on and off buses

[ebds4]

can anyone tell us about teh hop on hop off tour buses in barcelona-- where would you get it if you get off thhe cruise ships-- are they good?

[cberge]

can anyone tell us about teh hop on hop off tour buses in barcelona-- where would you get it if you get off thhe cruise ships-- are they good?

Look at the thread near your post re the HOHO bus...I think you will find some info there.

[as19111]

If you were going to take the Bus Turistic (HOHO), the closest stop to the port is their "Blue Line". There is a stop at the World Trade Center and another near Columbus Circle.

 

It is really best if you looked at the website and reviewed the map routes. There are three: blue, red and green. You have transfer privileges, and it's up to you, what you want to see.

 

On day one, we did the red route in the morning and the blue route in the afternoon...two very different perspectives of Barcelona.

 

If you choose to HOHO along the route, it is often faster to take an inside seat than to go uptop, but it really depends on the stop and the hour of the day. Mornings are the busiest. On day one, we rode past Sagrada Familia in the morning. Lines wrapped around the church and it was incredibly crowded. On day two, we got off in the afternoon, and walked right up to the ticket booth. It really depends on what ships are in port to estimate the crowds. As mentioned in other threads, August is a very popular vacation month for Europeans, so the non-cruise crowds make a difference too.

 

There are 44 stops along all three routes. There is a discount book for admissions to stops along the way. You need one coupon PER Person, so make sure you get a book for everyone with your tickets. Disposable headphones are provided for the audio but your own headphones work too.

 

 

The one day HOHO ticket price (for Turista) is 21 Euro for adult and 13 Euro for ages 4-12. The two day price is 27/17 euros.

 

Try www.barcelonaturisme.cat for more information.

[AmoMondo]

It can be a good way to see the main sites, but the downside is that sometimes you end up waiting an awful long time at some stops to get back on. We found that a real problem on the day we used it and only managed to do one route before having to head back to the ship. For you as you have more time, this may not be such a problem. i definitely look at the other thread about this and the website.

An alternative is to use the metro which is cheap and easy to use and gets you around a lot quicker. Only draw back is that it does not go to Parc Guell and I'd class that as a must not miss experience. You can get a bus there though.

[happy05]

Around noon time, you can wait an hour for red line, so if you plan to ride red line, do it early during the day and don't get off once you are on.

[lhall85917]

We didn't do this in Barcelona - had planned on it and changed our mind at the last minute and it was a good decision. Others on our cruise took the bus and the 2 hour round trip ended up taking 5 hours because it was so busy - they got off the bus and took a taxi back to the ship or wouldn't have been back on time.

[Travel to Ports]

We did a Barcelona/Venice cruise late May/early June. Barcelona in May was in the 70s with cool evenings that could benefit from a jacket. Arrived on a Saturday with cruise boarding on Thursday. Stayed at an apartment with balcony overlooking the city park with a grocery store and bank around the block. Walking distance to Gothic Quarter (Sunday). On Tuesday/Wednesday we did the bus touristic and boarded at the zoo entrance location in the morning (09:30) -- the experience was great and we also purchased the articket and used it for at least 5 admissions during our stay. If you are there for just the day, if you use this bus, select the blue route and just don't get off. On the other hand, decide what you want to do/see and arrange for these experiences. We absolutely were NOT impressed by the Ramblas "tourist" area and you leave yourself open for pickpockets (don't talk to strangers who come up to you or become focused on "conflicts" that catch your attention (as you will lose your wallet, etc.). I purchased a wire around the neck attachment for my camera and we both used a wire attached pouch for our credit cards, paper money and passport -- well worth the preparation!