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The short answer
The best day trip from Granada is the Alpujarras: white villages on the southern slopes of the Sierra Nevada, about 1.5 hours by car. Next come the Sierra Nevada itself, for skiing in winter and high walks in summer, and Córdoba, about 1.5 hours by high-speed train, for the Mezquita.
| Destination | Travel time (approx.) | Best by | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Alpujarras | about 1 h 15–2 h | Car or tour | Pampaneira, Bubión, Capileira, Trevélez |
| Sierra Nevada | about 1 h | Car, bus in ski season | Skiing, gondola, high mountain walks |
| Guadix | about 1 h | Car, bus or train | Cave houses, cathedral |
| Córdoba | about 1.5 h | High-speed train | Mezquita-Catedral, Jewish quarter |
| Málaga | about 1.5 h | Bus or car | Picasso Museum, Alcazaba, beach |
| Nerja | about 1 h 15–1 h 30 | Car or tour | Caves, Balcón de Europa, Frigiliana |
| Montefrío | about 1 h | Car | A village on a crag, one of the great views |
| Loja and Alhama de Granada | about 45 min–1 h | Car | Waterfalls, a gorge, thermal baths |
| Úbeda and Baeza | about 1 h 45–2 h | Car or tour | Renaissance towns, UNESCO World Heritage |
Most of these trips are easiest with a car. Córdoba, Málaga and Guadix work well by train or bus. For car hire, compare prices on Discover Cars.
The list
The Alpujarras
On the southern side of the Sierra Nevada, the Alpujarras are a string of white villages with flat roofs and round chimneys, stepped above terraced fields and chestnut woods. The Moriscos, the Muslims who stayed after 1492, held out here until their revolt was crushed in the 1570s, and the Berber-style houses are their legacy.
- Pampaneira, Bubión and Capileira: three villages in the Poqueira gorge, about 1 hour 15 minutes to 1.5 hours by car. Pampaneira, the lowest, has craft shops selling jarapa rugs; Capileira, the highest, has the best views. A marked path links them on foot.
- Trevélez: about 30–40 minutes further, one of the highest villages in Spain, famous for its ham, cured in the cold, dry mountain air.
- On the way: Lanjarón, a spa town known for its mineral water.
How to go: by car, on winding mountain roads. Alsa buses from Granada bus station reach the Poqueira villages a few times a day in about 2–2.5 hours, which makes a day trip tight. The easiest option without a car is a tour: Alpujarras day trip from Granada. Better still, stay a night in Capileira or Trevélez.
Sierra Nevada
The highest mountains in mainland Spain, topped by the Mulhacén at 3,479 metres, rise just south-east of the city. The ski station at Pradollano is about an hour’s drive up a good mountain road.
- Winter (about December to April): skiing and snowboarding, with some of the most southerly slopes in Europe. Non-skiers can ride a gondola up for the snow and the views. Buses run from Granada bus station in the ski season. Chains or winter tyres may be required on the road.
- Summer: high-altitude walks from the Hoya de la Mora, above the station, with views to the Mediterranean on clear days. The road beyond is closed to private cars.
How to go: car, the ski bus, or a tour: Sierra Nevada day trip from Granada.
Guadix and its cave houses
A town on the plain east of Granada, where hundreds of families still live in cave houses dug into the soft clay hills, their white chimneys poking out of the ground. Walk through the cave quarter, visit the Centro de Interpretación Cuevas de Guadix, a cave museum, and see the cathedral and the Moorish Alcazaba in the old town. With a car, add the Castillo de La Calahorra, a Renaissance castle on a hill about 20 minutes further east.
How to go: about 1 hour by car on the A-92, or about 1 hour by bus or train. Guadix has cave hotels if you want to try sleeping in one. For more cave houses closer to the city, see Sacromonte.
Córdoba
The Mezquita-Catedral, the great mosque with a cathedral built inside it, is one of the most extraordinary buildings in the world. Add the Jewish quarter, the Roman bridge and, in May, the flowered patios. It makes a natural pair with the Alhambra.
How to go: high-speed trains take about 1–1.5 hours, a few times a day; compare times on Omio. By car it is about 2 hours. Or join a Córdoba day trip from Granada. See our Córdoba guide and things to do in Córdoba.
Málaga and Nerja
Málaga is about 1.5 hours away by car or bus: the Picasso Museum, the Alcazaba and the Gibralfaro castle, the cathedral, the Atarazanas market and a city beach. Buses are frequent; compare them on Omio. See our Málaga guide and things to do in Málaga.
Nerja, on the coast east of Málaga, is about 1 hour 15 minutes to 1.5 hours by car. Walk out to the Balcón de Europa, a promenade over the sea, visit the huge Cuevas de Nerja, and drive 10 minutes up to Frigiliana, one of the prettiest white villages in Andalusia. By bus it is about 2 hours. Nerja and Frigiliana day trip.
Málaga and Nerja are about an hour apart, so choose one for a relaxed day, or both with a car and an early start.
Montefrío
A small town in the hills north-west of Granada, about an hour by car, built around a rocky crag topped by the Iglesia de la Villa, a church on the site of a Nasrid fortress. The view of the town from the road and the viewpoints around it is one of the most photographed in Andalusia. Below the crag, the round Iglesia de la Encarnación is worth a look, and the Peñas de los Gitanos, a site with prehistoric dolmens, is a few kilometres away. You need a car.
Loja and Alhama de Granada
Two old frontier towns west of Granada, easy to combine in a loop by car.
- Loja (about 45 minutes on the A-92) has a Moorish Alcazaba above the old town and the Infiernos de Loja, waterfalls in a green gorge of the Genil river, a short walk from the road.
- Alhama de Granada (about 50 minutes to 1 hour) sits on the edge of a deep gorge, with a whitewashed old town, a Renaissance church and hot springs used since Roman and Moorish times. Its capture by the Christians in 1482 began the final war for Granada, mourned in the old Spanish ballad Ay de mi Alhama.
Úbeda and Baeza
Two Renaissance towns among the olive groves of Jaén province, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, about 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours by car. Úbeda has the Plaza Vázquez de Molina, lined with palaces and the Sacra Capilla del Salvador, by the architect Andrés de Vandelvira. Baeza, 10 minutes away, has its cathedral, the Plaza del Pópulo and the old university where the poet Antonio Machado taught. Buses are slow, so go by car or on a tour: Úbeda and Baeza day trip from Granada.
If you only have one day
With a car or a tour, choose the Alpujarras: the villages, the mountains and the food are a complete change from the city. Without a car, choose Córdoba by high-speed train: leave early, see the Mezquita in the morning, and be back in Granada for tapas. In winter, a day of skiing or snow in the Sierra Nevada is the other classic.
Plan day trips around your Alhambra ticket, not the other way round: fix the Alhambra date first. See how many days in Granada.
Car hire
A car makes most of these trips easy, but you don’t want one in the city centre. Pick it up on the morning of your first day trip, at Granada airport or an office in the city, and keep it only for the days you leave town. The historic centre, the Albaicín and Sacromonte are access-controlled zones: driving in without authorisation brings an automatic fine. Compare car hire in Granada, and see our guide to car hire in Andalusia.
Where to stay
For day trips by train or bus, stay in the Centro or around Plaza Nueva: the train station is about 20 minutes’ walk from the cathedral, and the bus station is a taxi or city-bus ride north of the centre. With a car, choose a hotel with parking outside the restricted zones, or one on the Alhambra hill, which you reach from the ring road. See where to stay in Granada and the best hotels in Granada.
For the Alpujarras or Úbeda and Baeza, consider moving on instead of coming back: both work as stops on an Andalusia road trip. See also where to base yourself in Andalusia and our guide to the white villages.
FAQ
What is the best day trip from Granada?
The Alpujarras, for the white villages of the Poqueira gorge and the mountain scenery. Without a car, Córdoba by high-speed train.
Can you do day trips from Granada without a car?
Yes, to Córdoba by train and to Málaga, Guadix and the Sierra Nevada (in the ski season) by bus. For the Alpujarras, Montefrío, Nerja or Úbeda and Baeza, a tour is much easier than the bus.
Is Córdoba a good day trip from Granada?
Yes. The high-speed train takes about 1–1.5 hours, and the Mezquita and the Jewish quarter fit comfortably into a day.
Can you ski near Granada?
Yes. The Sierra Nevada ski station at Pradollano is about an hour from the city, with a season from about December to April.
Can you go to the beach from Granada?
Yes. Nerja and Málaga are about 1.5 hours away, and the Costa Tropical around Almuñécar and Salobreña is about an hour by car.