Day 11 ·
Ronda, Setenil and our first afternoon in Granada
Granada · Spain · 3 min read
A one-way rental car from Seville, Ronda's Puente Nuevo at eight in the morning, the streets under the rock in Setenil and the Royal Chapel for free because it was Wednesday in Granada.
- 1
Santa Justa Station
We picked up the SIXT car through the Keybox system, with no counter: you verify your license in the app before the trip and you get a 60-minute window starting at 6:00.
- 2
Puente Nuevo and the Tajo
We parked at Parking La Merced (about 2 €/hour) and walked ten minutes. At that hour we went down to the Arco del Cristo viewpoint to see the bridge from below, before the buses arrive.
Our guide It earns its reputation, but only if you get there before 10:00. From 11:00 in high season, the viewpoint photo has a line. Read the full guide - 3
La Ciudad and the Puerta de Almocábar
Twenty minutes through the Moorish quarter on the other side of the bridge, to the 13th-century gate the Catholic Monarchs came through in 1485.
Our guide Worth it, but early. Before 10:00 it is a mountain town; at midday in high season it is a photo line at the viewpoint. Read the full guide - 4
Plaza de España and the Ronda Bullring
The 1785 bullring, one of the oldest in Spain, seen from outside. This is where we had a real breakfast: coffee and a bocadillo, after our five a.m. coffee.
- 5
Setenil de las Bodegas
Forty minutes to walk Cuevas de la Sombra and Cuevas del Sol, the streets with houses built under the rock. Getting there before eleven is the key.
Our guide It is a one-trick town, but the trick is very good. Worth it before 10:30 or after 16:30; at midday the streets cannot cope. Read the full guide - 6
Bodegas Castañeda
After returning the car at the Granada train station, a taxi to Plaza Nueva and our first taste of free tapas: every vermouth comes with its own tapa.
Our guide It's a famous bar and a neighborhood bar at the same time. To learn how Granada's free tapas work, it's the right place: standing at the bar with a vermouth. Read the full guide - 7
Calle Calderería Nueva
The street of tea houses. A Moorish mint tea and Arab pastries on one of the shadiest lanes in the city.
Our guide It's a street for tourists and also the coolest street in Granada. It's worth one tea house and a 25-minute stroll; skip the shopping. Read the full guide - 8
El Bañuelo
11th-century Arab baths with star-shaped skylights, 5 € at the door. It reopens at 17:00 after the midday break, which is when it's least crowded.
Our guide It's worth it, and almost everyone walks past. It's 15 minutes and €5, but go in knowing what to look for, because there's almost no explanation inside. Read the full guide - 9
Royal Chapel
The tombs of Isabella and Ferdinand, free on Wednesdays from 14:30 with advance booking. Then twenty minutes in the Cathedral next door (5 €, last entry around 18:00).
Our guide Small, quiet and well worth it. It takes 20 or 30 minutes, and on Wednesday afternoons it costs nothing if you book. Read the full guide - 10
Paseo de los Tristes
The Alhambra right in front of us, across the Darro. We sat on the terrace at El Huerto de Juan Ranas until the monument's lights came on, after the 21:10 sunset.
Our guide It's the other half of Granada and you can't skip it. Go up after 16:00, take your time, and don't stop at the photo from San Nicolás. Read the full guide
There’s a direct train between Seville and Granada that takes two and a half hours. We took the long way: a one-way rental car, Ronda first thing, Setenil de las Bodegas mid-morning and Granada for lunch. It was the only day of the trip we drove.
Why we planned it this way
Our own research told us to stick with the train: the one-way rental, the international permit, parking and Granada’s low-emission zone are more work, and arriving tired could ruin the afternoon. In the end we drove because Ronda didn’t fit on any other day without giving up something big, like Córdoba. And so we wouldn’t reach Granada late, we moved the car pickup up to 6:00 at Santa Justa. By 8:00 we were at Ronda’s Puente Nuevo, ahead of the crowds and in morning light. The Costa del Sol buses arrive between 10:30 and 11:00, and by then we were already on our way to Setenil, which also fills up from 11:00 to 14:00.
We returned the car at the Granada station at 1:20 in the afternoon, with time for lunch, almost an hour of rest at the hotel and the chance to use the free Wednesday entry to the Royal Chapel after 14:30. We moved that visit to this day for exactly that reason. We closed the day on the Paseo de los Tristes, looking at the Alhambra we’d visit the next day.
What to know before you go
The car was an automatic booked weeks ahead: in Spain they aren’t the norm, and you have to filter your search for them. Bring your passport, license, international permit and the credit card for the deposit. In Ronda, park outside the old town and walk in; in Granada, return the car at the station and continue by taxi.
What we booked and tasted
Shine Albayzín
Next to the Darro River, two minutes from the Paseo de los Tristes and the next day's flamenco, and five from Plaza Nueva. You can walk the whole Albaicín and the center.
Bar Siempre Igual or a café on Plaza de España
Order Café con leche and a bocadillo or tortilla
At 9:30 the cafés are already open and El Lechuguita, Ronda's famous tapas bar, isn't yet.
Bodegas Castañeda
Order House vermouth; if you're lucky, meatballs in sauce or rabo de toro as the tapa
Barrels, hams and century-old tiles, steps from Plaza Nueva. A good place to learn how free tapas work.
A tea house on Calderería Nueva
Order Moorish mint tea and Arab pastries
A break in the shade between our rest at the hotel and the afternoon monuments.
El Huerto de Juan Ranas
Order Tinto de verano or a pint, with whatever tapa they bring
A terrace facing the Alhambra on the Paseo de los Tristes. With two or three rounds, the tapas made a dinner.
Triana Santa Justa Station
Uber for about 8–10 €. Tell the driver: "Estación Santa Justa, zona de alquiler de coches" (the rental car area).
Seville Ronda
130 km on the A-375. The last 30 km are winding mountain road. Put "Parking La Merced" in the GPS and don't follow routes that cut through the center: since August 2025 out-of-town cars can't cross the Puente Nuevo, and the fine is 70 €.
Ronda Setenil de las Bodegas
About 20 km on a quiet road. Park up top, at the entrance to the village; the streets below are narrow and restricted.
Setenil de las Bodegas Granada train station
About 180 km: first a winding descent and then the A-92 highway, with speed cameras. Fill the tank before returning the car and don't try to drive into the Albaicín: it's a low-emission zone and the streets are two or three meters wide.
Granada train station Plaza Nueva
About 8–12 €. We asked for Plaza Nueva and not the hotel because lunch was there.
What we learned
Tips
- To drive in Spain you need your US license and an International Driving Permit (IDP) from AAA. No right turn on red, and at unmarked intersections the car coming from the right has priority.
- In Granada every drink comes with a free tapa. A pint brings a bigger tapa than a caña, and after two or three rounds it's worth switching bars. Ask: "¿Qué hay de tapa?" (what's the tapa?).
- Free entry to the Royal Chapel is on Wednesdays from 14:30 to 18:30. Book your time slot on the Archdiocese website at least a day ahead. No photos allowed inside.
Do
- Download offline maps of Andalusia and bring a phone mount: holding the phone in your hand gets you a 200 € fine.
- Visit the Royal Chapel before the Cathedral: it's small and quiet, and you appreciate it more before all the Cathedral's gold.
- Get to Setenil before 11:00 or after 16:30, outside bus hours.
Don’t
- Don't stay for lunch at the terraces under the rock on Cuevas del Sol: they charge 30 to 50 % more for the setting. A coffee is enough.
- Don't waste time in the Alcaicería or at generic Sacromonte shows; we saved the good flamenco for the next day.