Granada Holidays: Packages, City Breaks and When to Go

This is a city for people who travel to look at things. Couples on a granada weekend break, friends sharing a long weekend and anyone with an interest in architecture will find the Alhambra, the cathedral, the Royal Chapel and the Granada Charterhouse more than enough for three or four days. The University of Granada gives the city a large student population, which keeps the streets lively in the evenings during term.

Families with older children who enjoy palaces and fortresses do well here, particularly outside the summer heat. If what you want is a sun lounger and a pool for a fortnight, Granada is the wrong choice: it is inland, and the nearest point on the coast is the port of Motril, about 29 miles away.

Most holidays in Granada mean staying in the city itself, where the sights are close together. The Puerta de Elvira, the Basilica of Saint John of God and the Monasterio de San Jerónimo are all within about half a mile of the centre, while the Alhambra, the cathedral, the Archaeological Museum and the Madrasah of Granada are around a mile away. Staying in town means you can walk to almost everything.

For something quieter, Monachil lies about 6 miles from the city and Alfacar about 4 miles. Both are small places of a few thousand people, better suited to travellers with a hire car who want calm evenings and are happy to drive in to see the sights.

The best months are May, June, September and October. May averages highs of 25°C, June 30°C, September 29°C and October 24°C, with only three to seven rainy days a month. July and August reach 35°C on average, which makes long afternoons on the Alhambra hill hard going, though they are almost completely dry.

March, April and November are shoulder months: highs of 17°C to 20°C, but March is the wettest month of the year, with around 12 rainy days. Winter brings highs of 13°C to 15°C and cold nights down to 3°C in January, fine for short breaks to Granada, Spain if you pack layers. Package prices generally rise during UK school holidays, so couples with flexible dates tend to do better in term time.

Granada airport (GRX) has direct flights from the UK, which makes holidays to Granada, Spain about as straightforward as a city trip gets. Transfers are short: about 13 minutes to Granada, 17 minutes to Alfacar and 20 minutes to Monachil.

Málaga is about 55 miles from Granada and Almería about 63 miles, which may be useful if you are combining the city with a stay elsewhere in Andalusia. If you plan to explore beyond the city, you can compare car hire on this page.

Package holidays to Granada, Spain bundle your flight, hotel and usually your airport transfer into one booking, and when sold as a package they are ATOL protected. For a city stay, board basis matters less than at a beach resort: many travellers choose bed and breakfast or room only and eat out in the evenings.

On this page you can compare live deals from Jet2holidays, TUI, loveholidays and On the Beach, check hotel prices if you would rather book a granada city break yourself, and see tours and tickets for the Alhambra and the city's other sights. Prices and availability change constantly, so compare a few options for your dates before you book a package holiday.