We are doing the Best of Spain tour in September. Our itinerary has the caveat that due to restrictions our group may not be able to tour the Alhambra while in Granada. We have an afternoon and evening free in the city. .
When will we find out if our group is going to get to tour the complex? I would see about booking entry tickets on our own for the free time if the group is not going.
Posted by
Massachusetts
1456 posts
Only the Rick Steves tour office can provide a definitive answer to your question.
425-771-8303
Posted by
Pennsylvania
362 posts
We just completed this tour last month, and we were also concerned about missing out on the Alhambra. We emailed the RS Office a couple of months ahead of time (I would recommend doing it soon with your tour in Sept) and they let us know the status on the tickets. We also asked about going to Sagrada Familia at the same time since it was also subject to availability.
BTW, our group did get to visit the Alhambra and Sagrada Familia and both were big highlights. Hope it also works out for your group!
Posted by
Rick Steves Europe
372 posts
Due to the current group booking conditions imposed by the Alhambra in Granada and Alcazar in Seville, we now put ‘when available’ on our Spain and Andalucia tour descriptions. For instance, they require passport information for all individuals at the time of purchase, with only a few changes allowed thereafter. Luckily, over the past couple of years, we did secure these tickets for all tour groups. This year, we have started making our bookings about 90 days ahead, to feel even more secure on the issue. However, anyone who books the tour closer to departure or provides passport details later will have a different level of "risk."
We typically take the group to both Granada's Alhambra and Seville's Alcazar in the mornings, but if we can only secure tickets for an afternoon visit, then we'll work with that timing. In the unusual circumstance that we can't get group tickets for the Nasrid Palace section of the Alhambra, we still visit the grounds, the Alcazar, and the gardens. We also supplement with a different group activity instead.
The chance of our group not being able to enter these key sites is very slim, but again, we are hesitant to give a 100% guarantee. There is no need to book the tickets yourselves at this time, as we are taking care of that for you and the price is included with the cost of your tour. If you have any more questions, please be sure to let us know.
Posted by
OP
5 posts
Thank you for the information!
Posted by
Utah via SF Bay Area
447 posts
There is no need to book the tickets yourselves at this time, as we are taking care of that for you and the price is included with the cost of your tour. If you have any more questions, please be sure to let us know.
You guys rock. Thank you for the effort in securing tickets. We were on the Andalucia trip and it was wonderful to see the Alhambra, Alcazar and Mezquita.