Using an eSIM in Granada

What Granada is like on a phone

Almost everyone comes to Granada for the Alhambra, and many stay on for the Albaicín and the view of the Sierra Nevada. The city is built over several hills, so the streets are steep and winding, which makes both walking and pinning your position harder than on flat ground. Coverage across town is broadly good, but what deserves more of your attention is booking ahead: daily visitor numbers are limited and sessions often fill before your travel date.

Nach der Landung

Federico García Lorca (GRX) is small, with a bus into town timed to flights; plenty of people instead fly into Málaga (AGP) and continue by coach or train. High-speed services arrive at Granada station on the western side. Switch the eSIM on in the terminal, because a lot of accommodation sits up a hill where cars cannot reach and you will need to reach the host before you arrive. Coming in from Málaga the road crosses the mountains and there are stretches where service disappears for a while.

Wo sich die Abdeckung ändert

The centre around the Gran Vía and the cathedral is fine. The Albaicín — cobbled lanes climbing the hill between high house walls — moves your map pin about and leaves some corners weak. Inside the Alhambra the difference between the open Generalife gardens and rooms behind very thick walls is obvious. Sacromonte, with its cave dwellings cut into the hillside, holds noticeably less than anywhere else, being tucked into a fold of the hill and enclosed by rock.

What a day here costs in data

Granada is small and walkable, so most days cost little. It rises on the day you visit the Alhambra, with the ticket open, the route plan on screen and a great deal of photography and video, plus the map reopened constantly as you work your way up and down the hills. About a gigabyte a day overall. If you head up into the Sierra Nevada or walk in the valleys, download maps first, because there will be stretches where data is simply not available.

Districts travellers ask about

• Albaicín — Cobbled lanes climbing between high garden walls, where the pin is often a turning out; navigate by a viewpoint terrace or a church tower you can see from a distance.
• Alhambra and Realejo — The fortress hill mixes open courtyards that work well with thick-walled rooms where almost nothing loads, so have the ticket and the route plan on the device before you go in.
• Sacromonte — Cave houses cut into a rock-enclosed hillside, distinctly weaker than the rest of town; save the address and your meeting time before you walk up.
• Centro and Gran Vía — The wide main artery with the tram, the steadiest part of town and the sensible place to sort out bookings or message a host.

Day trips out of the city

• Sierra Nevada — The road climbs high with long stretches of nothing, especially on the far side of a ridge; download the map and note your parking spot before you set off.
• Las Alpujarras — White villages strung along a steep hillside on twisting roads; service comes and goes between them, though within each village it is usually workable.
• Nerja and the Costa Tropical — The descent to the coast runs through a series of tunnels where the signal goes and returns; at the beaches and the clifftop viewpoints it is good, while inside the limestone caves there is nothing at all.