Southern Spain Private tour guide in Alhambra or audio guide

My sister and I hired a tour guide recommended by Rick S for a tour of the Alhambra in Granada:
Margarita Ortiz de Landazuri, [email protected]. She was great.

Another vote for Margarita. worth every penny.

We had to put audio guides for the Alhambra and Seville Alcazar on our phones and were not able to do it onsite. We had the apps on our phones and are usually competent at such tasks. Others in line had the same issues. One employee at the Alcazar told us that their system is designed to work with Androids more than Iphones. I don't know if that's true but it was frustrating and disappointing. I suggest hiring a guide for those two or being prepared with a good guidebook and map. We still enjoyed both sites immensely. We enjoyed the Rick Steves audio guide free walks when available and we loved the Cordoba Mezquita Night Tour. We loved the Seville Cathedral Rooftop Tour and went back another day to use the Cathedral audio guide, which was very informative.

We also contacted Margarita Ortiz de Landazuri, [email protected]. She was not available but we had her fellow guide Alberto. He was excellent.

When I was planning our trip it looked like the Alhambra audio guide was unavailable. I think it would be a great place for a private guide.

Also, I heard great things about the Seville Cathedral rooftops tour. The only reason I didn’t book it was a concern about our knees on the steps. That one needs to be booked well in advance.

I thought the audio guide was excellent and did not feel a need for a private guide at the Alhambra.

We also took a private tour in Granada, called "The Conquest of Water:" I believe that this was supposed to be a small group tour but we were the only ones who showed up, so went alone with the guide.

One guided, group tour that I thought very worthwhile was the night tour of the Mezquita, in 'Cordoba. they keep the numbers of the group very low so you need to book well in advance. The price was not high.

Cindyeb: "We loved the Seville Cathedral Rooftop Tour and went back another day to use the Cathedral audio guide, which was very informative."
This sounds like a great fit for us. We are planning (hoping) to get private tour of Alcazar (we don't have androids but have iphones.). But it sounds like you had no issue using the audio guide at the cathedral (is it on your phone or do they give you something to use.?)

My big question is: when can you book these things? Are they only released 3 months out? I can't click on cathedral site for rooftop tickets for May yet).

Keep the tips coming people! Much appreciated.
Joanne

We to have seen the Alhambra.
This is the way to do it, you will thank me,
1 st no tour guide.
2nd book online tickets: for the Alhambra, gold ones, includes the royal palaces, you need to pick a time slot for the palaces.
3rd Take a Taxi or some way to the top of the Alhambra mountain, and the upper entrance, you can get a audio guide there..
Yes i said mountain, you don't want to start at the bottom.
From the gate, the top see the gardens. walking thought see the palaces, and the rest of the Alhambra.
Exiting at the bottom and walking into the Saint Ana Granada( real nice)

Next take a free guided tour, where you just give them a tip like 10 to 20 euro per person,
Book online: From Saint Ana square to see the Sacromonte neighborhood.
Very interesting tour.
Enjoy

We were given audio guide devices for the Seville Cathedral. It's a huge building, we spent over 2 hours there. I remember having to check periodically for tickets to become available. The Alhambra tickets are available early. Make sure you book all your tickets on the official websites. We were in Seville mid-February and I purchased our tickets Jan. 10.