Can you really buy tickets onboard the HoHo Bus at Barcelona?

[dchan865]

Hi,

Beside buying HoHo bus tickets from Viator(get a voucher) and directly from Barcelona's Transportation agency(TMB) below, is it really true that you can buy onboard the bus?

 

The benefit that I see is that you can avoid getting in line at the tourist office.

 

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

 

If someone can confirm that it can be done, that would be great.

Thanks in advance!

 

David

[martyap]

We boarded at Placa Catalunya and bought our tickets while we were on the bus line right before boarding. A representative collected the fares while we were on line.....Marty

[PollyPenguin]

Yep, that's what we did, too. I know they took cash - I think they even took credit cards with a hand-held machine - or maybe that was the ticket printing machine I'm thinking of...I know they had an electronic printer for something! The line to get on the bus was probably about 20-30 minutes long, spent mostly waiting for the buses to come in, empty, then fill up again. We waited a little longer as our group of 6 wanted to be on the top deck of the bus, so we waited one extra bus to be sure we could get up top.

[dchan865]

Thanks, Marty and Pollypenguin, appreciate it very much.

 

So I am going to safely assume that I can hop on the bus from any designated location.

 

That's what I am afraid of, spending all that time waiting in line. I heard from many folks exp. that the line can get very long during summer. I'll be there at the first week of June for a short 10 hours so that doesn't leave much time to explore the city.

 

We are going to plan on taking the taxi to several major attractions and if time permits and line is short(finger crossed), take a 2 hour tour around the city before heading back on ship.

 

Thanks again!

[NAS-KARR]

Martyap~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~DITTO :D

[FLJudi]

Our experience in several cities was that the lines for the HOHO at many stops was long, often having to wait for more than one bus to get on. I'm too impatient to spend my vacation waiting for busses, for other people to board and to get off the bus (always seems to be very slowly). Private tours, sharing taxis, taking public transportation and walking are our preferred means of getting around. Just one person's opinion after much European travel.

 

FLJudi

[Freddy Beach]

Hi,

Beside buying HoHo bus tickets from Viator(get a voucher) and directly from Barcelona's Transportation agency(TMB) below, is it really true that you can buy onboard the bus?

 

The benefit that I see is that you can avoid getting in line at the tourist office.

 

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

 

If someone can confirm that it can be done, that would be great.

Thanks in advance!

 

David

 

We bought ours on board.

 

Re the lines. There are at least two HOHO bus services at the square where the cruise shuttle bus drops you (this is at the immediate base of the La Ramba area). We walked to the opposite side of the drop off point and picked up the other (less popular) HOHO bus service. This strategy seemed to avoid the crowds resulting from the cruise ships and the routes were essentially identical as far as we could tell.

 

That said, this was the only port where we used buses instead of a private driver/tour company. Must agree with the previous poster that the private tours are very enjoyable and most memorable. The HOHO bus is good value, but not necessarily the best choice. If I were doing it over, I might consider a half day city tour and spend the other half day walking La Romba and drinking sangria.

[dchan865]

Thanks for the additional advice, guys/gals. I now have the confidence to travel the city on my own. :)

Planning for Croatia is the next agenda.

[FLJudi]

I’m not a fan of the HoHo busses. You often have to wait in line to board, particularly at the more popular sites, and may have to wait for a second or third bus. Loading and unloading is very slow. Those with mobility problems will struggle to get to the upper level, where everyone wants to be. The audio system does not always work, and when it does, the street noises compete. You often still have to walk quite a long way to get to some sites, and may also have to wait in lines to get in. Busses also get stuck in traffic which adds to the touring time.

Try sharing taxies, private tours, taking public transportation, and walking to get a flavor of the city. We’ve done a lot of travel in Europe, and HoHos are the last choice of our transportation options.