The Best Spain Road Trip Itinerary

The Most Dangerous Hike – Caminito del Rey, Spain

If only we could’ve enjoyed the cozy King size bed at Catalonia Reina Victoria just a little bit longer. But no, we were roughly 45min away from our next destination and it was already 6:30am. Quickly, we had to pack up and zip out the door.

I had heard of a hike only few had successfully completed many years ago, Caminito del Rey. The drive in was stunning as we drove up, down and around the Sierra de las Nieves Natural Park. Right before we reached a set of curvy switchback roads, we got to drive over the Conde del Guadalhorce Reservoir. The lake was so peaceful and undisturbed, it was beautiful.

We booked our tour through Viator.com. But honestly, I’m just going to say up front that I did not enjoy the guided tour. That may have just been my personal experience, maybe you will have better luck at a different time of the year. I would’ve MUCH rather went at our own pace. Parking, checking in and waiting to walk to the front gates was no problem.

However, once we were at the front gates, we waited and waited and waited and…. (well, you get it). We waited over an hour to get in for a tour we booked months in advanced, that cost us $66.50 per person. This was not cheap and it was one of the most dis-organized tours I’ve ever been apart of.

There was a red flag in the beginning when the convenient store only had one bathroom for the 40 sorry souls that were standing and waiting to check in. No bueno!

Anyways, I think it would be best if you watch this quick video on our adventure as it tells a way better story than I could put in words!

Here are some pictures from the hike.

The tour concluded, and lucky for them they were giving away cerveza’s (beer). I felt a little better afterwards. But, there was one more catch. Since it’s a one way hike, and when hiking you don’t bring a lot of valuable things with you, we had no money. Which we thought was no problem. Why would we need money if we already paid for the tour and what could we buy hundreds of feet above a river canyon?

Ah, but you see there was a problem with this thought… because it was a one-way hike, we needed a lift back to base. Of course we thought this was included in the fee for the tour. We were so wrong.

Luckily, there was a nice person behind us in the bus line that paid for our “ticket” back to base. We were so very grateful to them as we would’ve been walking back until nightfall. It was a 15-20min bus ride back to our car.

Caminito del Rey to Granada Spain

We left Caminto del Rey in our review mirror and started heading to Granada just two hours away.

On the road again!

Our time on the road was spent enjoying the Spanish country side as we passed local farmland while blasting some of our new favorite spanish pop tunes on the radio. Once we made it to Granada mid-afternoon, after numerous wrong way turns down one-way mini cooper sized alleyways, we were finally able to find our AirBnb.

As with any accommodation, location is the most important. Usually it’s worth it to pay a little more for a superior location. Location is everything when you’re going to be doing a lot of walking.

Our AirBnb at Apartamentos Gomérez 39 was in the perfect location, just steps outside of the Alhambra. The market’s, shopping and restaurants were only a couple of blocks away as well.

Did I mention we were absolutely starving since we left Caminito del Rey? HANGRY!!

Where to Eat in Granada Spain

After strolling back from our parking space, we found a joint that looked promising to eat called Los Bandios Urban BBQ. This was a super cool and trendy little hole in the wall (the good kind) cafe. The owner was chill, they had beer and BBQ. I was already loving it.

Just look at the tender juiciness with fresh cheese melting over french bread! The beer was solid and I could’ve stayed there awhile testing all of them… but I didn’t. Next time!

Linner – Late lunch/early dinner

As our linner digested, we took a stroll down the streets of Calle Escudo del Carmen, Calle Lepanto and Calle Mariana Pineda to see what souvenirs, trinkets and restaurants we could try later.

The markets were atmospheric and full of souvenirs, tasty treats and local produce. If you’re looking for some take home items, this would be the spot to get them. Barcelona was expensive and Seville was right behind it. As we moved to the south of the country, we noticed the expenses were going down for almost everything, souveniours included.

We found ourselves getting lost in the alleys and streets, but in the best way. Literally, we were just wandering, exploring and excited to see what was around every corner of the city.

Mirador de Los Carvajales

We ended stumbling upon Mirador de Los Carvajales. Mirador de Los Carvajales is located in the lower Albayzín, due to its location, located between the Cuesta de San Gregorio and Calle San Juan de los Reyes , it is one of the most intimate and least visited viewpoints in the neighborhood. The viewpoint is great because it overlooks The Alhambra and at sunset, its golden colors really shine through.

The Plaza and the viewpoint refer, in their name, to one of the most influential noble families of Granada in the 15th and 16th centuries. Los Carvajales have their origins in the province of León. The branch of this ancestry surname, which arrived in Granada at the time of the Castilian conquest, came from the towns of Valderas and Valencia de Don Juan .

Our journey continued down the streets of Granda to grab a sunset view. Little did we know we stumbled upon the best view in the city at El Huerto de Juan Ranas. El Huerto de Juan Ranas is a pricey rooftop eatery with good wine and a breathtaking view. The menu and price of tapas was not our style but it may fancy you.

We could not get over this view of The Alhambra while we sipped on our drinks.

Speaking of The Alhambra, that was our plan the very next morning. But first, we had to get back to our hotel for a quick night cap.

Comment down below with who you would love to enjoy this incredible view with!