One day trip in the South of Spain...Granada or Gibraltar

I've been to both-Alhambra, hands down. Gibralter is not that exciting except for the monkeys.

I would agree, definately choose Granada over Gibraltar!

That's a tough choice, but unless you are especially interested in how the rock at Gibraltar has the internal tunnels (that were used for military protection) and how visitors walk or drive over the airport runway to enter, I would say that Granada inches forward and has more overall charm/variety.
Can you add a day to include Gibraltar and Old Town Marbella?

I think I can include Marbella in the plan as it could be a chance to go on a boat trip. I was hoping to try to 'sneak' Granada on the commute from Seville to Benalmadena as I saw you could store your luggage at the site. The bus/train schedule doesn't seem to work with the times to enter Alhambra.

Not sure if you would be interested in this or not, but I'll offer something to consider. When we were in Spain a few years ago, we stayed 4 nights in Barcelona, then flew into Granada (stayed at the Parador on a fabulous senior special (eligible at age 55) and had the most wonderful room overlooking the Generalife (gardens at the Alhambra). What was extra nice is that since we were on the grounds staying, we could come/go from the Alhambra, could drop off the light jacket were wore in the early morning, pick up a hat, etc. and continue touring. There is a shuttle bus that goes into the downtown of Granada, so it worked perfectly for us to see a bit of the town and to look back to the Alhambra later that evening before returning to the Parador.

But, we also wanted to see Ronda, Gilbraltar, and Old Town Marbella (which is a more charming section in our opinion than general Marbella (but we also saw the ritz/glamour of general Marbella, as it is an easy walk down the hill from the Old Town.

But, since we were not renting a vehicle, we had to figure out transportation. We contacted Emily at South Ole Spain Tours and she arranged one of her drivers to take us from Granada to Ronda for a few hours, then on to Gilbraltar where he connected us with the incredible private guide Emily arranged for us, and then the guide connected us back with the driver, who took us on to Old Town Marbella. It was a very full day, but it allowed us to see everything we wanted to see without feeling terribly rushed. The guide at Gilbraltar showed us exactly what we wanted to see (we skipped the shopping)and concentrated on the history, and in his vehicle, he got us quickly from one part of the rock to the other parts, and we learned all about the history and the modern day live in Gilbraltar. I think he was the retired Deputy Police Chief, or something like that....incredible guy.

Emily is an American who fell in love with Spain and now runs her company there. Check her out on Trip Advisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187437-d2302101-Reviews-South_Ole_Spain_Tours-Estepona_Costa_del_Sol_Province_of_Malaga_Andalucia.html

If having a private driver is not what you need, she also does group bus tours, which are shown on her web site.

Have fun in Spain. We really enjoyed our time there.

Thank you for this...I'll look into this. Could be an option...could throw Ronda into the mix.

My daughter spent semester in Granada in college and we went and visited. One of my favorite places. We enjoyed the Alhambra but we also really liked the town. It has architecture from different periods and is quite interesting. Lovely to just wander around.

We also visited Sevilla with her which was an alternative location for her semester abroad. I liked Sevilla but we all agreed we liked Granada better.

Beth

We much preferred Granada to Gibraltar, but it's partly a matter of distance and personal taste. Hot weather is also important, since there is so much outdoor walking without relief in Gibraltar. (Yes, the cave is a relief.) Granada is more for art and architecture lovers, while perhaps Gibraltar is more for WW II buffs and outdoorsy people who want a (fully improved) trail scrambling opportunity, with some world history. I found the apes depressing and scary.

I was astounded to read about the multi-stop travel agent trip bought by an earlier poster. We slept in Ronda, with a car. Our (independent traveler) drive to and back from Gibraltar alone took forever. I don't recommend even just Gibraltar from Ronda for an outing. It was on superb highways, but we kept getting stuck behind slow tractor-trailers. I don't see how you could do so many places in one day, even with an experienced driver/guide.

Edit: Thanks for posting again Maggie. I did not mean to sound so negative, only warning about managing so much /independently./ I'm really pleased you got such good value from the provider you chose. I should have put it that way.

For Tim,
We did not buy a packaged tour as such.....we originally were looking for a driver to hire, wound up finding Emily's tours, and asked her if she could do a one day custom trip for us, explaining what we wanted to see in that day. It was a long day....we did not arrive in Old Town Marbella until (I think it was) 7:30 or 8:00 in the evening, but we did get to squeeze in Gibraltar, and my husband always wanted to see Gibraltar and we likely not be that close again. Seems we spent maybe 3 hours touring there....the guide drove us from point to point and really made it a very efficient visit, seeing exactly what we wanted to see. Did not have much time in the cave..more time would have been nice...but we got a quick look. My husband really wanted to see the siege tunnels. I was luke warm to cold on the idea, but I've dragged him thru more than my fair share of gardens in our travels, so I owed him one. I actually enjoyed Gibraltar.

Emily's packaged group tours are not as intense....more what normal people would do.

You should get those Alhambra tickets ASAP. June 1-3 are already sold out on the official website, and there's limited availability for the rest of the month. You'll be somewhat constrained time-wise by not spending the night in Granada, and you won't have a hotel from which you can purchase a marked-up ticket, so don't delay.

Thanks...it sounds like Granada it will be. I've checked into tickets...I can also go with the Granada Card to get a better entry time than what is available today.

Another vote for Granada. If you do make it to Marbella, expect a lot of British xpats and little that resembles real Spain. Very busy and touristy, but if you enjoy bars and beaches, you’d enjoy it.

Without any shaddow of a dougbt Granada! It is pure culture and if you can get a visit to the Alhambra all the better. I have been to both at least 20 times each. Granada to take in the wonderful atmosphere and Gib for shopping. There is nothing much more to Gib than it being an unusual place with a bit of Britain and Spain thrown toegther. The shopping aint that good either.

For me, TIME is a precious resource.
Determine the top things you want to see, do or experience at a location. Then weigh the 'costs' and choose.

You will have spent 10-11 days in larger cities.
There are nice walking areas, Caminito del Rey, and (as said above) Ronda.
All of which are on the relaxing side and all are much closer and, thus, relaxing?

Really appreciate everyone's input on here! It is so hard because you want to see and do everything! :)

Definitely Granada! We just got back from a three week trip through Andalusia and spent four nights in Granada. We had a ball- so much to see and do, aside from the Alhambra. We did a day trip and a night trip to the Alhambra and it was one of the highlights of our trip!