Granada Spain 5 Day Itinerary (Day Trips)
Five days is enough to add the coast without touching the 4 day route that already covers Córdoba, the Sierra Nevada, the Alpujarras, and Guadix. Day 5 goes to the Costa Tropical, Granada’s own stretch of Mediterranean coastline, not to be confused with Nerja, which sits in a different province and a longer bus ride away.
Book these before you go: a Renfe AVE seat and the Mezquita entry ticket for Córdoba, a guided Alpujarra day trip if you are not driving, and your Granada hotel .
| Day | Day trip | Travel time from Granada |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Córdoba (the Mezquita) | ~1h20-2h by AVE/Avant train |
| 2 | Sierra Nevada | ~45 min by car or bus |
| 3 | The Alpujarras | ~1-1.5h by car or tour |
| 4 | Guadix | ~1h by train or bus |
| 5 | Costa Tropical (Salobreña) | ~1-1.5h by bus or car |
Day 1: Córdoba and the Mezquita
An early AVE or Avant train, about 1h20 on the fastest service, closer to 2 hours on the slower media distancia trains; check renfe.com before booking. The Mezquita, a Renaissance cathedral built inside a former Great Mosque’s columned hall, is worth the full morning at about EUR 13 entry, with a limited free window Monday to Saturday roughly 8:30 to 9:30am that skips the nave and choir. Check current hours on the official Córdoba tourism site , then return by afternoon train and eat in the Realejo, where the free tapa still comes with the drink.
Day 2: Sierra Nevada
About 45 minutes and 31km out by car or an ALSA bus from the Estación de Autobuses. Ski season runs roughly late November through April, day passes from around EUR 47 to EUR 66, cheapest bought online through sierranevada.es . In summer, hike from the Borreguiles plateau toward Mulhacén, the Iberian mainland’s highest peak, and check the forecast that same morning.
Day 3: The Alpujarras
Pampaneira, Bubión, and Capileira, roughly 1 to 1.5 hours by car up the Sierra Nevada’s southern slopes. The launa-roofed houses come from Berber building tradition, and the villages produce jamón de Trevélez and the plato alpujarreño. ALSA buses run too thinly to cover more than one village and return the same day, so a rental car or a guided day trip is the real answer.
Day 4: Guadix
About an hour from Granada by train, roughly EUR 6, or bus. The barrio de las cuevas is a neighborhood of troglodyte cave houses still lived in today, not a museum piece, and it is a different tradition from Sacromonte’s cave-flamenco venues in the city. A cheap, easy half-day, with the rest of the afternoon free back in Granada.
Day 5: Costa Tropical
Salobreña, a whitewashed village stacked under a Moorish castle, is roughly 1 to 1.5 hours from Granada by bus or car and is the closer, lower-key answer to “Granada’s beach,” with dark, coarse-sand beaches rather than the fine white sand further along the coast. Almuñécar and Motril sit nearby if you want more options. This is not Nerja, which is in Málaga province and a longer ride; save that trip for when you have a sixth day. Spend the afternoon on the beach and come back for a last look at the Albaicín at sunset.
Do the coast on day 5, not day 1. Four inland days first makes the change of scenery at the end feel earned rather than random.