transportation from granada spain to malaga

Try the bus schedule, the station is next door to the train station. J

This is the website for the bus company.
https://www.alsa.com/en/web/bus/home

There is a bus to Malaga every 45 minutes to an hour.

I would like to suggest you hire a private guide at the Alhambra to maximize your time there. Margarita, [email protected]

I have used Suntransfers (suntransfers.com) in Spain a bunch of times for private transfers. When I do a lookup for Granada to Malaga, I get a rate of 154 euro. That is the rate to the airport in Malaga (their only standard choice), but you could email them to get a custom quote on a transfer to the cruise port (I'd expect it to be similar to the airport). I don't know how that compares to other taxis, but it's an option.

The bus is also very reliable and I'm sure much cheaper if the schedule meets your needs.

Just remember if you go on your own and don’t make it back in time, the ship will not wait for you. If the ship offers an excursion to Granada and the Alhambra and it’s late returning, the ship will wait.

Assuming the ship docks on time, you still need to get off it and make your way to the train or bus station, or get a rental car or taxi. Since you wouldn’t know what time you’d get to the Alhambra, it would be impossible to buy advance tickets meaning you might arrive there and not be able to get into the Nasrid Palace. If you had to go the taxi route, the drive to the Alhambra is 1.5-2 hours one way. The drive alone would consume possibly 4 of the 11 hours. Good luck. If you get there, you’ll thoroughly enjoy the visit.

The time on your Alhambra ticket is the time you will enter the Nasrid Palaces. You can visit other parts of the complex before or after that time, so you won't be wasting precious time if you get to Granada faster than you expect and well before the time on your Alhambra ticket.

That said, I'd be inclined to spend the day in Malaga rather than devoting so much time to transportation between Malaga and Granada. Since independent travelers setting up their own port excursions have total responsibility for getting back to the dock on time, you will lose not only the time required for inter-city transportation but also the time required to get between the Granada bus or train station and the Alhambra and the substantial additional buffer you'll need to allow to be sure you don't miss the cruise departure. You could easily end up with only 5 hours or so in Granada, vs. nearly 11 hours for sightseeing right in Malaga.

I agree with the posters who recommend spending the day in Malaga. I agree that it is too rushed to try to make it to Granada and back in time to meet your cruise ship. Malaga is amazing! We spent 2 nights there and I wish we had an extra night. There is a lot to see and do in Malaga. The walk to the top of the Alcazaba is amazing with stunning views of the port and the Mediterranean, exotic flowers, lush vegetation, patios, fountains, etc. The Ataranzas market is fun and interesting, the city center is beautiful with lots of restaurants and cafes, and many art museums, such as the Picasso Museum. You can take a walk along the seaside promenade, watch the sunset, etc. And there is the wonderful cathedral! You won't be bored!

I understand the desire to see the Alhambra. Plan another trip some day that will include lots of time in Andalusia.

If you really want to see the Alhambra, don’t let people talk you out of it. Only you know how important it is to you. This is what your day would look like.

Arrive Malaga
Taxi to Train/bus station
Train or Bus to Granada
Taxi to Alhambra
Tour Alhambra
Taxi to bus or train stations
Bus or train to Malaga
Taxi to port.

I was on a transatlantic last month that offered an excursion from Málaga to Granada. The morning in that part of Spain was rainy (15 days per month in December and January). When those on the excursion got to Granada, the interior of the Alhambra was closed due to rain and they could only walk around the outside. It is a long travel day, too.

I do almost all excursions privately but when it's that distance, I don't have the risk tolerance. Your cruise ship excursion will certainly be twice the price of what you can do on your own, but consider it as an insurance policy

Because the fabulous Málaga Christmas Lights celebration was going on, we were in port until 10 pm. If your sail time is 7, plan to be back by 6.

This was my second time in Málaga on a transatlantic. The first time we arranged a wonderful private tour along with others from the Cruise Critic Roll Call group. I agree that Málaga has a lot to offer.

Where is the next port of call for your cruise after Malaga? If it is within Andalusia, a relatively small geographic region offering good options of transport, perhaps an answer is to remain on land overnight and to rejoin the ship at the next port.

If the cruise line doesn't offer it, you could see if any of the independent shore excursion companies do: ShoreTrips and ShoreExcursions are the ones I know.

Above post by smm reported