Man! This was an incredibly difficult process and I have no idea why it needs to be so hard to buy these tickets! The Alhambra is one of the most popular tourist sites in all southern Spain (& a UNESCO Site) so it is totally understandable that tickets go fast but if you’re not careful you could be without a ticket or have to pay double or triple through a travel agency. So here’s the skinny on successfully buying tickets to visit the Alhambra.
Plan to Buy Tickets (Way) in Advance
These tickets go fast! I was on the website one day and the next they have visibly fewer tickets available. That kind of stuff scares me so I jumped on buying the tickets before we even bought our flights! The tickets are available for purchase 3 months out from your intended date and I would suggest jumping on that opportunity before they are gone. The official website for the tickets is https://tickets.alhambra-patronato.es/en/ and they only cost 14 euro for the general ticket but once they’re gone on that site you can still by a Granada card or go through third-party ticket sales, like Ticketmaster or your hotel. Personally, I like getting tickets straight from the source because I’ve seen people screwed one too many times by third parties. However, it is nice to know there are other options in case the official site run out of tickets.
Error when Buying Tickets
An individual cannot buy more than 10 tickets per month so if you have a large party you will need to split up who purchases them. However as I was trying to buy 6 tickets for the Alhambra I kept getting the error message that I had reached my limit per month of tickets. This was obviously wrong because I had never bought tickets before and only wanted to buy 6. I tried the online chat to no avail so I started googling various travel forums. I found out that in the box that asked for identification type it wanted my passport number, not the word “passport” and that magically fixed the problem. Again, why couldn’t they just tell me that was what I was doing wrong the first time!?
Read more: Stressing Out over Planning
Dates & Documents
Little did I know I would need everyone’s passport numbers to finish this purchase but you do. Have the exact date you want to go in mind and if you prefer morning or afternoon (although know that can change depending on availability, as it did with us). As you go through to purchase you will have to select the number of tickets you want, the date, and specific time to enter the Nasrid Palace and then put everyone’s personal information in (sex, passport number, age, nationality, and name). Why they need all that info is beyond me but they do, so have it available to make sure you only have to go through the process once.
Printing Tickets
Make sure tickets are printed at home, you cannot show them the email or an e-ticket. Each ticket belongs to one individual so make sure the information matches up with their identification cards, in our case our passports. I am a planner so I printed the tickets and saved the pdf to my google drive just in case. Hey it’s better to be safe than sorry!
Another awesome blog post on Sher She Goes: Read this before you buy Alhambra Palace Tickets on Ticketmaster!
JMF
P.S. As an art historian you can bet I will also be writing posts on the cultural importance of the Alhambra but I just had to get this ticket-buying mess off my chest! AND HERE IT IS!
Wauw, it was not so difficult the two times I’ve been. <There must be way more tourists now…
I don’t know if it was because I was buying 6 or if the rules have changed but it drove me bananas