Getaways from Granada: day trips and destinations close by.

Sierra Nevada, 31 kilometres along the A-395

Granada has the mountains above it and four roads that share out the plans. The A-395 climbs 31 kilometres to Sierra Nevada, the highest ski resort in Spain. The A-44 towards Motril leads to the Lanjarón exit and, via Órgiva, to the villages of the Poqueira gorge, in the Alpujarra. To the north, the same A-44 and the A-401 via Jódar lead to Úbeda and Baeza and, via Peal de Becerro, to the Sierra de Cazorla. To the west, the A-92 reaches Antequera in 99 kilometres and continues towards El Chorro and Ronda; to the east, the A-92 and the A-7 drop to Cabo de Gata.

Without a car, two destinations work well. Autocares Tocina leaves the bus station for Pradollano at 8:00 and 10:15, with a stop at the Paseo del Violón, for €10 return; the last one comes down at 18:30. Alsa links Granada with Pampaneira, Bubión and Capileira in about two hours, and Capileira with Trevélez. Alsa also goes to Cazorla, but to the town station, not the sierra, and with few buses on Sunday.

Ski in the morning and lunch in the city

Under an hour there is only Sierra Nevada: 45 minutes to the slopes and 50 to the Albergue Universitario, where the snowshoe routes begin. It is the only place where you ski in the morning and have lunch in the city.

Between one and one and a half hours are the Alpujarra, at 75 minutes to Pampaneira and 85 to Capileira; Antequera, also at 75, with the Menga and Viera dolmens and El Torcal, and at 90, Úbeda and Baeza or Priego and Zuheros, with the Fuente del Rey and the Cueva de los Murciélagos.

With an hour and a half or two hours on the road the day starts early: the Caminito del Rey (110 minutes) and the Sierra de Cazorla (120), with the Cerrada del Utrero and the source of the Guadalquivir. Cazorla calls for a night if you want to walk the Borosa: there is a weekend for that.

Beyond two hours it goes better with a night: Cabo de Gata (130 minutes), Ronda (140), the Sierra de Grazalema (175) and Cartagena and Calblanque, about three hours twenty away.

On the A-395, chains and jams on bank-holiday weekends

From December to March Sierra Nevada rules: a Sunday on the slopes, by car or on the Tocina bus, or, for those who do not ski, guided snowshoeing to the Posiciones del Veleta and lunch in Cenes de la Vega on the way down. On the A-395 you must carry chains, and long weekends jam it.

In spring and autumn the Alpujarra is at its best, with the three Poqueira villages on foot, and so are Úbeda and Baeza, Antequera, the Caminito and Cazorla. From October to December, and above all in November, the Genal valley turns copper: there is a weekend in Ronda to see it.

In July and August Úbeda and Baeza, Antequera, Priego and the Caminito are not recommended. What works is the sea: the Genoveses, Mónsul and the lighthouse, with car access to the beaches regulated in summer and the bus from San José, or the height of the Alpujarra.

The 8:00 bus to Sierra Nevada

• Without a car, in winter: Sierra Nevada on a Sunday. The 8:00 bus from the station, slopes from 8:30, lunch at Borreguiles and the Mirlo Blanco for the children.
• In a day, to the north: Úbeda and Baeza. An hour and a half along the A-44 and A-401, the Sinagoga del Agua and El Salvador in the morning, Baeza cathedral in the afternoon.
• With two nights: the Alpujarra. Capileira or Pampaneira as a base, the Poqueira villages on foot, the valley upstream or the Mulhacén and lunch in Trevélez.