Alhambra and Generalife Gardens Half-Day Trip from Granada

Granada, Spain

Discover the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Alhambra and Generalife Gardens on this fascinating morning tour. Escorted by your local guide, you'll explore beyond the beautiful Moorish architecture to learn the history of one of the most visited attractions in the world.

Your visit begins in the Alhambra, whose construction began in the 11th century on the red hill known as Assabika which overlooks Granada. The Alcazaba fortress was the first structure to be built, followed by the royal palace and residence of members of the court.

You will visit the most important halls and courtyards of the Alhambra, including the Alcazaba fortress, the Serrallo, the Patio of los Arrayanes (Myrtle Courtyard) in the Palacios Nazaríes, the Hall of la Barca, the Salon of the Embajadores (Ambassadors Hall), the Patio de los Leones (Lions Courtyard), the Hall of the Abencerrajes, the Royal Baths and the Palace of Charles V.

Continuing to the Generalife Gardens, next to the Alhambra, you'll visit the retreat of leisure and recreation for the Moorish kings of Granada. The beautiful gardens feature abundant and varied flora and stunning water features. Your visit includes two further courtyards, the Patio de la Acequia and the Patio de la Sultana.

Advance bookings are strongly recommended, as access to the Alhambra is strictly limited to a certain number of visitors each day.

USD $59.81

Traveler Reviews

Review by: Peter M	April 2012
Everything went according to plan. Pick-up on time. Excellent English-speaking guide who was clear and concise. For an easy, straightforward tour-booking I recommend Viator highly.

Review by: John C	March 2012
Our guide was very pleasant, knowlegeable and passionate about the information he was presenting. Only problem was the communication devices were somewhat unreliable at times. The tour itself was worth the money though.

Review by: Marilyn S	March 2012
Great tour guide

Review by: James B	March 2012
Enjoyed this tour very much. Good information and lovely tour guide who was very knowledgeable.

Review by: Tanya B	January 2012
The actual tour guide was quite good. He spoke excellent English and had tremendous knowledge, both historical and otherwise, of the Alhambra and Generalife. The only reason I did not give this tour 5 stars is that the individuals from the tour group who met with us spoke limited English and were quite abrupt before turning us over to the tour guide, Antonio.

Review by: GAY a W	January 2012
Fabulous - the Alhambra exceeded expectations and our guide was not only very interesting and knowledgeable but extremely patient as we had a few demanding and especially needy types on the tour. The timing was executed very well also. Would recommend highly .

Review by: TravelTammy	January 2012
The Alhambra was great but the tour itself was lacking in information. Also the group size was so large that it wasn't personable, ie, it felt very overpriced for the service we received. Due to the large size of the group the tour guide was busy trying to herd the group and deal with their lost tickets, etc.

Review by: MLJacob	January 2012
The Alhambra complex is truly extraordinary and a must see in Spain. Having this guided tour made our visit to the Alhambra and Generalife Gardens much more meaningful. We would have found it difficult to navigate this enormous complex on our own. The guide was very knowledgable and enthusiastic. He is not only a great ambassador for the Alhambra, but for Granada in general. It would have been nice to make the tour a little more leisurely, but I do understand that they have to limit the number of people admitted and base that on a certain time frame. If you can, do take the time to revisit areas of interest after the tour.

Review by: DR AZA MIRANDA A	December 2011
tour guide and headphone facilities are good. however, group is too big and took a long time to assemble. the pick up was not on time. told to wait at 9.30 but bus came around 10 am . tour did not start till around 11am.

Review by: Sajan E	December 2011
Excellent, very good guide who explained everything nicely and clearly.

Review by: wiroman	November 2011
Excelente la guia muy preparada y amena.

Review by: Maryam E	November 2011
Great tour and remarkable place to visit. Why only 4 out of 5 stars? The tour was a bit rushed; it needs to be extended by an hour. I'm young and healthy, but my tourmates were middle aged and beyond and could not keep up. I felt very bad seeing how they struggled to keep up with our tour guide. Our tour guide, Isreal, was very well informed and knowldgable. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to his historical and religious facts regarding the city of Granada and the history of Islam in Spain and the Iberian peninsula. To no fault of his, the tour was rushed. Perhaps VIATOR can fix this in the futre and add half an hour to an hour to this very wonderful tour.

Review by: Geula G	November 2011
Very Good

Review by: Lynn B	November 2011
Tickets were very easy to book through the Viator agents. The agents were very helpful and friendly. Our group of 11 was very disappointed when we arrived at Alhambra because we were placed in a group of 30 people. Everyone was given an ear phone which amplified the tour guides lecture. Her English was well spoke but her strong Spanish accent made it very difficult to understand what she was saying.

Review by: Michiko T	November 2011
Alhambra was great but the pickup-bus arrived our hotel a little after 10:00am although we were told the bus would pick us up between 9:15 to 9:30.

Review by: Patricia A	November 2011
Difficult to find meeting point. No signs. Had to stand around for almost an hour from required meeting time to start of tour. Guide left us at shop. Should check before moving on. Beautiful place, but tour setup could have been better.

Review by: 123gabyn	November 2011
We had a nice guide who showed us around and told us a lot of interested things. The Alhambra is a great place to have a look.

Review by: Simon P	October 2011
We loved the Alhambra and gardens. The guide was useful and informative. It was a whistle stop tour though with lots of walking, missing out some of the features such as the watch tower in Alcazaba and palace of Charles V . At times our headphones had a lot of interference making it difficult to hear the guide. We plan to re-visit, but at our own pace with more time to absorb the Alhambra's wonders!

Review by: Francis G	October 2011
The guide was very informative. His English was very good and he was a delightful individual.

Review by: faik cankat t	October 2011
It was so expensive and not money for value.

Review by: Ann	October 2011
The tour of Alhambra was excellent. English was never a problem. There are a lot of tourists and tour busses so the organized tour was perfect. Plan on spending additional time touring the museums on the grounds after the tour is over. There is easy access to the Hop-on Hop-off bus outside of the gates.

Review by: Richard M	October 2011
Well organized and very pleassant guide. tour could be an hour longer so start earlier.

Review by: Diana S	October 2011
The Alhambra was disappointing compared with many other historic buildings I have visited. Our guide was okay but not great.

Review by: Anne M	October 2011
I had thought that this would be a smaller group instead of several busloads full of people. There were some difficulties with being picked up in that the bus was not identified and there were a number that were similar. There were areas of the Alhambra that we did not get to see but wanted to and because of the huge numbers the tour was closer to 2 hours than a half day. The guide, Antonio, however was excellent and knowledgeable even though again because of the numbers, if you were at the back of the group the headphones frequently cut out when there were walls between him and us. Would recommend going the extra expense of hiring your own guide rather than doing the big group thing.

Review by: Barbara T	October 2011
The tour is an option for those who want to be assured of getting into the Alhambra as tickets can, and do, sell out if you're not there early in the day. The tour itself was very informative, taking you to the main places of interest. Our tour guide was also very accommodating, answering questions posed by the group.

Review by: Quinn T	October 2011
All in all, the tour was good. The guide was knowledgeable and provided excellent information about Alhambra. The tour is, however, much to aggressive in that they cover many areas in too short a time, and everyone felt rushed. the same tour could easily have take an hour longer while covering the same portion of Alhambra.

Review by: DAN M	September 2011
Alhmabra is a must see when in Spain. The gardens alone are worth the trip. Our guide was very informative. What an amazing place.

Review by: Rosario M. L	September 2011
Highly recommended to go with Viator , English speaking and able to get tickets at the gate because the tour was prearranged. (Tickets were sold for that morning when we got there.)

Review by: JWeaving	September 2011
The tour guide was friendly and absolutely knowledgeable about varying topics. This tour was very enjoyable, and the best Viator trip that I have been on so far. I highly suggest that you take this tour!

Review by: Sanghamitra C	September 2011
Nice trip but a lot of time was wasted standing in the car park distributing people between groups.

Review by: dnabarlow	September 2011
Enrique was a fantastic guide and we loved the Alhambra and Granada! Our only regret...we didn't have more time to linger and explore the beautiful gardens! Generalife gardens were just beautiful!!!!

Review by: Amrit M	August 2011
This was a fantastic experience. Bus ride to the Alhambra was great. Guide was very knowledgeable, friendly and kept the group together. Wish it kept on time a bit better in the beginning - felt a little rushed at end. I recommend it to anyone.

Review by: Joanna L	August 2011
This tour was great - highly recommended! A guide picked us up right from our hotel and dropped us off right outside of it at the end. Our tour guide in the Alhambra was EXCELLENT - very knowledgeable and able to answer many questions! And of course, the Alhambra itself was incredible. We saw a lot and learned a lot, and had a really great time! Thank you! :)

Review by: fwissell	August 2011
Very informative for a 3 hour trip--guide was especially good, however, price is too high for this trip compared to similar tours (religousd buildings) in cities such as Rome, Florence, Paris

Review by: emily a	August 2011
Our tour guide Tarique (apologies if spelt wrong!) was very knowledgable and really made the whole experience very enjoyable. Very much enjoyed my time and I highly recommend doing this tour if you are going to the Alhambra!

Review by: Grace H	August 2011
It was very difficult to understand the guide due to his heavy accent. The audio equipment was not good. I could have safed the money and purchased an audio guide and felt better about our visit!

Review by: Andrew W	August 2011
The Alhambra is so big and so spectacular that you can't possibly absorb it all in one excursion. However, having our own guide made sure we saw the most important parts, and he gave us great insight into the history.

Review by: Randal W	August 2011
Excellant

Review by: Nancy G	August 2011
Fantastic tour, very well organised and the guide was very knowledgeable.

Review by: Dan M	August 2011
Tarik was well versed in the history of the Alhambra and spoke very good English. The only issue was RF interference from a French guide nearby

Review by: Susan W	July 2011
A wonderful trip with a very well informed guide. Not hurried and a small group._br/_ The whole experience was just amazing. I can't wait to go again. A good website and easy to book. Thank you

Review by: Stephen J, New Zealand	July 2010
There is so much to see and so much history in this area that I felt that we got a lot out of the tour that we would have missed if we had just gone on our own. Our guide was very good and informative without being too verbose. They phoned the hotel to double check that our details were right and confirm our pickup which was appreciated.

Review by: Robyn Dianne B, Australia	July 2010
Guide Marco was terrific - friendly, knowledgable and with excellent English. It's such a big place and not enough time to idle a while and absorb the atmosphere of all the areas but a great introduction so that when I return I will know where and what I want to see again.

Review by: Rodney W, Australia	July 2010
Highly interesting, highly informative. Well organised with local guide. Enjoyed immensely.

Review by: Margaret R, United States of America	June 2010
Pick up and drop off beautifully organized guide informative and moved us gracefully through the crowds we were given plenty of time for photographs and for just quietly standing there to take it all in wonderful stories giving us the historical events that took place in the various parts. Watching those without a guided tour try to figure it all out, I 100 recommend this tour.

Review by: Anonymous, Malaysia	June 2010
A truly beautiful & amazing heritage for the Spaniards plus we had a wonderful & knowledgeable guide.

Review by: Robert L, United States of America	June 2010
Informative guides and very convient to meet. This place is awesome.

Review by: William M, Spain	June 2010
Stunning city,Alhambra was fabulous and the tour guide was very good.

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	June 2010
Pick-up time was prompt, Enrique, our guide was so knowledgeable and helpful. He was able to answer all questions, giving us an interesting picture of life at the Alhambra through the times. He paced the tour to suit everyone, stopping for pictures and even taking them for us. It was one of the best tours I have ever taken.

Review by: Miriam A, Canada	May 2010
Granada is a wonderful place to visit. Alhambra and Granada in general has a certain magical charm when you walk through. The Tour Guide was very professional and punctual. His way of touring us through was engaging and captivating. I never felt overwhelmed or bored with the amount of information he shared with us. I felt like he was telling us a story... the best way to share hiStory Thanks!