus options (which Rick says is better), the Check My Bus website gives options for several morning departures (beginning hourly at 6 am) which don't show up on the Alsa bus website. Check my Bus website charges a 15 euro fee on top of the bus fare.
The Alsa website shows the following morning option for 2 people:
€ 56.48 (return) departs 09:25, arrives 11:00 / departs 18:00, arrives 19:45. Bus Station is much further away from Alhambra – about 25 min drive.
We plan to purchase our Alhambra tickets well in advance, but won't purchase them until we have an idea of our arrival time.
Thanks in advance for your advice,
S.