We too had promised ourselves a trip to Granada ever since moving to the Costa del Sol four years ago and eventually got round to it in february. A wonderful experience, and if anyone fancies a day or two diversion from the costa they may like to consider the route and report published here It really is worth the effort

John

Hi I have tried to book tickets for the days that my friends are going. And they are saying that there is no tickets available for that date.

Does this mean that they are fully sold out of tickets. Because i have read that you can go up there and pay on the day. So they must have some people that pay on the day.

My friendis panicking now as she thinks that she may not be able to get into the palace. And this is the only reason that she has decided to go.

Has anybody any ideas.

Please

A few tickets are usually held back and sold on the day but they'll need to get up to the Alhambra and join the queue immediately the ticket office opens. They'll still have a specific time on them for entry to the buildings which could easily turn out to be quite late in the day depending on their place in the queue but if they are keen gardeners they'll find a lot to occupy them in the open access parts of the Generalife until then. Or altenatively they can collect their tickets and go back later.

I assume from the date of your original post that they are about to fly out any day soon which means that they are going during a particularly popular time. You might want to re-assure them that even if they can't get into the Alhambra that there really is plenty to do and see in Granada apart from the Alhambra and that will give them the perfect excuse for going aback another time - I can recommend the autumn :-)

SM

Hi
Ticket office opens at 8.30am, what time would you reccommend that they get up there for.
Thanks.

Afraid to say that if they want a choice of times then they really need to be there for 8.30am :-) The last time I was in Granada I had a pre-booked ticket and arrived at around 10.00am and according to the notices at the ticket office all the remaining tickets for that day had already been sold by that time. As this was mid-week in mid-October and generally the city was fairly quiet ast the time, it suggests that there are never that many tickets available at the last minute.

It is possible to buy tickets through some of the banks and it might be worth their while trying to buy one over the counter the day before. A lot of the pre-booked tickets are reserved by the excursion companies and they might strike lucky with getting a couple of last minute cancellations.

SM

Thanks for that.

I'm not sure that they are that bothered about their time of visit. I think that they just want to get into the palace. i've told them to get there for 8.00am.

I can't say more than that can i.

have to warn visitors - my daughter was just in Granada last week. She had her handbag stolen! After just arriving at airport. A guy distracted her trying to get her to buy a rose. Her bag was snatched from under her feet. Passport etc stolen. She had a 3 hr trip to British consulate in Malaga to get replacement. Her money stolen too so luckily the family she was visiting lent her the money - very expensive to get temp passport, absolute nightmare. We expect this to happen in Barcelona - but not Granada :-(

Very sorry to hear what happened but why do you say you expect it to happen in Barcelona and not in Granada?
This sort of thing happens the world over and you can never be too careful wherever you are. People who do this prey on others at busy places where they can be easily distracted but the town, city or country is irrelevant. My wifes mother had her purse snatched in a tiny sleepy little village in the middle of Germany and in contrast my wife left her bag unattended for an hour in central London before she realised it was missing and returned to Selfridges and picked it up.

I'm afraid that this sort of thing can happen anywhere and the moral of the story is never ever put your handbag down but to keep it on your person all the time. My mother had a similar thing happen to her in the Cathedral in Florence when she was parying in a small side chapel but it never put her off going back. Personally, on holiday, and at home if I'm going somewhere I expect crowds of people, I always use a small pouch-style bag that I can wear slung across the body in which I put the cash and credit cards, passport etc and only use a larger bag for the things that are easily replaced if its taken. To put things in perspective the only time I've had my handbag snatched was from my own kitchen table while I was in the shower after I foolishly forgot to re-lock the back door after letting the cat out! Unfortunately, opportunistic thiefs exist the world over and vigilance is necessary wherever you are these days.

SM

Hi ! Can anyone recommend a nice hotel in the relative center of Granada close to the attractions. It doesn't have to be 5 star just in a nice location and clean and comfortable.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187441-d232735-Reviews-Navas_Hotel-Granada_Andalusia.html

My mate booked this hotel the Navas above are some reviews of it.

We chose it because of these reviews.

And booked it through http://www.wintersunshineholidays.co.uk

It was spotless, in the middle of granada, and she said the breakfast was lovely.

Can anyone recommend accomodation near the ski slopes for 3 people.

It's only for 3 or 4 nights and the hotels all seem to want longer bookings.

Thanks,
Kayley.

Thinking about going to Granada in early March, prob 5th to 9th if I can get flights.
Have heard that this place is a great place to stay. Room Mate Migueletes. Any views anyone?

Anyone got any idea what sort of weather to expect. OK-- I am not silly enough to expect high temps etc being as it is in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Warmish sunny days and cold nights would be OK for us.

Would be nice also if the blossom was on the trees around that time.

I don't suppose the bullfighting season will have started?

Thanks

You may find this interesting:

http://www.weatherunderground.com/history/airport/LEGR/2007/3/9/WeeklyHistory.html

You can check back previous years for Granada in that week. We were there in April 2006 and it was clear, sunny and very warm during the day and ok at night as opposed to the previous early November when it was bitterly cold. It very much depends which direction the wind comes from. In April the snow on the Sierra Nevadas was an amazing sight so you have that to look forward to in March, blossom could be out but we saw an amazing amount of rape flowers, the whole city seemed to be yellow!

Looking to go to Granada next year but doesn't look like anyone is flying direct from the UK any more unless anyone here knows different?? Otherwise will fly to Malaga and hire a car from there.

Cheers for any help guys.

BB

Only airline to Granada from UK is Ryanair. However they were threatening to pull out. I believe the Spanish authorities have now agreed the subsidy with Ryanair and the flights will continue, as yet, they don't seem to be on their website though. At some stage I will be phoning them to see if/when they will be available.

Just realised that I never provided an update.... Ryanair still fly to Granada, from Stansted and Liverpool. The flights from East Midlands start again at the end of March.

Louise