Granada car hire

Granada is located in the heart of Andalusia at the feet of the Sierra Nevada and quite close to the Mediterranean sea. A place with gentle summers and warm winters perfect to enjoy snow sports in a privilegiated district with the highest peaks of Spain. Federico García Lorca Airport is located only 15 km. away from the city of Granada. At Granada airport you will find all kind of tourist services, including cheap holiday car hire.

The last kingdom to be reconquered by the Catholic Monarchs has an incredible artistic and historic heritage. Moorish and Christian elements go hand in hand in the streets of Granada. The Gran Vía de Colón and the Avenida de los Reyes Católicos will lead the visitor to Renaissance monuments and to the most important districts.

The complex of the Alhambra and the Generalife, a World Heritage Site, is the most emblematic, known and visited monument of Granada. Its rooms and gardens are the higher expression of the Muslim art in Europe. The monumental complex is formed by the Alcazaba, fortified military area; the Palaces, royal residence; and the palace and the gardens of the Generalife, summer royal residence.

The Albaicín and the Sacromonte are two of the districts with more colour, enchantment and history of the city of Granada. To wonder around the Albaicín is to make a trip to its moriscs roots in as well as an enjoyment for the senses. The Sacromonte neighbourhood is famous by its caves, in which the gypsies continue celebrating every night their flamenco songs and dance celebrations.

If you travel to Andalusia or planning to spend your holidays in Granada we strongly recommend to book car hire. A rent a car is a must if you want to visit some of the many little white villages in Granada by car. Hispacar is the leading spanish car rental broker for cheap car rental in Granada and many other tourist destinations in Andalusia.

The Alpujarras

The Alpujarra mountains, aproximately 45 kms. from Granada city and 35 kms. from the mediterranean coast, are as much part of Granada as of Almeria province.

It is well known for the beauty and peacefulness of its white towns, its mountain landscapes, the balconies full of flowers, its friendly people and the atmosphere they create and most importantly the spectacular backcloth of the Sierra Nevada. All of these attributes led to it being designated a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO, as well as a National park and a Nature reserve, especially for its native flowers and distinctive ecosystems.

To know the architecture alpujarreña is to make a trip in the time until finding its origins in the Berber tribes who inhabited this area. Constructions of similar characteristic are found in the Riff and other places throughout the Mediterranean arc. The Alpujarra also still have many features of Berber culture, particularly in everyday houses and in their unique irrigation aqueducts that farmers are still using.

Its style adapts to the mountainous surroundings, following its geographic features. The houses have a staggered form, with a Southern or to opened spaces orientation to take advantage of the good weather. Nowadays all the whitewashed towns shine, but at other times their materials camouflaged perfectly with the landscape, obtaining a complete integration. The houses are built with stone, mud, slate, launa and wood of chestnut tree. Materials from the surrounding area that are perfectly integrated with the slopes and the weather conditions, providing an absolutely bioclimatic house.

The houses are arranged one on top of another, following the slope of the mountain, giving to the streets a winding and chaotic layout. Another typical characteristic of the architecture alpujarreña is the chimneys, topped with a hat formed by a laja and a castigadera stone.

The history of Alpujarra is almost as important because it was the last refuge of the Arabs in Andalucia. It was here that Boabdil, the last Moorish king, lived for some months after the Christians captured Granada. And, it was to the Alpujarra that the Moors, who refused to convert to Christianity, fled and found refuge during almost a century before they were finally expelled.

Located between Sierra Nevada and the Mediterranean Sea, it is an almost virgin region, ideal for the rural tourism and the practice of adventure sports. Among the settlements that make up this district we must draw attention to the villages of the Barranco de Poqueira, which are: Capileira, Pampaneira and Bubión; la Taha – made up of Pitres, Ferreirola and Mecia Fondales; Trévelez, Lanjarón, Alpujarra de la Sierra (Mecina Bombarón, Yegen, Golco and Montenegro), Busquistar, Orgiva, Portugos.

Sierra Nevada, skiing with sea views

Skiing for all, beneath the Andalusian sun, with views of the coast. This could well sum up what it is like to ski at Sierra Nevada, in the stunning mountains of Granada. The privileged location of this Andalusian ski resort guarantees a high proportion of sunny days, even in mid-winter. This is not all, however. There are also a host of inviting activities to enjoy after a wonderful day’s skiing.

Any skier, from beginner to expert, will want to keep coming back to Sierra Nevada. You only have to go once to see that it is one of the best ski resorts around. Can you imagine skiing down a piste with the warm rays of the sun on your face, as you look out over the stunning landscapes of the Nature Reserve that surrounds you? Well don’t just imagine it. Come and experience this and much more in Granada’s winter park.

It is Europe’s southernmost ski resort, situated in southern Andalusia, at more than 3,000 m above sea level. It is the resort’s geographical characteristics that give it ideal weather conditions for skiing: during much of the season there are wonderful sunny days. If you are a good skier, you should definitely go up to the Laguna and Veleta pistes. They are so high that, on a clear day, you can see the coast and the sea on both sides of the Mediterranean. This is a spectacular view that it is well worth recording forever in your memory.

With more than 65 kilometres of skiable pistes, the Pradollano winter resort in the mountains of Granada offers a wide range of leisure activities, including skating rinks, and heated swimming pools. Many companies promote adventure sports here (quadbikes, cycle touring, horse riding, etc.), and aerial sports (microlight flying and paragliding), both in the Sierra Nevada National Park and in the Sierra de Huétor National Park.

The Sierra Nevada ski resort falls within the municipal area of Monachil, which is just 8 kilometres from Granada. The village has many areas of great natural value and stunning landscapes.The Sierra Nevada National Park forms a breathtaking backdrop, and special mention should be made of the Mulhacén (3,481 m) and Veleta (3,394 m) peaks, Los Cahorros gorge and La Cortijuela botanical gardens. The village of Monachil itself has important historic/artistic heritage. Outstanding are its 15th century parish church, Casa de los Señores de Aragón house (17th and 18th centuries), as well as the Encarnación church and Casa del Molino house. There is a wide choice of holiday accommodation in Granada, your will find rural holiday houses, cottages or rural village houses. The typical holiday houses in Granada are the so-called cortijos and fincas which can also be found in other parts of Spain.

Holiday Accommodation in Granada

The province of Granada is an ideal holiday destination if you want to get away from it all. From rural cottages and country hotels to apartments in converted farmhouses and restored haciendas, the rural accommodations in Granada are situated in picturesque villages, spectacular national parks and unspoilt countryside. A converted watermill, a restored farmhouse and a cave house are just a few examples of the rental accommodation you can find in Granada.

Many of these traditional Andalucian houses have their own pool and situated close to mountains or natural parks of extraordinary beauty. The holiday accommodation Granada is diverse, but has one thing in common: an authentic atmosphere, well equipped, comfortable and up to modern standards country houses and holiday apartments.

Caseria el Pozo is one of these rural rental accommodations in Granada. A spanish finca (country house) with gardens and private swimming pool located in Andalusia, in the Western region of the Granada province, a priviliged spot to spend your holidays.

This country house is situated close to the Sierra Nevada mountain range, the city of Granada and even the bustling Costa del Sol. In fact, Caseria el Pozo offers guests a priviliged location in the center of Andalucía which makes it easy to discover places like Cordoba, Seville, Malaga, Ronda, the Sierra Nevada or the Alpujarras. Even the nearby Costa el Sol can be visited, with interesting places like the Caves in Nerja or the Axarquia.

Tips for Travellers to Granada

At the foot of Sierra Nevada, between the Darro and Genil rivers, lies Granada, one of the most interesting cities in eastern Andalusia. An impressive Andalusian legacy meets architectural gems from the Renaissance and the most modern facilities, typical of the 21st century. Granada is a unique destination for cultural, adventure and business travel.

Granada’s excellent location and its mild climate make it possible to practice sports on pitches, tracks or courts as well as those in contact with nature. There are many facilities for playing basketball, handball, table tennis, volleyball, indoor football, martial arts and more.

If you travel by plane Granada Airport, in Chauchina, is located only 15 Km from the city of Granada via the A-92 motorway. There are several car rental companies offering Granada car hire at the airport. If you rent a car in Granada, it is advisable to park the car in a public car park in the city, use public transport or walk, this is an ideal way to see the city and tour the typically narrow little streets. Because of its great communications, its marvellous climate, its beaches, and its snowy mountains a visit to the many secluded gems of the Granada province, like the Alpujarras or the Lecrin Valley are not to be missed and you should certainly consider to hire a rental car when you visit Granada or any other province in Andalusia.

Tourism and Accommodation in Granada

Granada is a city that captivates the senses. A city of kings, its monuments are a legacy of a history shaped by the Muslim and Christian cultures. The most emblematic of its monuments are the Alhambra and the Generalife, and The Albaicin (World Heritage Site) and the Sacromonte, two of the districts with more colour, enchantment and history of the city of Granada.

The peace that you can breathe in its small white villages, the five natural parks of the province and the National Park of Sierra Nevada, turns Granada into a paradise for those who look for the rest, the calmness and the contact with the nature during their holidays.

The province is not indifferent to the growth of this green tourism and to satisfy the increasing demand it has developed a complete structure of services and rural accommodation that go from hotels of great luxury to the colourful offer of the tourist accommodation in caves of the Northern area. These lodgings conserve the tradition of the area. Small white towns with the tinaos in the Alpujarra and the tiled roofs in the area of The Plateau: Baza-Huescar. They are ideal houses to merge with the place, as much within the towns as in its surrounding area, and to enjoy the company and the views of the area.

The typical cave houses create a particular and beautiful landscape where it resists the reddish soil with the white of the chimneys and the doors of the houses. The geologic characteristics of the Guadix and El Marquesado region, as well as of The Plateau: Baza-Huescar, with an easily excavated land, gave way to the proliferation of the cave houses. They were old houses today rehabilitated for the tourist use, with a comparable quality to a three stars hotel.

In these typical lodgings the visitor will enjoy a calm and comfortable atmosphere, within a natural space. This type of accommodation offers activities of agroturism and active tourism: trekking, horse riding, routes in bicycle, etc. Really, a direct bonding with the nature.