a few hours in Barcelona...should we attempt sightseeing?

[dsf3]

Because of a time crunch, we are flying into Barcelona the day our cruise sails. We arrive at 9:30am and we need to be on the ship by 4, I think.

 

Has anyone just grabbed a cab at the airport and told them to drive around to see the sights? Is it even doable (are the sights in pedestrian-only zones)?

[Turtles06]

Because of a time crunch, we are flying into Barcelona the day our cruise sails. We arrive at 9:30am and we need to be on the ship by 4, I think.

 

Has anyone just grabbed a cab at the airport and told them to drive around to see the sights? Is it even doable (are the sights in pedestrian-only zones)?

 

Obviously, whether it's "doable" depends on your actual arrival and when you have to be on board. Many of the main "sights" of Barcelona are not in pedestrian only zones, so you could certainly do a drive around the city. You might consider a private tour operator like Barcelona Day Tours, which would pick you up at the airport, give you a city tour, and take you to the port. I haven't used them yet (I will this fall), but they get good reviews on here and you can research them. It would probably be pricey.

 

 

http://www.barcelonadaytours.com/barcelona-airport-tour/

 

Have a great trip.

[sunsetbeachgal]

Yes, many of the sights such as the Gaudi architecture, Sagrada, Parc Guell, are all in zones where cars are permitted. I second what poster said above about having the tour company pick you up at the airport and take the tour then drop at the ship.

[CruisingGatorGirl]

Yes! I highly recommend you get our and sight-see :) My family had the same schedule as you. We did the hop on/hop off bus and LOVED it. I believe we rode the bus from 10 am to 1pm? Then we went back to the hotel, got our luggage and headed to the ship :)

 

I have this detailed in my review, which is in my signature if you are interested.

[4774Papa]

I suggest that you use Barcelona Day Tours for a four hour tour. They will keep your luggage secure in the van while taking you around the city.

 

Don't do the cab thing, many Barcelona cab drivers don't speak the best English. Twice, I had cab drivers from Pakistan that knew little about the history of the city.

 

The HoHo bus is not a bad idea, but then you have to deposit your luggage in a secure place.

[KirkNC]

You could drop your luggage off at the ship and go stroll La Ramblas.

[4774Papa]

You could drop your luggage off at the ship and go stroll La Ramblas.

Disadvantage to that is you will still be carrying your passports, wallets and valuable stuff in the most pickpocket prone city and most pickpocket place in that city.

[timetravelers]

I would also say that Barcelona Day Tours would be a great option. They can pick you up at airport, drive you around Barcelona, (luggage in trunk) then take you to your ship. The driver will not leave the car so your luggage is safe. Our driver was very knowledgeable about the city and can customize the tour based on time and your desire. We used them and they were great! 4 hours will give you a "hint" of the. It's. If you can do all day it's even a better tour!!

 

 

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[GreyShadow]

Don't know where you are flying in from and whether or not jet lag will be a factor. I would strongly recommend las Ramblas. Easy walk and near the port.

 

 

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[ShannonSC2]

Yes! I highly recommend you get our and sight-see :) My family had the same schedule as you. We did the hop on/hop off bus and LOVED it. I believe we rode the bus from 10 am to 1pm? Then we went back to the hotel, got our luggage and headed to the ship :)

 

I have this detailed in my review, which is in my signature if you are interested.

 

 

Is there a HOHO stop near the port? We also fly in the morning of our cruise and I am thinking of grabbing a taxi from airport to port, drop off luggage and find the nearest HOHO stop. Ride around town & then get on ship. We will be staying Barcelona one night after our cruise. But I think if we take the HOHO bus at the beginning we can see the city.

[4774Papa]

Is there a HOHO stop near the port? We also fly in the morning of our cruise and I am thinking of grabbing a taxi from airport to port, drop off luggage and find the nearest HOHO stop. Ride around town & then get on ship. We will be staying Barcelona one night after our cruise. But I think if we take the HOHO bus at the beginning we can see the city.

You will get more out of your time if you take a good tour from Barcelona Day Tours instead of the HoHo. Also, BDT will pick you up at the airport and keep your luggage in the van while you are on tour. It is worth a little more money.

[ShannonSC2]

You will get more out of your time if you take a good tour from Barcelona Day Tours instead of the HoHo. Also, BDT will pick you up at the airport and keep your luggage in the van while you are on tour. It is worth a little more money.

 

 

As much as I would love to do the BDT I can't convince hubby. For the 4 of us it adds up quickly. If we do the HOHO it is much cheaper. Trust me I have begged & pleaded! Even laid out all the pros & cons of doing both. I have thought of leaving him at port and me & the girls doing the BDT! HAHA! That would be a great way to start vacation in Europe!

[CruisingGatorGirl]

Is there a HOHO stop near the port? We also fly in the morning of our cruise and I am thinking of grabbing a taxi from airport to port, drop off luggage and find the nearest HOHO stop. Ride around town & then get on ship. We will be staying Barcelona one night after our cruise. But I think if we take the HOHO bus at the beginning we can see the city.

 

I can't remember exactly because we started from our hotel. But, I do think online somewhere (maybe the website) you can download the official map in a PDF version. I am pretty sure I looked at that before we left to get an idea of which color route(s) to take.

 

Maybe it depends on traffic or something, but WE felt like we saw a lot in a short amount of time. We had perfect weather and enjoyed sitting up top taking in all of Barcelona. I think we "hopped" off twice and just rode it around the rest of the time :)

[CruisingGatorGirl]

Is there a HOHO stop near the port? We also fly in the morning of our cruise and I am thinking of grabbing a taxi from airport to port, drop off luggage and find the nearest HOHO stop. Ride around town & then get on ship. We will be staying Barcelona one night after our cruise. But I think if we take the HOHO bus at the beginning we can see the city.

 

I just checked. This is the website:

 

http://www.barcelonabusturistic.cat/en/home

 

Click on routes and you can download the PDF. Check out the red route. There is a Port Veil stop... is that the cruise port?

 

p.s.

looking at the map makes me sad, because we LOVED barcelona so much! Have a great time!

[Turtles06]

As much as I would love to do the BDT I can't convince hubby. For the 4 of us it adds up quickly. If we do the HOHO it is much cheaper. Trust me I have begged & pleaded! Even laid out all the pros & cons of doing both. I have thought of leaving him at port and me & the girls doing the BDT! HAHA! That would be a great way to start vacation in Europe!

 

I definitely thinking leaving him at the port and heading off with the girls and BDT is the way to go! ;)

[MeHeartCruising]

I just checked. This is the website:

 

http://www.barcelonabusturistic.cat/en/home

 

Click on routes and you can download the PDF. Check out the red route. There is a Port Veil stop... is that the cruise port?

 

p.s.

looking at the map makes me sad, because we LOVED barcelona so much! Have a great time!

 

The red line is the closest to the main cruise port, however, most ships do not dock at Port Veil. If you download the route map from the above website, the primary cruise port is in the bottom right corner (marked with Terminal A, B, C and D.) Your ship could be at any of those Terminals. To get to the red line, you need to do one of the following: 1) the port provides a Blue Bus that runs from the 4 Terminals to Columbus Monument (Stop Colom-Museu Maritim on the redline map). There is a small charge for this bus. 2) take a taxi from the Terminal to wherever you may want to get on the red line. 3) walk to the closest redline stop. Not sure which of the 3 in that lower corner is actually closest. Personally, I do not advise walking. It's actually a longer walk than it looks on the map and it is up and over a bridge. There are sidewalks and I've seen people walking over it with luggage, so people do it. But it's certainly not how I would want to spend my vacation time. Especially if you're the 4th ship in line. You really could make the call on which of the 3 choices you make upon your arrival after you have surveyed the location some and know which position your ship is in. In my case, we chose option 4) abandon the plan to sightsee after an all-night flight and get on the nicely air conditioned ship as soon as possible.

 

If this link works, it shows a picture of the first ship in the line with the bridge you'd need to walk up and over. And then there's more road out of view that you need to walk along before you would get to the redline.

Edited May 30, 2014 by MeHeartCruising

[ShannonSC2]

I definitely thinking leaving him at the port and heading off with the girls and BDT is the way to go! ;)

 

HAHA Turtles06. :D:D:D:D Thanks for the laugh! Still trying to decide what to do. Our flight comes in later than I thought.

[ShannonSC2]

I just checked. This is the website:

 

http://www.barcelonabusturistic.cat/en/home

 

Click on routes and you can download the PDF. Check out the red route. There is a Port Veil stop... is that the cruise port?

 

p.s.

looking at the map makes me sad, because we LOVED barcelona so much! Have a great time!

 

 

Thanks for the information. I will check them out today. Time is running out & I still have lots of planning to do.

 

PS Enjoyed reading all your reviews.