Half Day tour in Barcelona - or HOHO???

[mapsmom]

My group of 19 want to see the Barcelona sights, but we do not know if it would be better to book a tour, or to ride the HOHO bus. We have three very senior citizens (80s), and I am concerned about the heat in August. Anyone have advice? Has anyone booked a reasonably priced tour, and if so, do they let you actually go into the sights (like Sagrada Familia, for example)? We would like to go to Parc Guell, and the Columbus monument.

 

Thanks!!

[Got2Cruise]

My group of 19 want to see the Barcelona sights, but we do not know if it would be better to book a tour, or to ride the HOHO bus. We have three very senior citizens (80s), and I am concerned about the heat in August. Anyone have advice? Has anyone booked a reasonably priced tour, and if so, do they let you actually go into the sights (like Sagrada Familia, for example)? We would like to go to Parc Guell, and the Columbus monument.

 

Thanks!!

 

I think especially if you have a large group, I would try to get a group tour going. The tour guide will then take you into the Sagrada Familia and give commentary. Plus groups, go through a separate enterance, you don't need to wait inline, the guide makes all the arrangements. If you take the HoHo bus, the bus simply brings you to the venue, then you go and purchase the tickets yourself, and arrange for a tour at the venue if available. With the private tour you can specify exactly which sights you would like to visit.

[euro cruiser]

Avoid the HOHO buses (there are two different lines that I saw, may be more) at all costs. Last week when we used them they were wildly crowded and it would have been impossible for a large group to all get on the same bus, you'd have to split up. We had two older women in wheelchairs and were able to get them on and off without a problem, but it was hard to get four people on at a time at some stops, much less a really large group.

[FinelyRetired]

My group of 19 want to see the Barcelona sights, but we do not know if it would be better to book a tour, or to ride the HOHO bus. We have three very senior citizens (80s), and I am concerned about the heat in August. Anyone have advice? Has anyone booked a reasonably priced tour, and if so, do they let you actually go into the sights (like Sagrada Familia, for example)? We would like to go to Parc Guell, and the Columbus monument.

 

Thanks!!

 

I would urge you to contact Jose Soler at www.pepitotours.com regarding your group. I've toured with him several times and he's a delightful young man who is very experienced and his commentary is quite knowledgeable and engaging and he speaks english well.

 

He does a half day "Barcelona Highlights" tour which is discribed on the website, but he's very flexible.

 

I think this option would be perfect for your group.

 

Martha S.

[maja]

I agree with the above posters. When in Barcelona last May, I decided not to use the HOHO bus after reading posts on these boards. Main reason was that I would have to waste a lot of precious time on the route since it makes a complete loop. I had also read that it got very crowded & there's a good chance you will have to wait till you fit on a bus. With a group, that would be really tough to do. I arranged tours for my group of 8 at all ports except Barcelona. (Our friends took the ship's bus tour & disliked it. They basically drove past most tourist spots.) My husband & I used a taxi once, after walking from the ship to Las Ramblas & visiting the market, we rode over to Sagrada Familia. We walked between the other sites, but it could be difficult for some people. You would be better off as said above to contact a tour guide who can custom tailor your time in Barcelona. There is so much to see here..... Have a great trip.