Granada Spain 6 Day Itinerary (Day Trips)
Six days is enough to add Nerja without cutting anything from the 5 day route : Córdoba, the Sierra Nevada, the Alpujarras, Guadix, and Granada’s own Costa Tropical stay exactly where they were. Day 6 goes further afield, to Nerja in Málaga province, for the caves rather than the beach; the Costa Tropical already covered the beach on day 5.
Book these before you go: a Renfe AVE seat and the Mezquita entry ticket for Córdoba, a guided Alpujarra day trip , a Nerja Caves day trip with a fixed entry slot, 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 |
| 6 | Nerja | ~1h50-2h45 by bus |
Day 1: Córdoba and the Mezquita
An early AVE or Avant train, about 1h20 on the fastest service, closer to 2 hours on 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 for a reliable same-day multi-village trip, so a rental car or a guided day trip is the real answer; check the official Granada tourism site for current village opening times.
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, distinct from Sacromonte’s cave-flamenco venues in the city. A cheap, easy half-day, with the afternoon free.
Day 5: Costa Tropical
Salobreña, roughly 1 to 1.5 hours from Granada by bus or car, is the closer, lower-key version of “Granada’s beach,” a whitewashed village under a Moorish castle with dark, coarse-sand beaches. Almuñécar and Motril sit nearby. This is not Nerja, which is a different province and a longer ride tomorrow.
Day 6: Nerja
Nerja itself sits in Málaga province, reached by ALSA bus in anywhere from roughly 1h50 to 2h45 depending on the service, noticeably longer than yesterday’s Costa Tropical trip. The reason to go is the Nerja Caves, a large show-cave system with an adult ticket around EUR 16; book the fixed entry slot listed above rather than risking a sellout on arrival. Do not expect a beach day here on top of the caves; the bus schedule does not leave enough daylight for both if you want to be back in Granada for dinner.
Keep Nerja separate from the Costa Tropical day. They get marketed as the same trip and they are not: one is Granada’s own coast, the other is a cave system a province away.