Barcelona - Subway and walk or Bus Turistic?

[jstducky]

If I've only got one day in Barcelona pre-cruise, is it better to try and use the Metro/Bus/Taxi/walking on my own system to get from all the different attractions? Or is it worth bying the Bus Turistic ticket for 15 euro? Or do you just spend too much time waiting for the next bus to come once you've gotten off the bus?

 

thanks!

[cberge]

If you only have one day then I would do the bus..you can see all the sight's by staying on the loop if you choose then go around again and get off where you want,see what you want and then catch the next bus to another one.IMHO it would be easier than trying to get around on your own in a city you have not been to before and you will get a great overview of all the main sight's.Some of the major sight's you can walk to from one to the other and then catch the bus again at another stop.Enjoy Barcelona as it is a great city to see and explore.

[jstducky]

Thanks Karen. I appreciate the advice. I think I will do as you advise.

[DEL67]

I agree that the Bus turistic is the way to go. However, you may want to take a taxi if the next site you want to visit is across town. It can be much faster than taking the circular bus route.

[jstducky]

Is the 15 Euro cost for the Bus Turisic, is that for both routes? or is it 15 Euro per route?

[itsjb1]

One problem that we faced last summer with the Touristic Bus was that when we got off, sometimes the next few busses were full so we had to wait. Also, in the summer the sun was blazing hot, so sitting in traffic on the upper deck became very hot.

 

Doing 1 full loop to get an overview and then going back to one of the stops will be ok, but you may then want to get an airconditioned taxi to to see something else.

 

When we were ther in August it was 36 Celcius.

[lucyjohnz]

We had two days in Barcelona - arrived Thursday afternoon and went straight to the hotel (by Placa Catalunya). Then, we just walked up and down Las Ramblas in the early evening.

 

We had all Friday and planned on using the Bus Turistic for the 4 of us - I somehow thought that it was 11 Euros/pp - it was actually 17 Euros/pp making it a 68 Euro cost for all 4 of us. When we got to the Placa Catalunya around 10am, where both the Red (North) and the Blue (South) buses pick up, there was a huge line of people waiting to get on the Blue Bus (I'd also heard the Red buses hit the major sites). I didn't see any Red buses there at that time. So, we made a decision to take a taxi to Sagrada Familia (8 Euros) and then another taxi to Park Guell (12 Euros w/tip) and a taxi back to the hotel (10 Euros w/tip). And, yes, it was pretty hot - about 85 degrees. We recuperated for a couple of hours at the hotel and then walked to see Gaudi's Pandera Apartments - a short 1/2 mile walk and then had Tapas and Sangria at a recommended restaurant on the walk back. So, transportation for the 4 of us (we didn't see Monjuic or other sites) cost about 30 Euros and we never waited on buses.

 

I've also heard that the subways are dangerous in terms of pickpockets but we saw lots of subway entrances throughout the city. Again, for 4 of us, it's many times cheaper and much more convenient to take a taxi than to pay for 4 subway fares. Also, subways ALWAYS seem to require a lot of extra walking in an unfamiliar city. I've used them in many cities like Paris (walked my a** off using the subway there) and New York and they're always a viable form of transportation. They've just got their own set of headaches.

[jstducky]

Thanks for the tip Lucy. I will be a party of 3, maybe 5 if we can convince 2 of our relatives to come along. We will also be there at the height of the summer tourist season at the end of next July. Maybe I'll have to re-consider the Bus Turisitic... hm....

[2forthesea]

There are TWO vendors with the double-decker buses. As you walk into the Plaza there is one stop straight ahead, and the other vendor is to your right. That's the one we took because the line was much shorter. The route is pretty much the same.

 

We rode the entire route through once with the narration. Then went around again and got off where we wanted. It's an excellent way to see the sights quickly, and the open air top seating area is really nice. Barcelona has many promendades and trees. Very picturesque.

[cberge]

Trust me you will be fine on the bus even if it is hot as the previous poster said there are plenty of trees..do the whole loop to see the sight's and then decide what you want to do. I have been there in August as well and although hot it really is not all that bad.

[jstducky]

wow. you guys have me leaning one way and then another way and back again.

 

ok, i guess i'll have to weigh the pros and cons.

[Cruise Junky]

I haven't dont it in Barcelona (yet :) ) but I've done all three in New York and I would now recommend the Subway. Taking the tourist bus my first visit to New York was a great idea, I was by myself so it was far cheaper than cabs. Now it's a combination of walking and Subway. I'll take the Subway to the heart of things and walk from there.

[April2412]

I think that you should take the tourist bus. My boyfriend and I were in Barcelona last October and hade a great time. It is well worth the money spent to get a full tour of the city then be able to get off and on were you please. A bus comes along every 15 min or so, so even if one is full you dont have to wait too long. If you do this make sure you make a full day of it so you can get off at as many stops as possible, the full tour just sitting on the bus is around 2 hours if i remember correctly.

[hajekfam]

We have taken the tourst bus - there are two routes and the there are two or three points where you can change buses. At the Placa de Catalunya on one side there is is the blue route and on the other side there is red route. They mirror each other for part of the trip - however the red route goes north to Sagrada Familia and Park Guell and the Blue Route goes south to Anella Olimpica, Montjuic, Port Vell, the Gothic quarter, and the zoo. You can hop off at any of the stops and hop back on. You also get discount tickets (for example: 1 or 2 euros off the admission of sagrada familia) and a little booklet that has a map of the routes showing where you can transfer between the buses and a little blurb about what to see at each stop. There is also a third route - green - that you can only transfer to on the blue route near Port Olimpic that runs during the summer of 2005.

Here is a link to the Bus Truistic website:

http://www.tmb.net/en_US/turistes/busturistic/busturistic.jsp

[navel1ring]

I also recommend the bus. We rode both routes all the way & then started over & got off at La Sagrada, Parc Guell & a couple other places. Great way to get an over view of the entire city. Do take the time to walk La Rambla. We enjoyed doing that in the evening & then wandering down the side streets in the Gothic Quarter. Whatever you decide, you will love Barcelona its a very friendly city. We were there the last week in October & had pleasant weather in the low 70's. There is also a port bus at the bottom of La Rambla that will take you to the ship for about 2 euro.

 

Wendy

[P1TKL]

If I've only got one day in Barcelona pre-cruise, is it better to try and use the Metro/Bus/Taxi/walking on my own system to get from all the different attractions? Or is it worth bying the Bus Turistic ticket for 15 euro? Or do you just spend too much time waiting for the next bus to come once you've gotten off the bus?

 

thanks!

 

Just returned from a cruise - had a day in Barcelona - used the Bus Turistic which we found worth it. We never waited long for a bus even though the queues were sometimes long. The company put on extra buses.We did run out of time at the end of the day as there is so much to see. Cant make any comparison s with the other forms of transport as have no experience of them

[HEMLINE]

A couple of comments:

 

The tourist bus is great for an overview of the city. With only one day, it's probably the best way to take in the highlights of this beautiful city.

 

The subway is very easy to use and inexpensive. You can buy a 10 ride pass and share it between several people. Just pass the ticket back to the next person in your party after you go through the turnstile. This isn't a problem with the Metro and is considered legal. This makes a subway ride about 63 cents (euro)/ per ride for 10 rides!

 

Barcleona is known for not only pick pockets, but for muggers. On our cruise, one guest (a very spry elderly woman) was mugged and seriously injured. The mugger roughly pushed her to the ground as he grabbed her purse. She sustained a serious head injury from hitting the cobblestone street. She and her husband had to leave the ship and she spent days in a hospital. We never learned the outcome of her injuries.

 

This lady and her middle-aged companion had been given "short cut" directions to a museum. Be forewarned to stay out of alleys and narrow, quiet streets, but expect to do a lot of walking in this city.

 

On the other hand, Barcelona is our favorite city...vibrant, wonderful and with so much to see. Enjoy your visit.

[jstducky]

Thanks all for your recommendations and opinions. I truly appreciate it. And thank you hajekfam for the link to the Bus Turistic website!

[ehogan]

We just returned from Barcelona and I would recommend the Bus Turistic rather than the Subway. We used the Subway upon arrival in Barcelona and were surrounded by 4 youths attempting to pick DH pocket. He kicked up a fuss (he is a very large guy) and they backed off, but you need to be very careful in Barcelona (we had a second attempt on the Aerport bus as well). Fortunately, those were the only two attempts in our 27 day vacation, but of course, we were pretty alert after the first incidents. We heard of many cases where people were not as fortunate as us and lost their wallets or purses -even one of the tour guides.

 

I would also recommend being aware of who is walking behind you, we moved over to the side several times to let suspicious people pass us. Make sure that you have all your valuables in a money belt and just enough funds for the day in your accessible purse or wallet. Men - use your front pockets for wallets.

 

Having said that, as long as you are careful and aware, you will be fine. Europe is just too wonderful to pass up