ibfern Posted December 21, 2011 #1 Share Posted December 21, 2011 Port of Motril: Granada & The Alhambra We took a Princess tour to visit The Alhambra and the Church in Granada, there were 8 or more buses full of us and we descended on these places en masse! This is the worst part of taking tours from the ship. At one point I grabbed my husbands arm and started talking to him when I realized it was a stranger, with his wife. Oops. Granada is 2000 feel above sea level and today there was snow covering the Sierra Nevada's, it was cold. The city is very clean and with fewer people, except where we were, and its beauty surprised me. We visited the Alhambra first, and it was amazing. Our guide Pablo was brilliant in his knowledge of the Muslim influences and he painted beautiful verbal pictures of the various palaces and gardens we visited. Although the tour touted only 5 steps, there were really hundreds and hundreds and we went slow because we needed to help quite a few folks using canes, good thing there was nobody in wheelchairs because it would have been impossible for them. Most folks were prepared to walk several miles, but after the complete tour of both the Alhambra and the beautiful chapel in Granada, one girl's pedometer indicated that we had all walked over 7 miles! It was exhausting but really fun and totally worth it! Our tour was quite reasonable. For $79 we got a long full day of touring and a full lunch including bottled water and wine. It was so-so food but we got to sit down and rest our aching feet and break bread with friends, and we all needed to rest. So much so that inspire of giving us plenty of extra time to shop, almost nobody did anything more that sit and rest! After lunch we went into Granada, with it's cobbled streets and narrow passages, and visited the fantastic church, which is the buried place of the kings and queens of Spain, at least Isabel and Ferdinand. This gothic church has quite an art collection, as well as some important remains such as the arm of St Paul. Apparently there are four different churches in the world who claim to have this same arm, who knows what is really In there! As they added to the church the style evolved into Baroque, then Rococo as it got more and more ornate and gilded. It was a beautiful place and I am glad I saw it, rather than go to the bathroom! We had too few pit stops, but there was so much to see and our guide was trying to cover as much as possible. This place is definitely worth going back to see at a more relaxed pace, definitely a be-back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capricruiser Posted December 22, 2011 #2 Share Posted December 22, 2011 Granada is of course a very well known city but Motril? Few cruise ships stop there. Can you tell us something about that port? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibfern Posted December 22, 2011 Author #3 Share Posted December 22, 2011 Granada is of course a very well known city but Motril? Few cruise ships stop there. Can you tell us something about that port? I can't tell you much because I went to Granada and it was an all day tour. There was a free shuttle into town and friends who stayed there enjoyed it a lot, mostly wandering around and some shopping. Its surrounded by snow covered peaks now. Thats the extent of my knowledge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BosoxI Posted January 10, 2012 #4 Share Posted January 10, 2012 I can't tell you much because I went to Granada and it was an all day tour. There was a free shuttle into town and friends who stayed there enjoyed it a lot, mostly wandering around and some shopping. Its surrounded by snow covered peaks now. Thats the extent of my knowledge. Amelia, How much time did your tour take from start to finish? Particularly, how long did it take to get there and how was traffic? I've seen the Alhambra but DW hasn't. Unfortunately, we are on a Celebrity cruise with no tour that includes the Alhambra/Generalife. I've found a private company but our ship docks at 8 and leaves at 5:30, if I recall correctly. They guarantee a timely return but that's an empty promise. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibfern Posted January 10, 2012 Author #5 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Amelia, How much time did your tour take from start to finish? Particularly, how long did it take to get there and how was traffic? I've seen the Alhambra but DW hasn't. Unfortunately, we are on a Celebrity cruise with no tour that includes the Alhambra/Generalife. I've found a private company but our ship docks at 8 and leaves at 5:30, if I recall correctly. They guarantee a timely return but that's an empty promise. Thanks Sorry for the delayed answer, we were on another cruise! This was a full day tour, we left at 7:30/8 am and returned by 4:30 as I recall, so I think you would have enough time. It took about an hour to get there from Motril, there was no traffic at all. No tour from Celebrity out of the port of Motril? That seems weird, what else is there to do there? The city of Motril was nice and lots of people just stayed there and used the free shuttle into town but I assume this is the port to visit the Alhambra so I am surprised that Celebrity offers no tours there. I am so glad I got to see it, It was one of the highlights of the whole cruise! I hope you are able to get there, have fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bull Posted January 10, 2012 #6 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Amelia, How much time did your tour take from start to finish? Particularly, how long did it take to get there and how was traffic? I've seen the Alhambra but DW hasn't. Unfortunately, we are on a Celebrity cruise with no tour that includes the Alhambra/Generalife. I've found a private company but our ship docks at 8 and leaves at 5:30, if I recall correctly. They guarantee a timely return but that's an empty promise. Thanks Can't believe Celebrity don't offer an Alhambra tour???? A popular destination from Malaga. Motril is a small port with few cruise ships calling, but half the distance to Granada :) and not a lot of alternative destinations :( Are you sure that your cruise visits Motril?? Or that it doesn't offer an Alhambra tour?? The road Motril to Granada is a fast & scenic divided road & you reach the Alhambra before the city - Amelia's "about an hour, no traffic" figures. The road grieves me. It was built with EU grants, including my hard-earned taxes (hence no tolls), even though it's little-used - certainly compared to UK roads. Not that you'll care :D I don't see you having a problem with the time available, its done comfortably on similar hours from Malaga, which is an hour further e/w. And Amelia's tour included another stop. If you're going to do it privately do be aware that you need to book advance timed tickets to see the Alhambra (though not the gardens or Generaliffe) But do double-check your itinerary/Celebrity shorex first. JB :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibfern Posted January 10, 2012 Author #7 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Can't believe Celebrity don't offer an Alhambra tour????A popular destination from Malaga. Motril is a small port with few cruise ships calling, but half the distance to Granada :) and not a lot of alternative destinations :( Are you sure that your cruise visits Motril?? Or that it doesn't offer an Alhambra tour?? The road Motril to Granada is a fast & scenic divided road & you reach the Alhambra before the city - Amelia's "about an hour, no traffic" figures. The road grieves me. It was built with EU grants, including my hard-earned taxes (hence no tolls), even though it's little-used - certainly compared to UK roads. Not that you'll care :D I don't see you having a problem with the time available, its done comfortably on similar hours from Malaga, which is an hour further e/w. And Amelia's tour included another stop. If you're going to do it privately do be aware that you need to book advance timed tickets to see the Alhambra (though not the gardens or Generaliffe) But do double-check your itinerary/Celebrity shorex first. JB :) It was a beautiful new freeway, it did seem well used and it certainly was not a freeway to nowhere (like the famous bridge to nowhere that never got built in Alaska) and I enjoyed it much more than the freeway in Casablanca! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebelruth Posted November 5, 2015 #8 Share Posted November 5, 2015 When our cruise ship docked in Motril Spain, we knew we wanted to go to the Alhambra which was an hour away by car. Unfortunately there was no where to rent a car. I found a young man who was in town with a taxi and asked if he could take us. My husband uses an electric scooter and this young man was wonderful. Although I initially spoke in Spanish, I found out that his English was wonderful. He spent a lot of time with us and showed us everything. He was a great tour guide and I recommend him for anyone who wants a private tour from Motril. He can be reached by email: Juan.joco@hotmail.com. Juan is a great tour guide and very flexible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebelruth Posted November 5, 2015 #9 Share Posted November 5, 2015 When our cruise ship docked in Motril Spain, we knew we wanted to go to the Alhambra which was an hour away by car. Unfortunately there was no where to rent a car. I found a young man who was in town with a taxi and asked if he could take us. My husband uses an electric scooter and this young man was wonderful. Although I initially spoke in Spanish, I found out that his English was wonderful. He spent a lot of time with us and showed us everything. He was a great tour guide and I recommend him for anyone who wants a private tour from Motril. He can be reached by email: Juan.joco@hotmail.com. Juan is a great tour guide and very flexible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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