barcelona questions

[willtup5]

arriving on ncl jade dec 20, 2009. will be staying overnight at hilton diagonal mar and flying out next morning. need suggestions for day tours of city highlights. Is it better to go with a private tailored tour, or try to tour on ones own. How expensive is it to get around? most interested in sagrada familia, gothic quarter, park guell. we are a party of 4.Also best and cheapest way to get from hotel to airport.

thanks in advance for your help

david

[bqkali]

need suggestions for day tours of city highlights. Is it better to go with a private tailored tour, or try to tour on ones own. How expensive is it to get around? most interested in sagrada familia, gothic quarter, park guell. we are a party of 4.

It doesn't sound like you are straying off the beaten path, so there is absolutely no need for a private tour. All of these places are easily toured on your own.

 

It is very easy to get around the city by subway/bus. If you buy a pass good for 10 rides (7,70€) it is very affordable. The pass can be shared by all members of your family, so it would be easy to use all 10 rides (or 20... ;)) Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, and the Barri Gotic are all easily accessible by public transportation. If you're not comfortable with this option, cabs are also reasonably affordable. Most routes within the tourist center of Barcelona will be about a 10 euro ride.

 

The HOHO bus (hop-on, hop-off "Bus Turistic") will also get you from place to place. It is 21 euro per person. There are several routes; you can ride the complete circuit to hear the commentary and drive-by all the important places or you can get off the bus at any point to tour an attraction and then get back on the next bus. Be aware that sometimes the buses run infrequently, so you may have to wait up to 30 minutes for the next bus to come by if you have stepped off. So unless you value the commentary or want to "drive-by" all the attractions without getting off, a cab will be a cheaper and more convenient option.

 

Also best and cheapest way to get from hotel to airport. thanks in advance for your help

 

The cheapest option is by the cercania commuter train/subway - you can use the 10-ride pass making the journey only about 80 cents. It takes about an hour and you will need to carry all your own suitcases up and down stairs, etc. NOT for heavy packers or for people with mobility issues.

 

A cab will run about 25-30 euro and is certainly the easiest option.

[grandbanksguy]

arriving on ncl jade dec 20, 2009. will be staying overnight at hilton diagonal mar and flying out next morning. need suggestions for day tours of city highlights. Is it better to go with a private tailored tour, or try to tour on ones own. How expensive is it to get around? most interested in sagrada familia, gothic quarter, park guell. we are a party of 4.Also best and cheapest way to get from hotel to airport.

thanks in advance for your help

david

 

No need for a tour. Get a copy of Frommer's Barcelona Day by Day and ride the HOHO bus. You should be able to fit in the highllights during the day and stroll La Rambla in the evening.

[willtup5]

thankyou for your comments much appreciated. Just one question, does the hoho bus operate in december because of weather?

david

[HeinBloed]

Check this thread:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1008328

 

There are many of your answers you need.

 

Regards,

HeinBloed

[bqkali]

thankyou for your comments much appreciated. Just one question, does the hoho bus operate in december because of weather?

david

 

Yes it runs in December. Since it is the off-season, buses come about every 25 minutes. They run about 9am-7pm in December.

 

The red route will take you to Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell. The blue route goes to the Barri Gotic. Your ticket is valid on both routes, but there are only about 3 stops where you can transfer from one route to the other.

[grandbanksguy]

thankyou for your comments much appreciated. Just one question, does the hoho bus operate in december because of weather?

david

 

Sure looks like it does http://www.barcelona-on-line.es/eng/reserves/bus_turistic.htm :)

[HeinBloed]

There are TWO providers fo the Ho-Ho-Buses in Barcelona:

 

http://www.barcelonatours.es/

 

and

 

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

 

The second one provides also the green line during the summer season which starts opposite of the Hilton Diagonal Mar Hotel.

 

Regards,

HeinBoed

[sunny_weather]

HeinBoed,

 

You certainly appear to be an expert traveller with tons of experience :)

 

Our ship docks at 5:00 am in Barcelona and we have an overnight train that evening to Paris. We are hoping to spend the day sightseeing in Barcelona but we figure that our luggage will slow us down a little bit (although we are planning to pack light - with a 14 year old daughter, that may be optimistic ;)). Do you have any suggestions for where we can leave our luggage for the day? Are there any hotels that would allow us to check our luggage with their concierge desk, if we aren't staying at the hotel?

 

Thank you very much for any guidance/advice you can provide to us.

 

Catherine

[bqkali]

Our ship docks at 5:00 am in Barcelona and we have an overnight train that evening to Paris. We are hoping to spend the day sightseeing in Barcelona but we figure that our luggage will slow us down a little bit (although we are planning to pack light - with a 14 year old daughter, that may be optimistic ;)). Do you have any suggestions for where we can leave our luggage for the day? Are there any hotels that would allow us to check our luggage with their concierge desk, if we aren't staying at the hotel?

 

Most hotels are happy to store your luggage for a small fee and/or tip. Offhand, I don't know of any in particular.

 

Otherwise, there is luggage storage at the Sants train station, toward the rear of the station, near McDonalds. I believe it's about 3 euro for a small locker (will hold 1 carry-on size suitcase) or 5 euro for a larger locker. Should be 10-15 euro for a cab from the ship to the train station, or it can be accessed by subway/bus if you are able to carry your suitcases up and downstairs and walk a short distance.

 

Enjoy Barcelona; I loved it :)

[HeinBloed]

HeinBoed,

 

You certainly appear to be an expert traveller with tons of experience :)

 

Our ship docks at 5:00 am in Barcelona and we have an overnight train that evening to Paris. We are hoping to spend the day sightseeing in Barcelona but we figure that our luggage will slow us down a little bit (although we are planning to pack light - with a 14 year old daughter, that may be optimistic ;)). Do you have any suggestions for where we can leave our luggage for the day? Are there any hotels that would allow us to check our luggage with their concierge desk, if we aren't staying at the hotel?

 

Thank you very much for any guidance/advice you can provide to us.

 

Catherine

 

Good Morning,

 

unfortunately your train is leaving from Franca Station which does not have a baggage stowage.

 

Do you have a pre-cruise in Barcelona? There you can normally do it.

 

Mostly you can try it with the big hotels and hand over the concierge a 10 EUR note and ask for storage.

 

Tell them that you want to do lunch there and you dislike to have your bags with you.

 

Leave the hotel from another exit...

 

But from the logistics side:

 

I would do Sants Train Station:

 

http://heinbloed-cruiseguides.blogspot.com/2008/12/barcelona-spain-baggage-storage.html

 

I am not sure if you want tot do Ho-Ho-Bus or doing independent by metro like us:

 

http://heinbloed-cruiseguides.blogspot.com/2009/05/barcelona-spain-airport-transfer-hoho.html

 

Once you collected your bags you do not need to take a cab again:

 

Subject you bought a day-pass for the public transport you can easily use the commuter train to Franca station:

 

The 2 SUD (DARK GREEN) commuter train (Cercanias-trains) goes to Franca in few minutes.

 

http://www.renfe.es/cercanias/barcelona/index.html

 

Click on planos.

 

If you need to buy single tickets: 1 zone = 1.35 EUR.

 

I think your train is 21.05 hrs.

 

04, 25, 34, 55 past the hour. Transit time 12-13 minutes.

 

So if you use 20.25 hrs commuter train you are safe and for the worst case the next works also.

 

Regards,

HeinBloed