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Private Car Seville-Gibraltar-Granada worthwhile?

Given the lack of a direct connection into and out of Gibraltar, my wife and I are considering hiring a private car with driver. We were quoted a price of 260 Euros for the 2 hour, 15 minute, ride from Seville to Gibraltar and then, a few days later, 310 Euros for the 3 hour ride from Gibraltar to Granada, for door to door service from and to our hotels in each location, which covers the two of us, with luggage.

I know it's expensive, but our goal is to have a relaxing trip and save time, energy and aggravation. I was considering renting a car, but the driving, particularly the 3 hour ride to Granada, with the challenge of unfamiliar terrain, Spanish road signs and traffic, will be tiring particularly inasmuch as we plan to begin a 3 hour tour of the Alhambra shortly after arrival. And there is the issue of parking both in Gibraltar and Granada, which is also an expense.

What do you think? Are we paying too much?

p.s. In this first time trip to Spain we will be visiting Madrid, Toledo (day trip), Seville, Gibraltar, Granada and Barcelona, in that order.

Posted by
23626 posts

Who knows??? The only way to determine is to get a couple of other quotes. At first glance it doesn't appear to be too much since you are really booking two one way trips. My only real question is, What are you going to do in Gibraltar for a few days? There is so little there that even a day may be too much.

Posted by
28 posts

Frank: asks "My only real question is, What are you going to do in Gibraltar for a few days? There is so little there that even a day may be too much."
Arriving Thursday evening, we'll tour (this is our first time visit there, so up the Rock we go), and perhaps shop, on Friday. Then, on Friday night and Saturday, we'll be observing the Jewish Sabbath and attending the historic and active Synagogues. On Sunday, we leave to Granada.

Posted by
3551 posts

Have you thought about taking a guided tour from Seville?
Day tours should be available as a rd trip. Last month we did this from Malaga, and it was just right. We relaxed on the tour bus then had a mini van avail with guide once we reached Gibraltar, saw the rocks highlights with local guide. Then returned.
I think we paid about 90e pp.

Posted by
2159 posts

If you haven't already, check with Emily at South Ole Spain Tours. We hired a private driver thru her for an all-day from Granada, to Ronda, to Gibraltar (which included a guide who met us and gave us a fabulous tour of Gibraltar), then back to our driver, who then took us to Old Town Marbella. The private guide at Gilbraltar used our time efficiently, and he was incredible.

We were super pleased.

We were also comforted that while we were out touring at each spot, we knew our luggage was safe in the vehicle of the driver, who was with it at all times (or at least had his eyes on it). All petrol, parking, tolls, etc. were covered under our flat rate.

When we first reached out to Emily, she first counseled on what public transportation could be used before even answering my question about a private driver. So, you can trust she would do the same for you. Emily is an American who fell in love with Spain. Her attention to detail and making sure she meets the needs/desires of each guest is incredible. Communication is fabulous.

Check out her reviews on TripAdvisor:

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

She also offers group day tours.

Our philosophy (even though we are relatively frugal in the scheme of things) is that when one is taking a special trip, if having a private driver can use one's time more efficiently, allows one to do something specific that might not be available with a group tour, and gets us from point a to b to c in the manner in which we want to go, not to mention not having the stress of trying to figure out which routes to go, worry about having car problems, and figuring out safe parking, and if it does not cost that much more, go for it with a private driver. We've done that three times with three different trips (Spain, Morocco, and Ireland), and we were soooooo glad we did.