Recommendations for Day Tours out of Barcelona

[CuriousC]

Does anyone have any recommendations for tour companies offering quality day tours out of Barcelona (such as to Costa Bravo and Girona or to Monserrat)? We will be spending a few days in Barcelona post-cruise in June and this time, would like to explore beyond the city. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

[mabert]

Depending on the disembarkation location, you can either walk to or have to pay a few euros to take the port bus to get to Paca de Colon. Buy the one or two day hop on hop off pass. First take tour the city - there are two lines - I remember the red line as the best one. There is an automated guide in your language that you listen to with little ear phones. Then you can choose where to go.

 

If you want to go to Sagrada Familia church (not a cathedral since not the seat of a bishop), go first thing in the morning. Otherwise the line is very very long.

 

Did this in November 2010

 

Miriam

[mabert]

Didn't read carefully, that you are interested in out of town tours. My previous suggestion remains.

 

Have fun.

 

Miriam

[taxmantoo]

Montserrat is easily doable without a tour company. The train gets you there without problem and you have all the time to explore without being tied to a tour schedule or worried about getting back to the ship on time.

 

If you are in Barcelona for a few days, check out Sitges, a little coastal beach town about 35 kilometers away by train. It is known as the St. Tropez of Spain. Absolutely gorgeous!

 

You can find lots of info on getting to both these places on the Europe Board in the Ports section of CC.

[Carol28]

We went on a post-tour from our cruise ship and then to the airport. However you decide to go, do not miss it. This was one of our favorite places to visit. I do believe it is more interesting to go on a tour so that you can get the background. In Barcelona we took the city tour. Very interesting. Perhaps the tour companies (Greyline?) which do the day tours of the cities also have a tour out of town.

 

Have a great time.

[Bill S]

We went to Montserrat on our own and it was great; however we did this pre-cruise, so we were not under any time constraints, and good thing, too. On the return, a length of track was taken out of service, and we had to use a bus to bypass that section of track, causing a delay. But, I would sure do it again my own.

We had done some research before arriving on how to do the rail trip, and IIRC, the railway has a special Montserrat package. Have fun, but be very careful about pickpockets in Barcelona.

[MightyQuinn]

Does anyone have any recommendations for tour companies offering quality day tours out of Barcelona (such as to Costa Bravo and Girona or to Monserrat)? We will be spending a few days in Barcelona post-cruise in June and this time, would like to explore beyond the city. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

I would highly recommend Spanish Trails, a small company owned by an American couple with well-established contacts in the travel industry in Spain. We used them last year for a 2-day trip after a cruise that ended in Barcelona. We visited Girona (overnite), Figueres, Costa Brava and several medieval villages in the Spanish Pyrenees.

 

Spanish Trails more than met our expectations. They did a superb job of itinerary planning, expert guiding and on-site logistics. And they were fun! We had a great time and would certainly use them again for any independent touring outside Barcelona.

[kazu]

Spain Day Tours/ Top Day tours also does private tours. We used them last year for Lisbon and were really pleased. If you go to the Ports Board and look under Spain, you will see lots of discussion on private tours and recommendations for both the company Mighty Quinn suggested as well as myself. hope that helps :)

[CuriousC]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I'll do more research on the web re the tour companies mentioned to see what they offer and also check the ports board.

[Gunther1]

I've been to Barcelona five times and Montserrat three of those times.....I would HIGHLY recommend it. If you do go, be sure to take the Sant Joan funicular that goes ABOVE Monserrat....this is a separate one from the one that takes you to the monastary. There's a great hike up there...including to a long-ago abandoned hostel. It's windy up there....dress accordingly.

[bobalink]

I would highly recommend Spanish Trails, a small company owned by an American couple with well-established contacts in the travel industry in Spain. We used them last year for a 2-day trip after a cruise that ended in Barcelona. We visited Girona (overnite), Figueres, Costa Brava and several medieval villages in the Spanish Pyrenees.

 

Spanish Trails more than met our expectations. They did a superb job of itinerary planning, expert guiding and on-site logistics. And they were fun! We had a great time and would certainly use them again for any independent touring outside Barcelona.

 

We also used Spanish Trails Adventure for our day in Barcelona. In the morning, we went to Montserrat. Our driver, Saskia, was delightful and very knowledgeable. After our tour of Montserrat, she took us to a wonderful Catalonian restaurant, great food and great wine. I learned how to drink wine from a Porron. After lunch, she took us back into Barcelona, we changed drivers for our City Highlights tour. We saw so much in a short amount of time. I hope to go back someday, Barcelona is a wonderful and vibrant city.

 

I highly recommend Spanish Trails, they will make the most of your short time!

http://www.spanish-trails.com/

[johnlcruise]

We also used Spanish Trails Adventure for our day in Barcelona. In the morning, we went to Montserrat. Our driver, Saskia, was delightful and very knowledgeable. After our tour of Montserrat, she took us to a wonderful Catalonian restaurant, great food and great wine. I learned how to drink wine from a Porron. After lunch, she took us back into Barcelona, we changed drivers for our City Highlights tour. We saw so much in a short amount of time. I hope to go back someday, Barcelona is a wonderful and vibrant city.

 

I highly recommend Spanish Trails, they will make the most of your short time!

http://www.spanish-trails.com/

 

WE also did Spanish Trails this past October. Did the same tour. They where GREAT.

Our little group had a super time.

[G&G]

Try Viator; find all their tours on line. Also subway system in Barcelona takes you to many good tourist sites and is reasonable and clean !

[MightyQuinn]

We also used Spanish Trails Adventure for our day in Barcelona. In the morning, we went to Montserrat. Our driver, Saskia, was delightful and very knowledgeable. After our tour of Montserrat, she took us to a wonderful Catalonian restaurant, great food and great wine. I learned how to drink wine from a Porron.

Ah, you had the legendary Saskia! After reading so many positive reports about her on Trip Advisor, we were kinda disappointed to discover that our guide for our 2 days would be Charles, the owner of Spanish Trails! But we need not have fretted, since he was everything a great guide should be.

 

We had fabulous meals in a remote village of the Spanish Pyrenees and in a seaside town along the Costa Brava. We enjoyed multiple courses of Catalan specialties along with copious amounts of wine. Spanish Trails prides themselves on their included meals. They're serious foodies and are well known to many Catalan restauranteurs and food purveyors. So if you go with them, you get a great tour experience and a memorable meal. It was an unbeatable combo for us.

[CDRMark]

If you are still looking for things to do, bag another country and take the bus to Andorra. It is a great scenic trip and Andorra is a funny little place.

Bring your passport.

Cheers

Mark

[sciteach603]

My husband and I went to the Tourist Information kiosk on Las Ramblas and booked the afternoon tour to Monserrat. Think it was about 4 hours. It was plenty of time and thoroughly enjoyed the trip.

[doublebzz]

 

If you are in Barcelona for a few days, check out Sitges, a little coastal beach town about 35 kilometers away by train. It is known as the St. Tropez of Spain. Absolutely gorgeous!

 

 

I concur that Sitges is a great day trip that one can easily do on your own. Trains run regularly from Sants Station, Passieg de Gracia and Station Franca for the 40 minute trip. The town is a seaside resort with great boutiques and restaurants overlooking the sea. You can also take the train to Giron which is also very interesting with a medieval quarter. Again, the trains run regularly and take about one hour, if I recall.