Ship tour of Alhambra/Malaga or on our own?

I would like suggestions as to whether it would be best to book our ship's tour (Seabourn) to see the Alhambra in Malaga or whether the Alhambra offers their own options. What else is recommended to see in Malaga? We have one full day there and generally prefer independent travel. Thank you!

I generally recommend cruisers to take shore excursion to Alhambra for the following reasons:

(1) Granada is about 2 hours of drive away from Malaga, and the traffic can be bad.

(2) If you want to go into the Nasrid Palace (highly recommended), you need to pre-book a ticket with a 30-min slot to enter the palace. They are pretty strict regarding your entrance time.

IMHO, it is too difficult to time it right for the cruise passengers.

I generally recommend cruisers to take shore excursion to Alhambra for the following reasons:

 

(1) Granada is about 2 hours of drive away from Malaga, and the traffic can be bad.

(2) If you want to go into the Nasrid Palace (highly recommended), you need to pre-book a ticket with a 30-min slot to enter the palace. They are pretty strict regarding your entrance time.

 

IMHO, it is too difficult to time it right for the cruise passengers.

Good points all - thank you!

I would definitely recommend the ship's tour........to see the Alhambra.

We did a private tour.It was awful.the guide was intoxicated,the driver got lost,the mini van broke down on the way back to the ship.Thank goodness the ships tour bus stopped to give us a ride back to the ship.The distances are great,traffic busy.This was the one place i wish we had done the ships tour.

We were scheduled for a private tour to the Alhambra out of Malaga, but 24 hours before porting we heard by email from our private guide that a family medical emergency would force him to cancel our tour! He had even paid for our times Alhambra tickets out of his own pocket previously (and the six of us had not reimbursed him), so when he cancelled we knew it was for real. Our only practical alternative was to "bite the bullet" and pay the very high price for the ship's tour. However, the official guide at the Alhambra was EXCELLENT and we received a very thorough tour. We did not particularly enjoy the bus ride (two snoring old guys on the trip back!:() and extra long boring restroom stops, plus we had also hoped to see a few other sites that day, like the caves, but looking back I see that we had a really informative and comprehensive tour of the Alhambra.

Thank you all for your valuable input. We'll be sure to sign up for the ship tour on this one!

Keep in mind, if something happens on one of the private tours and you miss the ship, you are out of pocket to get you back on board. If the shore excursions run behind, they generally wait the boat since it would be their responsibility. On that long of an excursion, and really a tight time line, I wouldn't risk it!

For those of you who have already commented, can someone tell me if I am crazy to do this shore excursion with three kids, ages 3, 5, and 7? I know it is supposed to be magnificent, but will it tire the kids out and bore them? Will there be any time for them to stretch their legs, run around a bit, and get the "wiggles" out of them. I see someone mentioned long, boring bathroom breaks, but those could work to our advantage (aren't their bathrooms on the bus? I guess I picture something similar to a Greyhound).

Keep in mind, if something happens on one of the private tours and you miss the ship, you are out of pocket to get you back on board. If the shore excursions run behind, they generally wait the boat since it would be their responsibility. On that long of an excursion, and really a tight time line, I wouldn't risk it!

For those of you who have already commented, can someone tell me if I am crazy to do this shore excursion with three kids, ages 3, 5, and 7? I know it is supposed to be magnificent, but will it tire the kids out and bore them? Will there be any time for them to stretch their legs, run around a bit, and get the "wiggles" out of them. I see someone mentioned long, boring bathroom breaks, but those could work to our advantage (aren't their bathrooms on the bus? I guess I picture something similar to a Greyhound).

1.The ride is 2 hours+ one-way.

2.There will probably be one potty-break/stop at a souvenir place.

3.The Alhambra (and the Generalife Palace right next to the Alhambra) will be nothing but walking, stairs, and steps.

4.Some buses have bathrooms, some do not. If there is a door/stairway in the middle of the bus, look there for a bathroom.

5.Crazy??? No. But, speaking as a parent, I would look for another type of excursion for kids this young.

Rick

from the replies it appears that the safest route is taking the ship's excursion or something similar.

has anyone here done their own thing and it went off well for the day (no car/van breakdowns, traffic jams, etc.)?

we are leaning towards the 'safe' way versus a private tour.

opinions?

from the replies it appears that the safest route is taking the ship's excursion or something similar.

has anyone here done their own thing and it went off well for the day (no car/van breakdowns, traffic jams, etc.)?

we are leaning towards the 'safe' way versus a private tour.

opinions?

I should be able to respond in a few weeks. We're scheduled to be in Malaga on March 5th and we'll be doing the Alhambra on our own (a family of 4). We've booked a rental car (closest outlet I could find is at the central Malaga train station) and have pre-purchased our Nasrid tickets. I found some private guides with good reviews, but we opted to go with the 3€ audio guides and a bit of research ahead of time (Rick Steeves and Maribel guides are useful).

The difference in price for two is significant, but when you are a group of 2 the savings by doing it on your own is too much to ignore. We also don't mind driving in Europe or worry too much about 'missing the boat'. However, we always carry the port agents tel number with us should something delay us completely.

P.

I should be able to respond in a few weeks. We're scheduled to be in Malaga on March 5th and we'll be doing the Alhambra on our own (a family of 4). We've booked a rental car (closest outlet I could find is at the central Malaga train station) and have pre-purchased our Nasrid tickets. I found some private guides with good reviews, but we opted to go with the 3€ audio guides and a bit of research ahead of time (Rick Steeves and Maribel guides are useful).

 

The difference in price for two is significant, but when you are a group of 2 the savings by doing it on your own is too much to ignore. We also don't mind driving in Europe or worry too much about 'missing the boat'. However, we always carry the port agents tel number with us should something delay us completely.

 

P.

The normal route to Granada, and usually taken by ship's coaches, is inland on the A45 (Cordoba) road, then east on the A92 to Granada. Two sides of a rectangle. Google times the 88 miles at 1hr 43 mins. It's rather boring.

A better alternative nowadays is east on the A7 Motril/Almeria/Murcia autovia del mediterraneo, then inland on the A44 , under the shadow of the Sierra Nevada, to Granada The other two sides of the rectangle. Google times it at just 5 miles & 10 mins longer. Much more interesting, with some coastal views, super mountain views (snow on the mountain-tops year-round), much less traffic on the A44. Also a little easier getting out of Malaga - and one helluvalot easier at the Granada end, since the Alhambra is to the south of the city, & you approach from the south, rather than the north-west.

Both routes are nearly all good modern freeways.

John Bull

Hi all - Last year my DH and I rented a villa halfway between Malaga and Granada in the charming town of Salobrena, and thus rented a car and bought our timed tickets on our own via the Internet and made our own day trip. The Alhambra is a must see I think, but leave the kids under 10 at home or do something different. They won't enjoy/appreciate the experience. If I was arriving in Malaga on a ship, I would NOT try this on my own. We are both fluent in Spanish, had a GPS and had a local at the tourist office in Salobrena give us a highway map with the exits well marked. We pulled it off no problem, but it was a bit stressful. Granada is a big city - all the guidebooks tell you not to bother driving in town. To get to the Alhambra, you can skim around the town itself and park in their huge parking lots, but one wrong turn and you'll be exploring the streets of Granada instead of the Alhambra.

Another interesting point is which route to take from Malaga to Granada - I agree the southern route is the best - mentioned in the last post as the Nerja/Motril road. The new roads in the south of Spain are fantastic, but just so you know, parts of this southern route just opened last September 2009, and unless you just updated the European maps on your GPS, it will be a bit stressful. Ours was a new GPS but couldn't recognize the new road. Finally had to turn her off :) Also know that the timed tickets can sell out days in advance. Don't think you can just show up and buy one: there are huge lines each morning for what's left of that day's tickets. We had ours, but saw lots of sad people turned away.

Also, once you're in the grounds, after your visit to the Nasrid Palace, there are a couple of fun alternatives: there is the souvenir shop in the Alhambra where you can dress up in Moorish costumes - silly but fun souvenirs. Also, the Parador of Granada is within the grounds and the outside restaurant is both relaxing and open to all visitors - not just hotel guests.

Oh, and if you happen to have to wait outside the gates of the Alhambra by the little sandwich shop, pet the cats for me. They're adorable little beggars - but then I would beg too for Jamon Serrano and Queso Manchego.