Private excursion to Alhambra

We'll be in Malaga and want to take a day trip to Alhambra. Can anyone recommend a good experience with a company for a private group excursion? (On a past cruise we took a private excursion with a group from Cadiz to Seville and had a guide whose English was unintelligible. It was quite an experience and one that we don't want to repeat! I've never heard so many "What did she say?" in my life.)

In March 2009 we used Spain Direct which is owned by an Englishwoman ... or was at the time. I don't know the current status. Deborah gave us a wonderful day.

However, I'll point out that when you get to the Alhambra you will be turned over to one of THEIR guides. (Unless things have changed since then.)

Mura

Be sure that the tour company actually books tickets / makes reservations at the Alhambra.

My sisters had booked a private tour in March. There was a bit of a delay in getting the full group. However there had been no warning from the company and closer to the date, the company said they couldn't get tickets to the Alhambra, just the gardens. They "might" be able to get an upgrade on the date so they could visit the palaces. My sisters opted for the cruise line tour which did include palace tickets.

We are on Riviera Barcelona to Miami.

On of our fellow cruisers is organizing a tour with

Spanish Day Tours on that voyage. Alhambra tickets are additional but can be purchased through them. I'll post whether we are happy with them. I think its reasonable, not a private tour which I feet is too costly.

My suggestion would be Made for Spain. They are a top company and we have had several of their guides, all excellent. You, however, must use separate guides in the Alhambra and that is luck of the draw; same as in the Scavi in the Vatican where we were very unlucky.

Don't use Granada Picnic Tours. They were overpriced and terrible.

We are on Riviera Barcelona to Miami.

 

On of our fellow cruisers is organizing a tour with

Spanish Day Tours on that voyage. Alhambra tickets are additional but can be purchased through them. I'll post whether we are happy with them. I think its reasonable, not a private tour which I feet is too costly.

All I am saying is make sure that Spain Day Tours does get you tickets. Right now. Or you might miss out. Get a confirmation email from them that they have the Alhambra tickets for you.

A couple years ago, Oceania used Motril as the port for Granada, and there is NOTHING in Motril. The ship's Alhambra tour sold out very quickly. So we used Spain Day Tours and ended up with several busses from the Riviera on a 'private' tour. Spain Day Tours was very reliable and took care of the Alhambra tickets. The guide gave a brief-but-pleasant Granada tour prior to our Alhambra admission time (with Alhambra guide)/

Thank you all for your help. This is the best forum!

We used Spain Day Tours for the tour to Seville that I mentioned when I opened this thread. It was a frustrating day for our group, and I wanted to avoid that happening again. Sometimes it's just the luck of the draw...

I've read about the difficulty of getting tickets to the Alhambra so I appreciate your advice to check to make sure the tour company has them.

I'm going to look into Made for Spain tours.

How long a drive is it from where the cruise ship docks to the Alhambra?

If I remember correctly it's about an hour and a half. This includes a brief rest stop along the way.

All I am saying is make sure that Spain Day Tours does get you tickets. Right now. Or you might miss out. Get a confirmation email from them that they have the Alhambra tickets for you.

I haven't been able to get a confirmation from them that they have tickets, so I haven't signed up with them. I still need a tour company that has tickets to get us from Malaga to The Alhambra.

As I said much earlier, we used Spain Direct in March 2009. The fee then was 100 euros per person for a group of 8 (no doubt it is more now, but at the time the ship's tour cost $189pp). They picked us up at the port, transported us to Granada where we had a short walking tour, then spent time at an open air restaurant on lunch before our afternoon tour. Tickets to the Alhambra were provided, but you do need to book these things as early as you can because tickets are limited and ships tend to book up many of the tickets well in advance. That is an argument for using the ship's tour.

There are a number of outfits that will do this for you and others have recommended companies as well as I did.

Bear in mind that it's about a 2-1/2 mile walk through the Alhambra and there are steps. Even so, on our Renaissance ship's tour in 1999 one of our members was in a wheelchair. I don't know how well he did ...

Morning tours start from one end of the Alhambra, afternoon tours start from the other end. When you arrive you will be handed over to an official Alhambra guide, no matter whether you are on a ship's tour or a private tour ... so groups going through are NOT large.

Mura

I haven't been able to get a confirmation from them that they have tickets, so I haven't signed up with them. I still need a tour company that has tickets to get us from Malaga to The Alhambra.

What is the date of your port stop in Malaga ?

I will be on a cruise stopping in Malaga on July 3,2016.

I too want to book a private excursion exactly as you are doing to Granada and the Alhambra.

I have researched on Trip Advisor and those advanced tickets are the sticking point as far as I can tell.

Good luck, and please post here when you firm up the tour.

I figure I have time before I organize this tour and post on my roll call.:)

What is the date of your port stop in Malaga ?

I will be on a cruise stopping in Malaga on July 3,2016.

I too want to book a private excursion exactly as you are doing to Granada and the Alhambra.

I have researched on Trip Advisor and those advanced tickets are the sticking point as far as I can tell.

Good luck, and please post here when you firm up the tour.

I figure I have time before I organize this tour and post on my roll call.:)

I still haven't been able to firm up a private tour, and we're going in October so you should get right on this. The problem is that The Alhambra issues 700 tickets a day, and the cruise ships buy most of them. You might end up having to take the ship excursion if they still have openings.

We've been cruising for years, and this is the most difficult excursion I've ever tried to organize. There are some tours on Trip Advisor that have gotten poor reviews.

Please let me know if you find something that I've missed. Good luck!

As I said much earlier, we used Spain Direct in March 2009.

Mura

I was unable to find Spain Direct. I assume they are out of business.