We just returned from 10 days in Andalucia which included stays in Sevilla, Arcos de la Frontera, Ronda, Antequera, Granada and Cordoba. We flew into Madrid on April 30 and took the AVE train to Sevilla. Two nights there and then picked up a rental car at the train station and drove throughout Andalucia. Roads in Spain are very well maintained and Spanish drivers are very courteous. Just use common sense and only use the left lanes on freeways to pass. The Andalucia countryside is gorgeous, similar to the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas in California.
In Granada we stayed at Hotel America, inside the Alhambra walls, which turned out to be a wonderful experience. You can also stay at the Parador which is right next door (and much more expensive). Another advantage of staying in a hotel inside the Alhambra walls is being able to enjoy the grounds after the crowds are gone, usually by 7:00 pm
We purchased our Alhambra tickets on Feb 9 for our May 7 visit through the ticketmaster.es website. The earlier you buy your tickets you will have a better selection of entry times to the Nasrid Palace. We chose the 0830 time slot which is when they open. Ticketmaster will send you an email with your purchase confirmation which you must present to the Alhambra ticket office to receive the actual entry tickets. You can buy tickets at La Caixa Bank ATMs or at Corral del Carbón on Mariana Pineda street in Granada. We picked up our entry tickets at the ticket office the afternoon before our 0830 time slot. The ticket office is very crowded throughout the day but if you're just there to pick up your pre-purchased ticktets you can go to the front of the line!
Hotel America is a very short walk (under 4 minutes) to the Nasrid Palace entry. We walked over at 0745 am and were first in line. Glad we did because the line started forming behind us shortly afterwards. By the 0830 opening time the line stretched to nearly the Justice Gate. They opened at 0830 sharp and it was so pleasant to have most areas of the palace to ourselves, at least for a few minutes anyway.
