HOHO in Barcelona

[tom_uk]

w/regard to the Metro, this question was asked:

 

Do you use cash or credit card? Do you have to have exact change?

 

Thanks

 

I'm sorry, I honestly don't remember, nor can I remember the prices (not high, though). I'm pretty sure we didn't use a card. We tend to have € cash available to us - at that time we were visiting Euro-land a couple of times a year so we always had a pool of cash left over from the last trip which we just topped up with fresh notes from the bank before leaving home. Also we had probably changed notes in a bar or restaurant or done some small-item shopping (water, etc) before using the metro. So we probably had the right change.

[Hlitner]

Every once in a while I post a contrarian opinion on the Barcelona HOHO bus. We know this city very well (been there about a dozen times on ships and in hotels) and think that the HOHO makes little sense. Here is why. First, it is quite expensive at 27 Euros per person (about $40 per person). You will spend lots of time just waiting in line to get on buses and you often have to wait for up to 25 min to even get a bus (this adds up if you get off at a lot of stops). Barcelona is a city made for walking since the primary tourist areas of the Ramblas and Gothic Quarter are adjacent areas that begs to be explored on foot. The other major tourist area (Sagrada Familia) is easily accessible by using the fast (and cheap) Metro. You simply take the Metro (subway) from the Ramblas area (there are several stops) for a couple of Euros and there is a stop very close to the Cathedral. Personally, we enjoy walking from the cruise ship to the Ramblas (about 1 mile), and spending much of a port day just walking around the Ramblas and Gothic Quarter. Total cost for us is ZERO Euros for transportation. If we decide to go to Sagrada Familia, this increases our cost to about $5 for transportation. If we wanted to go to another area, we can use the Metro or even a taxi and still save at least $50 over the HoHo...not to mention having saved lots of time waiting for that bus.

 

Hank

[as19111]

Every once in a while I post a contrarian opinion on the Barcelona HOHO bus. We know this city very well (been there about a dozen times on ships and in hotels) and think that the HOHO makes little sense. Here is why. First, it is quite expensive at 27 Euros per person (about $40 per person). You will spend lots of time just waiting in line to get on buses and you often have to wait for up to 25 min to even get a bus (this adds up if you get off at a lot of stops). Barcelona is a city made for walking since the primary tourist areas of the Ramblas and Gothic Quarter are adjacent areas that begs to be explored on foot. The other major tourist area (Sagrada Familia) is easily accessible by using the fast (and cheap) Metro. You simply take the Metro (subway) from the Ramblas area (there are several stops) for a couple of Euros and there is a stop very close to the Cathedral. Personally, we enjoy walking from the cruise ship to the Ramblas (about 1 mile), and spending much of a port day just walking around the Ramblas and Gothic Quarter. Total cost for us is ZERO Euros for transportation. If we decide to go to Sagrada Familia, this increases our cost to about $5 for transportation. If we wanted to go to another area, we can use the Metro or even a taxi and still save at least $50 over the HoHo...not to mention having saved lots of time waiting for that bus.

 

Hank

 

You are certainly entitled to your opinion and if you have the physical stamina to walk these distances, it's a great way to tour.

 

On the other hand, if you have physical limitations e.g. arthritis of the hip or knee, any amount of walking can be slow and painful. So, the HOHO is a wonderful and relatively safe way to see alot in a little amount of time AND have an audio tour too. In addition, you get a broad stroke overview of the city and based on that observation, you can determine where you want to expend yourself for walking, climbing etc. I am a tourist and I want to see it all, but after a few hours, when I need to step on or off a curb, it feels like I'm doing a high hurdle leap.

 

We did this HOHO in NYC and once we had our bearings, we walked or took the subway if the distance was too far to walk (e.g. Times Square to Battery Park). I applaud the HOHO for the service it provides in introducing you to a city.

 

BTW, the 27 euros is a two day pass. We used it and were very satisfied with the value it provided.

[Hlitner]

The prior post is correct that 27 Euro is a 2 day HoHO pass. It is "only" 20 Euro for a one day pass. I agree that if you have problems walking, than sitting on a HoHo makes a lot of sense. But, for those that have no problems walking and want to really see the city, it is nicer to be on the streets rather than on a bus. As to the metro question, I believe the ticket was about 1.30 Euro (it varies depending on zone). You can buy the tickets in the automatic ticket machines or get a ticket at the ticket window. If you are a small group and think you will use the Metro (or buses and trams) more than once, you can buy a T-10 Ticket (good for 10 one-way journeys) for only 7.70 Euros. I believe the ticket window will take a credit card, but not sure if it makes sense to charge a purchase that is only a couple of Euros.

 

Hank

[rrobynec]

Last July, I did a combination of metro and HOHO (Bus Tursitic) and found the combination just right for myself and my two teens.

I did buy my tickets in advance online, and saved myself from waiting in the queue to purchase tickets.

We choose a combination of riding alfresco on the upper level, and cooling off down below when the heat became too much.

I did enjoy the narrative that that was provided on the HOHO, which you cannot get on the metro. There are numerous buildings that I would have admired, but known nothing about.

It is highly probable that there would be huge areas of the city that I would not have even seen, if I had decided to just go by metro alone.

We did not find the buses too crowded or waited too long--we never had to wait for a second bus too arrive due to the first one to stop being over crowded.

Maybe we were just lucky!:)

[MisterBill99]

We are just back from our cruise and we took the Touristic HOHO. When I got to my hotel and asked about it, the desk clerk said they had a 6e discount coupon and package that they would sell me for 4e. So I bought 4 of them and proceeded to take the bus (this was around 9:30am, our plane arrived early and we quickly got the airport bus). Anyway, I decided to buy a 2 day pass, which was probably a mistake since we managed to do the red and blue lines the first day, just stopping at the FCB stadium. But since we had the 2nd day, we good the red line again the 2nd day, and this time got off at the cathedral and took a look around, since we had not stopped there the first day. Had I not paid for the second day, we would have just walked around the Ramblas area, since we had to be out of our hotel rooms by noon. I would have liked to get to the green line but we were too tired to do it the first day and would not have had time the 2nd since it would have required us taking the blue line again.

 

I tried to pay with a credit card but the person at the bus told me to buy it at the ticket booth and the ticket booth told me to buy it at the bus. So I ended up having to pay cash.

[SusaninCali]

We check in (Moll Adossat) and then have several hours before departure. How far to walk and pick up the blue Turista HOHO bus?

 

Anyone done this?

 

Thanks

[Mexfolkart]

We did NOT find a taxi at Park Guell to come back, but walked down the hill to the HOHO stop and took it back.