Barcelona 4 Hour Ship Tour - Rest On Own

[Billybob62]

Thank you for your responses to my question about Barcelona and Montserrat in one day. It appears that it pays to stay in Barcelona for the entire day and enjoy all the city has to offer. The Ship provides a 4 overview tour. Is this a good way to go and then spend the remaining 8 or so hours going to the highlight places? Thanks for any advice.:)

[bigmjh]

IMO - the hop-on-hop-off tourist buses are the way to go. This way you can spend as much or as little time at each location as YOU wish. With taking the ship's tour and then going back ... you'll be spending a lot of time back-tracking to places you want to see. And you'll still have to get back to each of these places either by bus, metro or taxi. All of this will eat into the precious little time you have in Barcelona. Also, with the ship's tour you'll have an entire busload (40 people?) that you'll have to wait for at each stop.

[Mike Andrews]

Barcelona is a great city to do on your own. http://WWW.tmb.net should be of some help to you

[Billybob62]

M & M -- Thanks for the advice. The only issue with the hop on-off bus is whether you lose the commentary that goes with a guided tour. We did everything on our own many years ago on the Costa Del Sol and felt we lost something by not getting a blow by blow descrition at places like the Alhambra and in Cordorva. Any thoughts?:)

[Susan-M]

If it is the Barcelona Highlights tour, I would skip it and do it on your own & use the money that you were going to spend on the 4 hour bus tour, for taxi fares. Buses and subways are very good in Barcelona, but if you want to pack a lot into one day and get to each place quickly, taxis are a great alternative and not very expensive. (We did it by subway, but had two days there.)

 

I would start with Guadi's works: first the Sagrada Familia (by taxi) and spend an hour there - if you get there early it won't be too crowded. Then by taxi to Park Guell and afterwards to Casa Mila. From Casa Mila you can either walk, take a bus or taxi to Placa Catalunya to stroll down Las Ramblas. Barri Gotic area, where the Cathedral is, is just off Las Ramblas. back to Las Ramblas and down to the shuttle stop (at the Christopher Columbus Monument) to catch the bus back to your ship. Barcelona is a great "strolling" city & if it is a nice day, you will want to be outdoors as much as possible.

If you do a search of all of the sites I mentioned above, you will be able to find lots of info online. A small guidebook will come in handy as well.

[Billybob62]

Thanks everyone. Your advice is well taken and it looks like we will do Barcelona on our own, maybe with the hop on-off tourist bus. We have a lot of time in Barcelona, so we should be able to do justice to the city ina leisurely manner.:) :)

[edinburgher]

www.bcn.es Click ENGLISH (in the top right corner, then the TOURISM section) is one of THE best sites for info on the city, how to get there, what to see etc. The more you look into this site, the more you find. Its got a massive amount of info on it.

 

We were lucky enought to spend a week in Barcelona, but on our first full day we took the hop on/off to get an overview of the city. We bought a 2 day ticket. When we did it, there were 2 routes, and at certain stops you could switch from one line to the other. It actually took a few hours, even not getting off that first day. On the second day, we used it to get to the places we wanted to visit.

 

I can really recommend the hop on/off. But theres SO much to see in Barcelona that you should try to get an idea of which places you want to stop at or go into. Its unlikely you will have time for everything/everywhere on the route.

 

The website might help you decide. We used it in conjunction with a guide book to plan our trip there.

[Bruin Steve]

SusanM laid it ouit perfectly...that would be my one day itinerary...

Also, buy a copy of the AAA Spiral Guide- Barcelona...it's a great and easy-to-use reference with great maps and illustrations...

 

The problem with the ship's tour (we've taken it) is that, although it does visit La Sagrada Familia, it spends too much time driving you around Montjuic...and the only other stop is at the old cathedral (worth seeing, but not at the expense of the much more interesting Gaudi sites and Las Ramblas)...

 

It doesn't go to Parc Guell, Casa Mila, Casa Batllo or Las Ramblas--and those, along with Sagrada Familia, make up my Top 5

[Susan-M]

SusanM laid it out perfectly...that would be my one day itinerary...

 

Thanks Steve.... I had a little chuckle at your compliment because I stole all those ideas from your posts last year when I was planning our day in Barcelona ....and what great advice it was!! :)

[Billybob62]

Thank you Susan, Steve and My Scottish friend, all this information is extremely helpful. One further question -- is it worth it to get to Monjuic and if so, does the hop on-off bus go there? What is there to see, other than it has a great view (which can be nice)? Keep the help coming.:) :)

[SaylorGirl]

Billybob - Barcelona is such an easy walkable city, and when its too far to walk use the subway. Their system is fast, clean and very efficient. We bought a carnet of 10 tickets which we were able to share. Get a good map and just enjoy what you want to see, have fun.

[bigmjh]

Billybob62 - Monjuic is interesting ... great views ... nice museum ... site of Olympic stadium, etc. But if you have such a limited time ... I would focus more on the Gaudi sites around town (La Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, etc.) and Las Ramblas (of course). We were there 4 days and still didn't have enough time ... you will not be able to see it all in one day.

[Tania]

Skip the hop on bus. At 16 euros pp, it is overpriced. You can get a lot of taxis for that money. As someone said, the city is well-laid out and very walkable for many sights and the subway is effficient.

[Keith1010]

See if the cruise ship offers a shuttle into town (ours did when we were in Barcelona last September) and take that and a map with you and you will likely be able to walk around to many areas, particularly if you plan what you want to see in advance.

 

We have been to Barcelona twice and really enjoy it. Be careful of your wallet. The last time we were there we saw an increase crime. One of our relatives was also there for the entire Fall and observed this as well. So, be careful of money and leave any jewelry on the ship.

 

Again, Barcelona is a wonderful place but just like other cities around the world be street smart as you walk around the city.

 

Keith

[leighuf]

Yes, definitely SKIP the ship's tour. You can do this city on your own, no problem!

 

I bought a one day pass for the hop on/hop off bus. I used it merely as a mode of transportation. The commentary was horrible. It's scripted and the guide has to repeat everything in Spanish, French, and I even heard Italian on one bus!! Sometimes we had passed the 'site' when the English part was read. Plus, I had a hard time understanding the English :eek: I don't think any of the gals could really speak English.

 

Other things I did: went inside the Gaudi cathedral, rode an elevator up a tower, walked around Park Guell, walked up and down La Rambla, completed Frommer's Gothic Walking Tour (and went into nearly everthing mentioned IN the walking tour ie: the gothic cathedral). Ate paella and did some window shopping, too.

 

Lovely day; lovely city.

[thecruisechick]

If youa re looking for a good guide to take you to Monserrat or sitesee around Barcelona try Jose. He's awesome.

 

http://www.private-guides.com/guide/barcelona_private_guide_253/index.html