A Scenic Granada to Almería Road Trip Itinerary

Discover the best route for a Granada to Almería road trip with this relaxed 3-5 day itinerary, complete with hidden gems, iconic film locations, and unforgettable hikes along the way.

Driving straight from Granada to Almería only takes about 1 hour and 45 minutes, but after doing this route countless times while visiting family in the area, I can promise you the direct drive skips some of Andalucía’s most unexpectedly beautiful spots.

From the rugged badlands of Purullena and the cave-house charm of Guadix, to La Calahorra’s Game of Thrones scenery and the otherworldly Tabernas Desert, there’s far more to see than you’d ever spot from the motorway.

If you prefer slowing down, exploring quieter places, and turning a simple Granada to Almería drive into a proper adventure, this itinerary will show you exactly how to make the most of the journey.

Quick Overview: Granada → Almería the Scenic Way

🚗 Distance: ~162 km 

🕒 Total drive time: ~2 hours (but you won’t want to rush it)

🗓️ Ideal Trip Length: 3-5 days

🐶 Dog-friendly: Mostly!

🚐 Vanlife-friendly: Yes – with the occasional optional dirt track

⭐ Highlights: Badlands viewpoints, cave houses, GOT filming locations, Spain’s only true desert

Granada to Almería Road Trip Map (All Stops + Overnight Van Spots)

To help you plan at a glance, we’ve mapped the complete route with all the major stops, viewpoints, and the best overnight spots for campervans.

We’ve stayed at each of these or visited them ourselves, so you’ll know exactly what’s accessible, quiet, and safe.

Zoom in on the map to see more items. Click here to view the map bigger.

How Long Do You Need?

You can technically drive Granada to Almería in under two hours, but the stops along this scenic route deserve more than quick pull-overs.

Some places, especially the desert, are best enjoyed slowly, with time to explore, wander, and sit quietly with the views.

Three to five days gives you that breathing room.

You’ll hit everything without feeling rushed, and still return to Almería with that lovely “we actually travelled today” feeling rather than a sense of just ticking off distance.

If you only have one day, you can still enjoy a condensed version… more on that in a moment.

A One-Day Quick Version

If you’re short on time but still want to experience the magic of this route, here’s the best simplified version with the places that give you the biggest contrast to the motorway:

Granada → Purullena Badlands → Guadix Cave Houses → La Calahorra Castle → Tabernas Viewpoint at the Repsol Garage.

It’s a perfect sampler of the badlands, the cave districts, and the desert.

The Repsol viewpoint isn’t part of the full itinerary because the Tabernas hikes give far better views, but for a quick desert taste, it delivers.

Best Stops Between Granada and Almería

Day 1: Granada → Purullena (Half Day or Full Day)

Once you leave Granada behind, the road winds gently toward Purullena, a small town that doesn’t look like much at first glance, until you start descending into the Badlands.

Turning off the motorway, the landscape suddenly splits open into ridges and ravines, steep earth formations glowing warm orange in the afternoon light – it’s absolutely stunning!

Purullena is the gateway to these Badlands and the views here genuinely surprise first-timers because from the motorway, this part of Spain looks like flat plains and farmlands!

There are a couple of different lookouts along the stretch of road heading south towards Sierra Nevada National Park. Mirador Badlands de Purullena or Mirador Cárcavas de Marchal can be reached by car with or without a 4×4 depending on how brave you are (but we wouldn’t recommend trying it in the wet!)

Then there’s Mirador del Fin del Mundo, which translates to ‘end of the world viewpoint’. Do not try to drive here following Google Maps directions, instead, it’s much easier and safer to park up in Beas de Guadix and walk 15 minutes up to the viewpoint instead.

Lilly loves it up here, but there’s little shade, so earlier or later in the day works best.

If you’re travelling by van and decide to stay longer, there’s a peaceful free camping area in Marchal with views of the rock formations. It’s a lovely spot to settle in for the evening if you want a slower start to the trip.

Day 2: Purullena → Guadix → La Calahorra

Purullena and Guadix pair easily, and depending on how much time you like to spend wandering, you can reach La Calahorra on the same day.

Guadix 

Guadix is only 10 minutes from Purullena, and we recommend half to a full day as there’s not that much to do here beyond a few key points. 

The city is famous for having the biggest concentration of cave houses in the whole of Europe, with over half of the population living in cave houses so of course, the first place we recommend going is the cave house district to get a good look at a cute little cave house village if you’ve never seen one before!

The streets here twist around whitewashed chimneys and carved-out doorways, and if you wander quietly, you’ll catch moments of everyday life here: laundry drying in the sun, neighbours chatting across walls, cats weaving between caves.

Caves became a popular way of life in Spain after the Christian Reconquest in the 15th century, when the Moorish people fled Granada to seek refuge in safer places.

Remember, these are still people’s homes, so don’t go inside the yards or spend too long staring. 

The historic centre of Guadix is compact and easy to walk, with the cathedral dominating the main plaza. For €7 you can take a guided tour inside which includes a climb up the bell tower. Unfortunately, this isn’t dog-friendly, so we only saw it from the outside.

The streets around the plaza are full of traditional Andalusian buildings, cafés, and small shops which you can enjoy simply by wandering around and taking in the atmosphere. Along the way you’ll likely see other historic buildings and monuments, like the Arco de San Torcuato. It’s one of the gates from the old fortified city of Guadix, and once helped keep residence safe from attack.

Across the road from the Cathedral is a small park that’s well-kept and quiet, a good spot to take your dog for a run and watch the city go about its day and a welcome relief from the summer heat!

Continuing around the corner from the historic centre and you’ll find some Roman temple ruins. There’s not a great deal left to see of them, so they’re not the most impressive roman ruins we’ve seen but if you’re walking around the city they’re worth a peak, since signs are in Spanish and English too.

There’s ample parking in Guadix with the large vehicle parking area near town but it’s often very littered and can give strange first impressions of the town so if you get there and something doesn’t sit right with you, both Aldi and Lidl have parking a little further out of town. It adds a short walk into town, but it’s easy to manage and will perhaps give you more peace of mind!

La Calahorra

If you still have the energy after a quick stop at Guadix, La Calahorra is only twenty minutes further. This is a small village that’s easy to fit into your drive from Granada to Almeria and has some fun history to it!

The main attraction is the super cute castle that sits at the top of the hill and is easily spotted from the motorway if you don’t quite have time to fit in a closer look.

La Calahorra castle was strategically built to control routes leading between Granada and Almeria in was built between 1509 and 1512, so despite its looks it isn’t a medieval castle. It was just built to replicate that style and has never played a huge part in military defence.

These days, it’s more famous for being used as a filming location for the popular TV series The House Of The Dragon where the exterior and interior of La Calahorra Castle were used for scenes representing locations outside Westeros, and the city of Pentos!

The land is privately owned now, opening hours are extremely limited and parking at the top is limited to non-existent but it is still possible to walk the gravel track and admire it from the outside. The walk takes about 30 minutes, and the views from the top of the hill are impressive, especially when there’s snow on the surrounding mountains.

If you’re in a large van, parking is easiest at the bottom of the hill here.

You only need a couple of hours here. A short walk around the castle and hill is enough to take in the history, the scenery, and the early hint of the Western landscapes you’ll find at Tabernas next.

Days 3–5: Tabernas Desert

The Tabernas Desert is Spain’s only official desert, and it’s worth giving yourself a good few days here if you can.

And yes, just to clear it up, Gorafe and Bardenas Reales often get called deserts, but they’re not really deserts. They’re badlands.

Tabernas gets less than 250mm of rain a year, which is why it’s the only one that qualifies… even though it always seems to rain when we show up.

Once you’re here, it’s easy to see why we’ve included it on the Granada to Almería drive. There’s a lot more to do than you’d expect, especially with the western film sets scattered around the area

If you have the time to spare, and want a really unique way to experience the desert, we recommend a horse back riding tour!

Fort Bravo

Built in the 1960’s, Fort Bravo was built as a backdrop to Sergio Leone’s films like A Fist Full Of Dollars and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly before before being turned into a tourist attraction in the 1980’s. The sets have been preserved and the invite visitors to come and experience the Wild West with their shows and museum.

For us, Fort Bravo didn’t make a great first impression. The outer streets feel neglected and a bit run-down, which is a real shame if they were once part of the film sets too. However, once you step onto the main street the whole atmosphere changes with cowboys roaming the streets and Can Can girls hanging out in the saloon.

A couple of times a day, they put on a theatrical display to bring the streets to life even more! The Bank Robbery show was good fun with plenty of audience interaction (it’s all in Spanish, but you’ll follow it easily), and the performers put on a decent mix of stunts and classic Western-style action.

A quick tip: once you’ve parked, follow the horse paddocks and enter from that side. It drops you straight onto the main street where everything actually looks impressive.

If you don’t have kids, you only need an hour or two here, so it’s worth timing your visit with the shows:

Saloon show: 12:30 p.m. & 5:30 p.m.

Western Bank Robbery: 2:30 p.m. & 7:00 p.m.

We were really surprised to find out that Fort Bravo is dog friendly but having previously been to Mini Hollywood a few times we knew that the chances of gunshots were high, so we left Lilly in the van until after the show and then she got a chance to explore.

Despite being advertised as Spain’s “biggest” western theme park, we’re not convinced that’s true. It also seemed to attract more adult groups and fewer families compared to Mini Hollywood, and unfortunately you’re not able to go inside many of the old set buildings besides the saloon and a couple of others which was a bit disappointing.

We grabbed 2-for-1 tickets on Groupon and honestly, unless they have more going on in summer, we wouldn’t pay full price.

We still enjoyed it though, and Lilly loved all the horses.

Mini Hollywood (Oasys)

Mini Hollywood is the one most people think of when you talk about Western movie sets in Spain.

Built in the early 1960’s, Mini Hollywood was also designed as a backdrop for famous movies like The Good The Bad and The Ugly, and more recently Indiana Jones and even Dr Who!

After major productions ended in the 1960’s local extras bought the set and Mini Hollywood Oasys was born, opening it’s doors to visitors and tourists in the 1970’s.

Since then, it’s developed into a huge theme park that attracts thousands of tourists and after visiting it a few times over the years, we can say for sure it certainly requires a full day to experience everything there is – even if you’re not travelling with kids!

Just a heads up if you’re travelling in winter though: it’s only open on weekends and public holidays… This has nearly caught us out more than once because somehow we always forget.

The Western town, which are the preserved film sets, feels much bigger than Fort Bravo, with no unloved sections, and you can actually go inside a lot of the buildings – something that is a highlight for many visiting the theme park!

You’ll find building set up like old shops, markets, the bank, the jail or living quarters, which makes it feel more like a little museum village of times gone by, rather than just a film set.

Like with Fort Bravo, Mini Hollywood has a theatrical show a couple of times a day in the town square. However, we didn’t find it as entertaining as Fort Bravo’s; it’s more of a choreographed fight/dance scene with no real storyline and very little horse involvement besides one stunt.

Once you’re done with the main street, head towards the back of the town and you’ll find a whole zoo to wander around! The animals looked well cared for, though the enclosures are definitely on the smaller side.

And again, it was amazing to find out that Mini Hollywood is also dog friendly, and not just the Western Town. Nope! Your pups can enjoy the whole park, including the zoo!

Their website does state that it’s small dogs only, but we’ve seen photos of Huskies and Labradors enjoying the park so it perhaps depends on the member of staff and how well behaved your dogs it.

That said, we chose to leave Lilly in the van for a few reasons:

The gunshots from the show are loud and very frequent (more so than those at Fort Bravo) and all the animals and crowds would have been overwhelming for a full day.

Sometimes she prefers snoozing in the van over busy attractions, but don’t worry! We have a Furbo to keep an eye on her and make sure to check on her regularly, and our van is set up for moments exactly like this.

Tabernas Desert Hike

Officially called the Western Leon Loop Track on All Trails, this track gives you a really nice mix of what the desert has to offer in terms of views and landscapes.

It’s only 8.5km, which takes around 3 hours to complete. Unless, of course, you travel with a photographer… then it’ll take you around 5 and a half hours because of all the photo stops.

The walk starts at the car park for Mini Hollywood and loops down into the riverbed from there. We recommend doing the walk backwards by starting behind the car park rather than crossing the road.

Going this way you’ll see the highlights earlier in the walk, like one of the filming locations for Lawrence of Arabia and some amazing rock formations, and end it with some pretty views across the valley. However, this does also mean you end the walk with a bit of an uphill but it’s nothing extreme.

We recommend using AllTrails to keep an eye on which way the track goes because there are places where it’s not particularly obvious but overall it’s a really good walk!

Best Time To Do This Granada to Almería Itinerary

We’ve done this route a few times, and it’s always more comfortable outside of the summer months.

Summer in this part of Spain is stiflingly hot, to the point where it can be unbearable.

If you’re wanting to do the hike, there’s very little shade and if you’re wanting to do the movie sets you won’t be able to leave your dog in the van for very long unless you have air conditioning.

It’s still possible to do it in summer, but we personally wouldn’t recommend it. 

Final Thoughts on this Granada to Almería Route

That’s everything you need to plan a slow, scenic drive between Granada and Almería – whether you’re in a camper, travelling with your dog, or just piecing together your next Andalucía adventure.

Tweak the route to suit your pace, stay longer in the spots that surprise you, and let the quieter places do their thing. And if you do take the scenic way, let us know how it goes, we’re always curious what people end up enjoying most on this stretch of Spain.

If you’re planning more road trips around Europe, our guide to planning routes with Google Maps is a handy next step.