# Granada safety?



## qwertyjjj (Jan 27, 2010)

Is it safe to go around the Albaicín during quiet hours like siesta or late at night?
I thought Granada was fairly safe but Lonely Planet go on about muggings in the Albaicín during siesta. I'm not sure if this is a typical Lonely Planet "heard it through the grapevine report and therefore must include it in the book" thing or not.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

qwertyjjj said:


> Is it safe to go around the Albaicín during quiet hours like siesta or late at night?
> I thought Granada was fairly safe but Lonely Planet go on about muggings in the Albaicín during siesta. I'm not sure if this is a typical Lonely Planet "heard it through the grapevine report and therefore must include it in the book" thing or not.


 I don't know 'cos I don't live in that area, but 2 things come to mind.
Why go round an area at siesta time? Nothing will be going on, so you won't see anything. Or perhaps you're thinking of using it as a short cut to get home every day or something like that.
Secondly, if it's recommended not to go there I wouldn't. There are plenty more hours in the day, aren't there? 
But let's see if anyone who lives there can tell you more.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

The world is a scary and dangerous place! In the end you've gotta take your chances!!! The scariest place I can think of in Spain right now is the A7, E15, A357 interchange in Malaga!! A convergence of motorways that defies logic and belief!

Seriously tho the best thing you can do, failing any "eye witnesses" on here is to go there and take a look! Personally I cant believe its any worse that anywhere else, but I havent been there!!!

Jo xxxx


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

jojo said:


> The world is a scary and dangerous place! In the end you've gotta take your chances!!! The scariest place I can think of in Spain right now is the A7, E15, A357 interchange in Malaga!! A convergence of motorways that defies logic and belief!
> 
> Seriously tho the best thing you can do, failing any "eye witnesses" on here is to go there and take a look! Personally I cant believe its any worse that anywhere else, but I havent been there!!!
> 
> Jo xxxx


We were there in April and I wouldn´t say it was particularly threatening. There are a lot of dark alleyways and a few druggies hanging around, but stay on the busier main streets and you should be fine. The bars and cafes are open all day and most of the night, and there are thousands of foreign tourists, so there isn´t really a quiet time.

Obviously you should take all the usual precautions, body belts rather than handbags, and no conspicuous valuables, but you´d do that in any tourist area, wouldn´t you!


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

PS - the best time to go is early evening, when the lights are coming up on the Alhambra. It is quite stunning. And you don´t need to buy an evening meal, as nearly all the bars will give you substantial tapas when you buy a drink.


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## geez (Apr 4, 2010)

qwertyjjj said:


> Is it safe to go around the Albaicín during quiet hours like siesta or late at night?
> I thought Granada was fairly safe but Lonely Planet go on about muggings in the Albaicín during siesta. I'm not sure if this is a typical Lonely Planet "heard it through the grapevine report and therefore must include it in the book" thing or not.


I have my copy of the guide, a couple of editions old admittedly, on my desk as my friend is off there next week and I was sending her on some info. It recommends: 'staying on main streets after dark.'

Imagine you're a guidebook writer updating a travel guide. You have been sent on your assignment with feedback from readers who claim to have been mugged in a particular area. Given that you've heard a many a 'heard it through the grapevine' story and feel you might have a little experience in weeding out genuine experience from the rest, would you include a warning? It's not such a tough choice. I think in this case the author might be a local, so I'd be mindful of what might be good advice.

If you were a robber, where and when would you look for best pickings with least chance of getting caught? The Albaicín would fit the profile. Tourists make for richer pickings and, like it or not, are not generally high priority victims for local law enforcers. I happen to think that Granada and Spain generally are really safe, but I'm always more guarded around tourist haunts.

Having said all that, my ma and I wandered through the Albaicín during siesta last year and emerged to tell the tale. My ma can look pretty scary, though.


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

Why is everyone going on about dangers in spain at the moment?!!!

As others have said, whereever you go there are dangers but i think in general far less than any UK city! Go to Granada and enjoy!

I am in granada for the weekend 3/4/5 december - i hope its safe - if i post nothing after on here you know that I was mugged and didn't make it back to the costa blanca jaja


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