Taking bus from Malaga to Granada?

[sarha]

We will be arriving in Malaga in September, and I was hoping to be able to take public transportation from Malaga into Granada.

My research shows that the Damas Bus seems to go there, but I'm wondering if anyone can help me with the logistics?

Primarily, can you walk from the port to the bus station and also, is the Granada bus station walkable into the town?

Any help is much appreciated.

[hkto]

If its for day trip to just walk in Granada downtown its probably an overkill. Most tourists go to Alhambra on organized trips and do it much faster than on public transit. As far as just walking in centre of Granada I wouldn't make a special 2 hr o/w trip to do it.

 

As far as logistics are concerned Malaga bus station is about a mile from port building however some ships dock across (near the beach) and therefore trip to bus station becomes longer (may be 30-35 min). Can use google maps to see what I mean. Bus station in Granada is about 2 mi from either city hall or Alhambra. Rail station is closer.

 

Also ALSA does this route with frequent departures.

 

Malaga is definitely good place to spend a day from doing nothing on a beach (not that great) to seeing museums, eating & sightseeing.

[sarha]

Thanks for replying, hkto; we are planning to visit Alhambra, we were just hoping to avoid organized tours.

Our ship will be in port for 8hours so I was hoping we could do it ourselves

[cberge]

Thanks for replying, hkto; we are planning to visit Alhambra, we were just hoping to avoid organized tours.

Our ship will be in port for 8hours so I was hoping we could do it ourselves

 

Hate to say it,but in this case you may be better off doing a tour.Just saying.

[hkto]

I don't know what costs are for organized tour but taxi+bus R/T+taxi probably will cost around minimum 100 euro per couple (50-60 for 4 taxis to/from port and to/from Alhambra + 50 for 2 R/T bus tixs). Plus Alhambra admission. There is a car rental right in port not cheap but convenient (70-100 per day) rentacarprima.com

 

I think timing is tight on public transit. 8 hr port stop is 7 hrs in best case unless ship docks early. At least 5 hrs in transit leaves very little for Alhambra. Frankly organized trips are also tight for time but they got extra 1-1.5 hrs because of direct trip.

 

Also can check http://www.spaindaytours.com/malaga-to-granada-shore-excursion.html but timing may not be right (they claim 8-9 hr tour) however claim is 100% on time to ship

Edited January 9, 2016 by hkto

[MommaBear55]

Buy your Alhambra tickets online before you go, they sell morning or afternoon tickets. If you are not from Europe, please make sure you get the full price ticket even if you are over 65. It did not say this on the website when we went 18 months ago, so my DH had to stand on line anyway to swap his over 65 ticket for a regular ticket. I would hate for anyone to waste time standing on line.

[campolady]

ALSA run the buses from Malaga to Granada BUT the bus station in Granada is outside the city centre so you will need to swap to another bus or take a taxi (around 10euro) to get up to the Alhambra.

 

Times from Malaga suitable for a day trip are:-

07.00 arriving Granada 08.15

08.00 arriving 10.00

08.30 arriving 10.44

09.00 arriving 10.44

10.00 arriving 11.30

10.00 arriving 10.45

10.45 arriving 13.00

 

Buses come back from Granada at:-

13.15 arriving Malaga at 15.30

14.00 arriving 15.45

15.00 arriving 16.30

15.00 arriving 16.45

16.00 arriving 17.45

16.00 arriving 18.15

17.00 arriving 19.00

 

The road from Malaga to Granada is notorious for traffic jams/delays which could compromise your return to the ship on time.

 

For peace of mind I would do an organised excursion rather than rely on public transport.

Edited January 9, 2016 by campolady

[sarha]

Thanks to everyone for their replies; I'm starting to think we'd better start checking out tours.

[campolady]

If you dislike organized tours, I would consider staying in Malaga to explore Alcazaba (which is similar to Alhambra).

 

That is what I would do. Just as interesting IMO and no crowds! There is so much to see in Malaga.

[4774Papa]

Take a tour, the trip takes about 1.5 hours either way and the logistics of doing it yourself is just to risky.