Best tour advice to montserrat

We are going on a Princess cruise to the Med. in june and are staying in Barcelona for a couple of days pre cruise in the Majestic.

We have done several tours of Barcelona previously and would like to do a day tour out of the city to Montserrat Monastery,etc.

Any advice on best tour? Happy to do an all day tour.

Thanks for all help,as always.

Ian Moore

If you do a search in this forum, you'll find plenty of info on doing Montserrat on your own. But if you want a tour with a guide, I can highly recommend Barcelona Day Tours. We used them last fall during a port stop in Barcelona. We'd been to Barcelona before, so we had them customize their tour to Montserrat that also had some highlights of Barcelona on the return. According to their web site, they could also combine Montserrat with a Cava country tour.

They were very easy to communicate with via email, so you might just want to write to them and see what you could arrange.

Have a great trip!

http://www.barcelonadaytours.com/

I also recommend Barcelona Day Tours. We did a full day private tour to Montserrat and a cava winery (Artcava) and it was wonderful. The company is very professional, responding promptly to emails and confirming all details the day before your tour.

We were in Barcelona in December and planned to take the train up to Montserrat, but slept in, and awoke at 12:30 in the afternoon. Yes, the room had the curtains which darken the room. Rushed down to the hotel lobby, and the hotel had brochures for different companies.

We used Barcelonaguidebureau dot com, they depart at 3PM right at Placa Catalunya, and they did a great job, would recommend them. You can buy your tickets right there, I think if you book your tickets online, you save 5-10%.

When we go to Barcelona again in 2016, we are taking the bus/train from the airport up to Montserrat and spending the nite there. Will watch the sunrise in the morning, weather permitting.

Good luck, its a must see!!!!

Has anyone ever used Viator for their Barcelona tours?

We have booked through Viator for a full day tour on May 10th that includes Montserrat. We have used Viator a few times in the past and have not had any problems.

Our tour is called Barcelona and Montserrat tour with skip the line entry to Park Guell. The tour operator is Top Day tours.

We have booked through Viator for a full day tour on May 10th that includes Montserrat. We have used Viator a few times in the past and have not had any problems.

 

Our tour is called Barcelona and Montserrat tour with skip the line entry to Park Guell. The tour operator is Top Day tours.

I should mention that Top Day tours is the same company as Barcelona Day tours.

We have booked through Viator for a full day tour on May 10th that includes Montserrat. We have used Viator a few times in the past and have not had any problems.

 

Our tour is called Barcelona and Montserrat tour with skip the line entry to Park Guell. The tour operator is Top Day tours.

I should mention that Top Day tours is the same company as Barcelona Day tours.

I'm curious about something, never having used Viator. From what I"ve read about them, Viator is just a middle-person that sells you a tour that is actually conducted by someone else (not Viator). In some places, where it might be hard to find a well-recommended tour guide, I suppose there's value added by Viator. But here, Barcelona Day Tours is so highly recommended, is there some reason to book through Viator? Aren't you paying more?

I'm curious about something, never having used Viator. From what I"ve read about them, Viator is just a middle-person that sells you a tour that is actually conducted by someone else (not Viator). In some places, where it might be hard to find a well-recommended tour guide, I suppose there's value added by Viator. But here, Barcelona Day Tours is so highly recommended, is there some reason to book through Viator? Aren't you paying more?

In some cases you pay more, in other cases less. It wasn't until I booked the tour and got confirmation that I saw who the tour operator is. We paid $155 Canadian per person through Viator. Barcelona Day tours advertises at 99 Euros, but I don't believe it include the Park Guell tickets as that is an add on. Depending on exchange rate of the day, the price is very similar.

I have done both, booked through Viator as well as directly with the tour guide if there have been good reviews/recommendations.

What I like about Viator is that you can search many tours all on the same website. To me it is similar to using an on-line travel agent to book your cruise rather than booking directly with the Celebrity. You can compare different cruise lines all at once.

At the end of the day the main thing is you are comfortable with your choice and enjoy your trip!

In some cases you pay more, in other cases less. It wasn't until I booked the tour and got confirmation that I saw who the tour operator is. We paid $155 Canadian per person through Viator. Barcelona Day tours advertises at 99 Euros, but I don't believe it include the Park Guell tickets as that is an add on. Depending on exchange rate of the day, the price is very similar.

 

I have done both, booked through Viator as well as directly with the tour guide if there have been good reviews/recommendations.

 

What I like about Viator is that you can search many tours all on the same website. To me it is similar to using an on-line travel agent to book your cruise rather than booking directly with the Celebrity. You can compare different cruise lines all at once.

 

At the end of the day the main thing is you are comfortable with your choice and enjoy your trip!

Thanks, I appreciate having that info.

Have a wonderful time!

Montserrat is very easy to DIY. Just get Placa de Espanya and you will see the sign for the Metro. You go downstairs and there are people to help you choose you tickets.

In some cases you pay more, in other cases less. It wasn't until I booked the tour and got confirmation that I saw who the tour operator is. We paid $155 Canadian per person through Viator. Barcelona Day tours advertises at 99 Euros, but I don't believe it include the Park Guell tickets as that is an add on. Depending on exchange rate of the day, the price is very similar.

 

I have done both, booked through Viator as well as directly with the tour guide if there have been good reviews/recommendations.

 

What I like about Viator is that you can search many tours all on the same website. To me it is similar to using an on-line travel agent to book your cruise rather than booking directly with the Celebrity. You can compare different cruise lines all at once.

 

At the end of the day the main thing is you are comfortable with your choice and enjoy your trip!

Just to add..... I actually tried to book a tour thru Barcelona Day tours but shockingly not one soul on my cruise ship has a tour scheduled with that company the day we are in port. Barcelona Day tours stated if two more people could not join the full day tour I would then have to pay 400 Euros to do a private tour (which I really didn't want to pay double the price)

So I contacted Viator and they said they would pick us up at the sea port/drop us off and offer full day tour for same price. I did find out that Viator actually is also a middle man for Barcelona Day tours. So I almost have no choice but to book with Viator as no-one on Allure has opted to book a tour.

Just to add..... I actually tried to book a tour thru Barcelona Day tours but shockingly not one soul on my cruise ship has a tour scheduled with that company the day we are in port. Barcelona Day tours stated if two more people could not join the full day tour I would then have to pay 400 Euros to do a private tour (which I really didn't want to pay double the price)

 

 

 

So I contacted Viator and they said they would pick us up at the sea port/drop us off and offer full day tour for same price. I did find out that Viator actually is also a middle man for Barcelona Day tours. So I almost have no choice but to book with Viator as no-one on Allure has opted to book a tour.

 

Good to know. Thanks.

We have used Viator several times in Canada and Asia and never had a problem.

Planning for our 2016 cruise and I was just looking at their website. I'm glad that they are also offering shore excursions in the Med and I'm looking at their prices for comparison.

I am reposting a cc post regarding do it yourself to Montserrat. I followed the advice and it worked. Try to catch the 7:36 train, you will beat the crowds.

If you have a full day to do Montserrat I would propose the following schedule in order to always be one step ahead of the crowds:

Take the 7:36 train to Montserrat-Monistrol

Catch the 8:48 rack rail up to the monastery, arriving about 9:08

View the monastery, including Black Madonna (probably takes about 45 minutes to see all the monastery at a leisurely pace)

View the audiovisual presentation and displays (allow about 30 minutes)

Take the Sant Joan funicular up, see the nature center, and hike a bit if able to see the impressive views (head right out of the funicular for a good hike about 45 minutes round-trip) - this funicular is more popular so do it first before the lines get long

Take the Santa Cova funicular down, and walk the remaining Holy Grotto Path which is lined with beautiful artistic monuments - about 45 minutes round-trip from the base of the funicular and is fairly steep

Return to the monastery to hear the boys' choir

Lunch and perhaps sample the honeys and cheese for sale in the stands just past the cafeteria

Museum

Any additional hiking, if of interest - there are tons of trails and the tourist stand can provide maps of the trails

Return downward by cable car (or rack rail) and then train to Barcelona

When you return to Barcelona, nap a bit before dinner since you had an early morning!!

Tour buses started dropping people off around 10 which is when things started to get busy. By noon, the place was crazy! But almost everyone followed the order I presented above, so if you start earlier than everyone else then you will always be ahead of the crowds.

Total cost is about 42 euro, including everything, even your lunch and the extra charge for one-way rack rail/one-way cable car Of course, if you're not interested in seeing everything or if you don't have time for everything, you can skip parts and it might be cheaper.

You can book your Montserrat trip a number of different ways. To go one-way on the cable car, simply buy a separate one-way cable car ticket from the top - should be 5€. If you want to go up on the rail and down on the cable car, it may be cheaper to buy things a la carte; not sure since I didn't do the math

There are two combo tickets (prices as of April 2009):

"Trans Montserrat" (22,50€) which includes

2 Metro rides (can be used anytime, not necessarily in conjunction with your trip to Montserrat)

Round-trip ticket on the train from Pl. Espanya

Round-trip rack railway OR round-trip cable car

Sant Joan Funicular (unlimited rides, but one round-trip is probably plenty )

Santa Cova Funicular (unlimited rides)

Audiovisual entrance

"Tot Montserrat" 36,95€ which includes all of the above AND

Lunch at their cafeteria

Museum entry

Alternatively, you can buy everything a la carte. The monastery itself, all hiking trails, and the nature center are free.

Metro rides (to/from Pl. Espanya for example) are 1,35€ per trip

Train from Pl. Espanya to Montserrat to catch rack rail/cable car is 3,80€ one-way or 7,60€ round-trip

Rack railway is 5,05€ one-way or 8€ round-trip

Cable car is 5,40€ one-way or 8,40€ round-trip

Sant Joan Funicular is 4,35€ one-way or 6,90€ round-trip

Santa Cova Funicular is 1,75€ one-way or 2,80€ round-trip (if you plan on doing both funiculars and purchasing a la carte you can get round-trip on BOTH for a discounted price of 7,75€)

Audiovisual exhibit is 2€

Museum is 6,50€

Lunch obviously varies depending on what you get but is fairly reasonable

If you aren't interested in seeing everything, add up what you want to do and see if it's cheaper to buy a la carte or to buy the combo ticket even without using some portions of it.

Also, something I didn't think to try until AFTER I left Barcelona was to get to Montserrat from Plaza Espanya using the T-10 transportation ticket I had already purchased for the rest of our trip; it's valid on metro, RENFE cercania trains such as the train from the airport, and the FGC trains such as you take to Montserrat - 7,70€ for 10 rides and can be shared by multiple people! According to the Barcelona transport website it will work, but I have no personal experience to confirm. If you have a T-10 anyway (which it's a great value if you will be in Barcelona for a day or more and plan on using the metro anyway), try it at the Plaza Espanya train station. I am 99% positive it will allow you entry to the train, but make sure you're there early enough to buy alternative tickets just in case. If it works, once you arrive at the Montserrat-Monistrol or Montserrat-Aeri station, you can buy the combination ticket listed above WITHOUT the train portion. The cost is 14,90€ for the smaller combo ticket or 31€ for the larger ticket.

The train to/from Barcelona leaves only once per hour. The first train leaves Pl. Espanya (in direction: Manresa) at 7:36, and then every hour after that - always on the :36. If you take the rack rail up, get off at station Monistrol de Montserrat (arriving at 8:44) where you will catch the rack rail up to the monastery area. The rack rail leaves at 8:48am. You will see a little green train - that's where you are heading for the transfer If you want to take the cable car up, the first train from Barcelona you can take is the 8:36 train (getting you to the cable car about an hour later) - the cable car does not start running until 9:40am so if you want an early start, you HAVE to take the rack rail. The cable car leaves from a different train stop: Montserrat Aeri. Make sure you get off at the right stop!!

Coming back, the train departs the Monistrol de Montserrat station at the bottom of the mountain on the :44 past the hour. That means, if you are taking the rack rail down, you must take the rack rail that leaves the top of the mountain on the :15 past the hour. If you are taking the cable car down (just purchase a one-way ticket if you took the rack rail up), you need to catch the train to Barcelona from the Montserrat Aeri station, which leaves on the :48 past the hour. It is just a 5 minute ride down, so you could take the cable car down on the :30. However, since there is limited capacity on the cable car, if it looks like it's busy that day, I would aim for the :15 cable car just in case you have to wait for the next one. Is this clear as mud??

It's unfortunate the trains don't run as often because it really puts a damper on your flexibility.

I can't speak for the cable car, but the rack rail station is in the same place as the train to Barcelona. The transfer simply involves walking off one train and onto the other. At the top of the mountain, both the train and the cable car will drop you off near the cafeteria, gift shop, and audiovisual area. Within a 5 minute walk, you can hit either funicular, the monastery, some farmers' stands, the museum, the post office, a little cafe...nothing is very far, unless of course you want to hike! There are an endless amount of trails, but the ones that start from where the funicular drops you off are the most popular (for good reason) and also of reasonable length - about 45 minutes each.

One last thought (and sorry for the long reply): You can buy the combo tickets from either the Plaza Espanya train station or the Montserrat station (note the price differences above since from Pl. Espanya it will automatically include your train fare). Both stations, if you pay via the automated machine - which is easy and has an English option - you can pay with credit card, debit card, or cash. If you pay by credit card, you will need to enter your credit card PIN. This is the PIN you would need if you wanted to use your credit card for a cash advance at an ATM, for example. I don't normally need that number, so make sure you know it before you leave. Also, neither my credit card or my debit card was approved by the machines at any subway/train station in Barcelona, but we had no problems elsewhere. You can certainly try to pay by card, but have cash as a backup just in case...we needed it. For a family of 5, that may add up to a lot of cash so be prepared!