Malaga trip recommendations

[CAT58]

Our trip to The Alhambra has just been cancelled for our Voyager trip (5-15th April).  I would appreciate recommendations for trips while the ship is in Malaga. Many thanks.

[Snore42]

We used Spain Day Tours for a private tour to Alhambra.   They picked us up in a luxury van, drove us to the site, had a great tour with an easy to understand English guide and were returned to the port. Very well worth it and if i remember it was cheaper than what Regent offered for similar. 

[RetiredandTravel]

I would try alternative tours (even it was private) to Alhambra like snore suggests, really a must see IMO.  Marbella is nice but its a beach area.  Seville is a cool city, not sure if you are going there.

[labonnevie]

Alhambra for certain. 

[CAT58]

Thanks all.  I will look into a private trip to the Alhambra. 

[Frncie]

4 hours ago, CAT58 said:

Our trip to The Alhambra has just been cancelled for our Voyager trip (5-15th April).  I would appreciate recommendations for trips while the ship is in Malaga. Many thanks.

Were you given any explanation WHY the excursion was cancelled?

[CAT58]

Just now, Frncie said:

Were you given any explanation WHY the excursion was cancelled?

Operational difficulties - whatever that means!  The cynic in me thinks not enough people wanted to go.

[Huggsy]

Malaga's OK to walk around; Marbella, as RetiredandTravel said is beachy, the old town is pretty but it's not the classy destination it once was. Alhambra is stunning, absolutely fascinating - would definitely recommend a private tour.

[Pudgesmom]

Wrong cruise. 🙂

 

Edited March 24, 2022 by Pudgesmom

[Medeba]

11 hours ago, CAT58 said:

Operational difficulties - whatever that means!  The cynic in me thinks not enough people wanted to go.

Cat58.  We are on the same cruise and we too had a tour cancelled in Mallorca for the same reason. We have friends staying on the island when we're there and they are going to take us out for the day.  How lovely is that?

[RetiredandTravel]

14 hours ago, CAT58 said:

Thanks all.  I will look into a private trip to the Alhambra. 

 

 

I'm not sure how familiar you are with Regent but they have guest speakers.  The history of Spain is fascinating.  We were also on the Voyager in Northern Spain and had a spectacular guest speaker, she was from the Smithsonian.  If we missed her lecture we watched it later on TV.  Hopefully you have a guest speaker of similar quality.

 

 

[seasickphil]

14 hours ago, CAT58 said:

Thanks all.  I will look into a private trip to the Alhambra. 

You could take Regents Granada on your own Transfer and pre purchase online, your tickets for the Alhambra.

[CAT58]

4 hours ago, Medeba said:

Cat58.  We are on the same cruise and we too had a tour cancelled in Mallorca for the same reason. We have friends staying on the island when we're there and they are going to take us out for the day.  How lovely is that?

That is nice.  Enjoy. Hope to meet you onboard. 

[CAT58]

2 hours ago, RetiredandTravel said:

 

 

I'm not sure how familiar you are with Regent but they have guest speakers.  The history of Spain is fascinating.  We were also on the Voyager in Northern Spain and had a spectacular guest speaker, she was from the Smithsonian.  If we missed her lecture we watched it later on TV.  Hopefully you have a guest speaker of similar quality.

 

 

Good to know. This will be our first Regent cruise.  We will look out for the guest speakers.

[CAT58]

2 hours ago, seasickphil said:

You could take Regents Granada on your own Transfer and pre purchase online, your tickets for the Alhambra.

Will look into this.  Thank you.

[UUNetBill]

+1 on a private tour to the Alhambra - I went there as a young punk high school student in the 70s and out of my entire trip to Spain that was the one location that stood out to me.  And if it can fascinate a young punk high school student in the 70s it's gotta be impressive.  A must-see, I think.

[RetiredandTravel]

3 hours ago, seasickphil said:

You could take Regents Granada on your own Transfer and pre purchase online, your tickets for the Alhambra.

 

This is very important advice, definitely buy the tickets in advance.  

[seasickphil]

4 hours ago, UUNetBill said:

+1 on a private tour to the Alhambra - I went there as a young punk high school student in the 70s and out of my entire trip to Spain that was the one location that stood out to me.  And if it can fascinate a young punk high school student in the 70s it's gotta be impressive.  A must-see, I think.

Yes i agree you must not miss the Alhambra but i don't see why you need to spend a significant amount of money on a private tour, when you can take the Regent free Granada on your own transfer and pre book your Alhambra tickets. You then don't have to worry about your private tour driver getting you back to the ship on time.

[irishwitchy]

12 hours ago, UUNetBill said:

+1 on a private tour to the Alhambra - I went there as a young punk high school student in the 70s and out of my entire trip to Spain that was the one location that stood out to me.  And if it can fascinate a young punk high school student in the 70s it's gotta be impressive.  A must-see, I think.

Ola! I also did the high school visit to Spain the 70s, however I was the twirler/Girl Scout type!   However,  that part of Spain I really loved it, remember it well and have been back multiple times.   The Alhambra is worth seeing, but a trip to Ronda was also high on my list.  Enjoy! 

[Jlhalldc]

Our Alhambra excursion was cancelled for the April 5 transatlantic cruise on Splendor.  Very disappointed. But have scheduled our second choice...a trip to historic Ronda. 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

On 3/24/2022 at 5:03 PM, CAT58 said:

Thanks all.  I will look into a private trip to the Alhambra. 

Just make sure that it's planned to have plenty of time to get back to the ship.  Traffic can get very heavy especially on weekends and holidays.

 

As for "Granada on your own", just be aware that the Alhambra is up out of the town, so you'll need transportation probably back and forth from the drop-off spot, unless they're willing to drop people *at* the Alhambra.  And tickets are quite limited, I believe.

[CAT58]

Many thanks all for your comments and recommendations.  Just have to get through the two required covid tests now!!! 

[seasickphil]

44 minutes ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

Just make sure that it's planned to have plenty of time to get back to the ship.  Traffic can get very heavy especially on weekends and holidays.

 

As for "Granada on your own", just be aware that the Alhambra is up out of the town, so you'll need transportation probably back and forth from the drop-off spot, unless they're willing to drop people *at* the Alhambra.  And tickets are quite limited, I believe.

When we went to Granada the Alhambra was no more than a 30 min stroll from the Cathedral in Granada or a 5 min taxi ride away. On Regents itinerary for Granada on your own it states " You may choose to explore the glorious Alhambra and it's stunning Generalife gardens, so i would think that it must be reasonably easy to do.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

5 hours ago, seasickphil said:

When we went to Granada the Alhambra was no more than a 30 min stroll from the Cathedral in Granada or a 5 min taxi ride away. On Regents itinerary for Granada on your own it states " You may choose to explore the glorious Alhambra and it's stunning Generalife gardens, so i would think that it must be reasonably easy to do.

Good, as long as you're up for a 30-minute stroll.  I believe it's uphill from town as well, not positive about that.  

[ChatKat in Ca.]

45 minutes ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

Good, as long as you're up for a 30-minute stroll.  I believe it's uphill from town as well, not positive about that.  

Yes, I do remember the the Alhambra was up the hill from Granada. And I think it was 2+ hours from the ship each way with our private guide.