Motril for the day from Cruise

[mommyx2]

Hi all, i see the main attraction is going on tour to Alhambra. We are not to keen on 2 hour bus tours.

is there anything else for us to do on our own in Motril? How far is beach from cruise port? 
in April will beach restaurants and shops be open?

need help figuring out our day any info would be appreciated 

thanks 

[marazul]

1 hour ago, mommyx2 said:

Hi all, i see the main attraction is going on tour to Alhambra. We are not to keen on 2 hour bus tours.

is there anything else for us to do on our own in Motril? How far is beach from cruise port? 
in April will beach restaurants and shops be open?

need help figuring out our day any info would be appreciated 

thanks 

Restaurants will be open.

The sea will be frigid.

It's worth going to the Alhambra.

Edited January 8, 2023 by marazul

[edinburgher]

Hi all, i see the main attraction is going on tour to Alhambra. We are not to keen on 2 hour bus tours. Motril and Malaga are the two port stops which offer tours to Granada/Alhambra and of those, Motril is the closest with a driving time of approx 1 hour.  Shorex coaches will transfer you there  from the ship .On arrival, you will exit your coach and most likely go to the Alhambra complex in time for the pre-arranged tour. At that point, the larger groups are divided into smaller groups for the actual tour. As all of your time at the Alhambra complex and gardens will be on foot before you reboard the coach for the journey back to Motril, it is  far more than "a two hour bus tour". Think of the drives as being not so much an actual tour, but the means of transporting you between point  A and point B and back again to point A.

 

Motril itself offers little as it is really a "gateway port" for easy access to Granada/Alhambra although my understanding is that there are beaches in or close to town.  Suggest you google something like "Motril beaches" and read results, although April is still early season and the water likel to be very cold.

 

As Motril is a working town rather than a resort catering almost exclusively to tourists,, restaurants, cafes and bars in the town itself should be open during normal working days/hours even if local beaches offer little. The info you find on beaches might also include the facilities to be found on each, which might include snack bar, cafe or restaurant info.

Edited January 8, 2023 by edinburgher

[mommyx2]

Thank u

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

I'm pretty sure that when we went to the Alhambra (On Oceania) it was from Motril. One way, I think it was at most one hour to get there. The guide told us some information on the bus and the time passed quickly.  We used a third-party vendor, not the cruise line, for a small group tour, as it was cheaper to do it that way.  I don't remember the vendor's name; sorry.  I'd recommend the Alhambra!

[BDEM]

Hello, what is the best Beach Hotel Day Pass for Motril, Spain in June?

[alserrod]

Just a tip.

 

Hotels in Spain do not have private beaches at all.

 

Some of them, the most old ones, could be very close to the beach and it could seem it is "hotel beach"

 

But since 1988 there's no corner of sandy beach in Spain. All of them are public ones.

 

There can be some terraces (just for a beer, maybe something to eat) but even if they belong to the hotel they must be opened to all public.

[edinburgher]

17 hours ago, BDEM said:

Hello, what is the best Beach Hotel Day Pass for Motril

Motril itself has very little to offer tourists, the principal reason for the port call being for trips to the Alhambra Palace, one of the top attractions in Spain. (or maybe it is actually the #1)

 

For anyone with no interest, can only suggest you try internet searching something like "side trips from Motril" to see what appears in the results, or look at the shorex for any options other than the Alhambra. And "Motril beaches" if you only have an interest in a beach day. (ref post #3 above)

[alserrod]

6 hours ago, edinburgher said:

Motril itself has very little to offer tourists, the principal reason for the port call being for trips to the Alhambra Palace, one of the top attractions in Spain. (or maybe it is actually the #1)

 

For anyone with no interest, can only suggest you try internet searching something like "side trips from Motril" to see what appears in the results, or look at the shorex for any options other than the Alhambra. And "Motril beaches" if you only have an interest in a beach day. (ref post #3 above)

 

 

 

Alhambra palace is the most visited monument in Spain indeed.

I am going to be in a few days there on tourism so, if anyone wanna further information it is the best moment.

 

In addition, these are the Top10 visited monuments in Spain

 

1- Alhambra palace, Granada

2- Sagrada Familia, Barcelona

3- Cathedral-Mosque in Cordoba

4- Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela

5- Cathedral in Burgos

6- Alcázar (Castle) in Segovia

7- Cathedral in Palma

8- Pilar Bassilica, Zaragoza

9- Roman theatre, Merida

10- Cathedral in Sevilla

 

Most visited in Madrid is number 12. I bet because it is a museum. There are three museums quite near an people sometimes choose.... so not so many visitors for statistics

 

For cruise voyageurs: Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Cathedral in Palma and Sevilla and Granada aren't so far from Cadiz, Malaga and Motril (despite Cadiz and Malaga deserves a day visit too)

 

For everyone starting or finishing in Barcelona, I always invite you to know number 8: Pilar Bassilica in Zaragoza

[John Bull]

Motril isn't a tourist destination, or even an excursion destination. 

The beaches are stony or gravel, very little sand. And few facilities.

The town is a couple of miles inland and not very interesting.

 

The obvious choice from Motril is the Alhambra, by far the closest and easiest port for it - an hour or less, on the outskirts of Granada and no need to fight the city traffic.

But you do need to pre-book the Alhambra well in advance.

 

Alternatives which need a rental car or  private excursion include 

- the troglodyte town of Gaudix, but it's 30 mins beyond the Alhambra. Perhaps return from there to Motril on the twisty back road across the foothills of the Sierra Nevada and along the coast, altho that route takes 2 1/2 hours.

- or west along the coast 20 miles 20/25 minutes to the caves of Nerja, just outside the town. Nerja is an old coastal town, a very pleasant & interesting vacation destination, but parking often isn't fun.

 

JB 🙂

[alserrod]

Motril is quite small. It has a port because it is the nearest point from Madrid to get a ferry to Melilla (a Spanish city in Northern Africa) but it really doesn't have something special to see. Obviously if you want to have a beach day, it is a fantastic destination (it is a beach destination even for Spanish people). There are some little mountains, caves and heritage in the surroundings too.

 

I usually try to make local visits but in this case a visit to Granada is almost mandatory.

 

 

And about Granada and Alhambra palace

 

First of all. Its official webpage is this one

 

https://www.alhambra-patronato.es/en

 

and this one for ticket selling

 

https://tickets.alhambra-patronato.es/

 

other webs like alhambra.org alhambra.net or whatever will just make as intermediate webs

 

It is absolutely important to book tickets.

 

Today is March 5th and.... for the rest of March I can see tickets availability only on Saturday, Sunday and Marth 14th. The other days, full until April 2nd.

 

There are several tickets but main one (it costs 19,09 euro.... I do not know what on hell they point cents in a ticket) includes all areas INCLUDING Nazari palace (Nazari was the last Arabic dynasty in Granada).

You can buy a ticket without those palaces. It costs 10.61 euro (and it has a greater availability) but Nazari palace is A MUST in Spain (not in Granada but in Spain, it is the most visited monument in the country).

 

 

Very important

- you must book tickets with your passport number and full name. No changes are possible later. They will scan your passport indeed (I haven't used the QR from my tickets, they just scanned my ID card and it was enough because they knew I was in visitor list

- no changes are possible after buying

- When buying a ticket, you buy entrance for a whole day except for Nazari palace where you must book a time too. There's no allowance if delayed. And I have seen yesterday people been refused to entry because 45 minutes late.

 

But it is the only way to assure it is not overcrowed. Have a look to this picture (taken by me) in the most famous corner in the monument. There are people visiting but not so many at the same time

 

 

[alserrod]

There are some other ways to visit Alhambra indeed.... but not easy

 

- there are guiding companies that have allowance to sell guided tours (I visited with the official mobile app, available in 12 languages. I was for almost 4 hours there and at the end I prefered just to walk and do not read so many explanations)

- buying a "Granada pack" in the tourism office webpage asking if their tickets to Alhambra still have availability for the requested day. In this case the purchase is from an official site but you will have to buy some other monuments too

 

[BDEM]

On 3/2/2024 at 8:27 AM, edinburgher said:

Motril itself has very little to offer tourists, the principal reason for the port call being for trips to the Alhambra Palace, one of the top attractions in Spain. (or maybe it is actually the #1)

 

For anyone with no interest, can only suggest you try internet searching something like "side trips from Motril" to see what appears in the results, or look at the shorex for any options other than the Alhambra. And "Motril beaches" if you only have an interest in a beach day. (ref post #3 above)

But there are beautiful hotels on the beach.  Can I contact the hotel directly to do a Day Pass for the beach and pool with food and drinks?

[BDEM]

On 3/5/2024 at 4:06 PM, alserrod said:

Motril is quite small. It has a port because it is the nearest point from Madrid to get a ferry to Melilla (a Spanish city in Northern Africa) but it really doesn't have something special to see. Obviously if you want to have a beach day, it is a fantastic destination (it is a beach destination even for Spanish people). There are some little mountains, caves and heritage in the surroundings too.

 

I usually try to make local visits but in this case a visit to Granada is almost mandatory.

 

 

And about Granada and Alhambra palace

 

First of all. Its official webpage is this one

 

https://www.alhambra-patronato.es/en

 

and this one for ticket selling

 

https://tickets.alhambra-patronato.es/

 

other webs like alhambra.org alhambra.net or whatever will just make as intermediate webs

 

It is absolutely important to book tickets.

 

Today is March 5th and.... for the rest of March I can see tickets availability only on Saturday, Sunday and Marth 14th. The other days, full until April 2nd.

 

There are several tickets but main one (it costs 19,09 euro.... I do not know what on hell they point cents in a ticket) includes all areas INCLUDING Nazari palace (Nazari was the last Arabic dynasty in Granada).

You can buy a ticket without those palaces. It costs 10.61 euro (and it has a greater availability) but Nazari palace is A MUST in Spain (not in Granada but in Spain, it is the most visited monument in the country).

 

 

Very important

- you must book tickets with your passport number and full name. No changes are possible later. They will scan your passport indeed (I haven't used the QR from my tickets, they just scanned my ID card and it was enough because they knew I was in visitor list

- no changes are possible after buying

- When buying a ticket, you buy entrance for a whole day except for Nazari palace where you must book a time too. There's no allowance if delayed. And I have seen yesterday people been refused to entry because 45 minutes late.

 

But it is the only way to assure it is not overcrowed. Have a look to this picture (taken by me) in the most famous corner in the monument. There are people visiting but not so many at the same time

 

 

 

1 minute ago, BDEM said:

But there are beautiful hotels on the beach.  Can I contact the hotel directly to do a Day Pass for the beach and pool with food and drinks?

 

[alserrod]

Hello

 

 

It is possible to ask about pool entrance price in hotels. I know several hotels offer it but it is not a common service.

 

Remember beaches are free for everyone.

 

[BDEM]

On 3/1/2024 at 4:03 PM, alserrod said:

Just a tip.

 

Hotels in Spain do not have private beaches at all.

 

Some of them, the most old ones, could be very close to the beach and it could seem it is "hotel beach"

 

But since 1988 there's no corner of sandy beach in Spain. All of them are public ones.

 

There can be some terraces (just for a beer, maybe something to eat) but even if they belong to the hotel they must be opened to all public.

According to the Impressive Granada Hotel and Resort they have access to the beach and a beautiful pool.

[marazul]

9 minutes ago, BDEM said:

According to the Impressive Granada Hotel and Resort they have access to the beach and a beautiful pool.

Here is a little secret about the Costa del Sol beaches: the water is really cold even in August! 

That is because the Northern Atlantic waters come in through the Straight of Gibraltar and don't really warm up until farther into the Mediterranean.  Here is the water temperature in June according to seatemperature.org for Almuñecar Beach which is right next to Motril:  between 67.4ºF and 72.2ºF. That is cold!

https://www.seatemperature.org/europe/spain/almunecar.htm 

In all likelihood, you will be disappointed by the beach experience and end up spending the day by the pool.  By the way, "day passes" are not really a thing in Spain since all beaches are free. 

 

Don't miss this chance to visit the Alhambra. It is extraordinary.  

[BDEM]

3 minutes ago, marazul said:

Here is a little secret about the Costa del Sol beaches: the water is really cold even in August! 

That is because the Northern Atlantic waters come in through the Straight of Gibraltar and don't really warm up until farther into the Mediterranean.  Here is the water temperature in June according to seatemperature.org for Almuñecar Beach which is right next to Motril:  between 67.4ºF and 72.2ºF. That is cold!

https://www.seatemperature.org/europe/spain/almunecar.htm 

In all likelihood, you will be disappointed by the beach experience and end up spending the day by the pool.  By the way, "day passes" are not really a thing in Spain since all beaches are free. 

 

Don't miss this chance to visit the Alhambra. It is extraordinary.  

Thank you so much!  I appreciate it!  Yes that is cold, but we are from Texas... so we will leave with 100+ temps LOL!!  I still need to get a Day Pass at the hotel as we will be on the NCL Viva cruise and that day will be our 30th Anniversary, June 11, so I want to have a romantic relaxing day in the sun and water!! The Playa Granada is highly rated. Thoughts?  Thank you!

[BDEM]

3 minutes ago, BDEM said:

Thank you so much!  I appreciate it!  Yes that is cold, but we are from Texas... so we will leave with 100+ temps LOL!!  I still need to get a Day Pass at the hotel as we will be on the NCL Viva cruise and that day will be our 30th Anniversary, June 11, so I want to have a romantic relaxing day in the sun and water!! The Playa Granada is highly rated. Thoughts?  Thank you!

I only assume I should contact the hotel directly? We would want food and drinks also.

[marazul]

1 minute ago, BDEM said:

Thank you so much!  I appreciate it!  Yes that is cold, but we are from Texas... so we will leave with 100+ temps LOL!!  I still need to get a Day Pass at the hotel as we will be on the NCL Viva cruise and that day will be our 30th Anniversary, June 11, so I want to have a romantic relaxing day in the sun and water!! The Playa Granada is highly rated. Thoughts?  Thank you!

Email the hotel and ask about making a lunch reservation and renting lounge chairs by the pool. It isn't really called "day pass." 

[BDEM]

1 minute ago, marazul said:

Email the hotel and ask about making a lunch reservation and renting lounge chairs by the pool. It isn't really called "day pass." 

Oh ok, thank you so very much!  I appreciate all your help! I hope they have transportation to and from the port?

[alserrod]

1 minute ago, BDEM said:

I only assume I should contact the hotel directly? We would want food and drinks also.

 

 

 

Hi

 

Almost all hotels in Spain will offer food and drink to guests. This is, it is very common to use restaurants in hotels for non-guests.

They will surely request you to book as in other restaurant, nothing else.

 

Regarding pool (and beach), If I were you I would email them and ask about services they have for non-guest.

 

It is not common (most of customers are guests) but they could offer and will help you

[marazul]

1 minute ago, BDEM said:

Oh ok, thank you so very much!  I appreciate all your help! I hope they have transportation to and from the port?

You can ask. Just take a taxi there and they will call one for your return.

[BDEM]

2 minutes ago, alserrod said:

 

 

 

Hi

 

Almost all hotels in Spain will offer food and drink to guests. This is, it is very common to use restaurants in hotels for non-guests.

They will surely request you to book as in other restaurant, nothing else.

 

Regarding pool (and beach), If I were you I would email them and ask about services they have for non-guest.

 

It is not common (most of customers are guests) but they could offer and will help you

Thank you so very much!

[BDEM]

2 minutes ago, marazul said:

You can ask. Just take a taxi there and they will call one for your return.

Thank you so very much!  First time traveling abroad.. excited and nervous!