Seville and Granada are two of southern Spain’s most iconic cities. The cities are about 132 miles (213 km) apart as the crow flies. But unless you have your own set of wings, you will need to travel about 155 miles (or 250 km) to make the journey. Fortunately, the route is well-trekked, with many tourists making the journey between gothic Seville and Moorish Granada. The UNESCO world heritage site of the Alhambra and historic Albaicin neighborhood awaits you in Granada, and has been a hub for cultural exchange for centuries.
My family recently made the journey and explored our transportation options, ultimately opting to make the journey by ALSA bus.
Seville to Granada by high speed train
Traveling by train is often the quickest and most efficient way to get around Europe, including Spain. We traveled to Seville from Madrid, by high-speed train. This was a low-stress option that reduced the drive time by half. I expected to continue from Seville to Granada the same way. Often when traveling, we want to reduce our travel time as much as possible to make the most of the limited time we have to see things. However, I was surprised to learn that even the high-speed trains are not “quick” to Granada. The train ride was 2.5 to 3 hours from Seville to Granada, depending on route.
To check the routes and schedule for planning your visit, check out Renfe’s website. Renfe is Spain’s national railway company. Our experience with trains in southern Spain is that they are generally dependable and on-schedule, clean, comfortable, and affordable. We appreciate the high-speed internet and drink and food services on-board. You can’t go wrong taking the train from Seville to Granada. However, we ended up taking the ALSA bus from Seville to Granada, as the price was a lot less and the travel time was exactly 3 hours with no stops.
Seville to Granada by scenic bus
By now, you know that we chose to travel by ALSA bus from Seville to Granada. Our bus was scheduled to leave Seville at 9am and arrive in Granada at 12pm. I booked our tickets online approximately 6 weeks in advance and tickets were 21 EUR each. I compared this option with a train that left Seville at 7am and arrived in Granada at 9:52am. I chose the bus because we were staying in Granada two nights, so we did not need to arrive early, the travel times were similar by train or bus, and the bus tickets were much less expensive. We almost saved enough money to pay for our 2 night accommodation in Granada!
We have no regrets taking the bus. The bus did leave 30 minutes late due to an issue with an elderly Spanish passenger who had a problem with his ticket. To learn more about what to expect on the ALSA bus from Seville to Granada, read about my family’s experience riding the ALSA buses in Spain. Riding the bus from Seville to Granada was a great place to save some money, without making any real sacrifice.
Seville to Granada at your own pace in a rental car
Renting a car has many advantages. In fact, we usually rent a car when we travel in Europe. Especially when doing a loop around a region, such as Andalusia. However, we began our journey around Andalusia in Madrid. And it would have taken twice as long to drive from Madrid to Seville, as it took by train. Both ways, of course. So we were quick to settle on taking a train for that stretch. This left us deciding how to travel from Seville, around the region. A rental car was again looking really attractive for Seville. We figured we could base ourselves in Seville and do daytrips to places like Granada, Cordoba, and Ronda. Until we learned that having a car in Seville would be inconvenient because of parking in the historic center. I also found through my research that we needed more time to see Cordoba and Granada than could be done in a daytrip. I realized we did not need a rental car in Seville.
Instead, I thought we could rent a car to drive from Seville to Granada to Cordoba. However, the more I played with the itinerary, it just didn’t make sense. We didn’t need a car while visiting either city, and having one, impacted where we could stay because of parking. We didn’t have time in our schedule to see anything in between these destinations. So I eventually got over this idea, and we decided we would not rent a car for this trip. A rental car is great if you plan to stop along the way between cities, you have time to explore, and you don’t need to stay in the historical center.
Seville to Granada by plane
I looked into flying from Seville to Granada. In fact, I looked into flying from Madrid to Seville to Granada to Madrid. Flights between Madrid and Seville were often direct, and in some cases, cheaper than train. But, flying does come with having to travel to the airport early and go through security, which tacks on time to the journey. While we decided not to fly, I am now aware of the option.
I did not find direct flights between Seville and Granada, but I did find inexpensive flights between these cities with a layover in places like Madrid or Barcelona. This made me consider options like basing ourselves in Madrid and flying roundtrip to Seville for a few days, and then later, flying roundtrip to Granada for a few days. I also considered visiting Barcelona on my way from Seville to Granada, on a long layover. I thought I would mention this option since we considered it. Depending on where else you plan to visit in Spain, and how creative you want to be, you might find a flight that makes sense. I use Skyscanner to search for flights and to compare schedules and prices.
Seville to Granada by tour
If thinking about all these options stresses you out, a tour from Seville to Granada might be the better option. This way, the tour company and guide can figure out all these details and you just need to show up and enjoy yourself. It takes a lot of mental energy to plan a trip and its many, many details. It can make vacation seem more like work, than let’s say vacation. Viator is a great online marketplace showing a selection of tours from Seville that might interest you. You might be able to see Alhambra and the Albaicin neighborhood in one day, from Seville, for as low as $150 per person. For our family of 6, this one day excursion would cost me $900 which is too much. But, if it was just Gary and myself for $300, I would probably take the tour. However, having spent 48 hours in Granada, I can say that one day in Granada is enough to see the biggest attractions. But Granada needs more time if you really want to experience it.
Seville to Granada on foot or by bike
If you still haven’t found the right option for traveling from Seville to Granada, I still have one more idea to share with you. This one is the most adventurous and you don’t need to buy a ticket. However, you will need lots of time, energy, and be in great health. The distance between Seville and Granada is 155 miles (or 250 km) and in theory can be traveled on foot or by bike. AllTrails has information on a loop that begins in Seville and goes through Granada. But given all the great options above, you might just want to walk or bike one way and then take another option onward. Also keep in mind that Seville can be extremely hot in the summer. If you have walked or biked this route before, please share your experience and tips in the comments below.
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