Barcelona, Montserrat Tour

Has anyone taken this Monastery tour from their hotel? Recommendations would be appreciated.

Check out previous thread on this topic:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=170786&highlight=Monserrat

We're planning on doing it in March (on a land trip). Will post when we return. When are you sailing?

Thanks a lot. I found 2 links from that page, look very good.

We are sailing in October.

We did a ships tour to Monserrat last October and it was wonderful. Just a beautiful spot, breathtaking. We were glad we took the ship's tour as the traffic was terrible and the lines for the shuttle back to the ship were very long.

We also did the ships tour and it was wonderful. The scenery was just beautiful. Barcelona would be a good place to have two days in port.

We took the ship's tour on the final day of our cruise before heading to airport. It was a fantastic excursion - the drive was.....let's say at time's my heart was in my mouth. I am glad we did this on a bus. We didn't have a lot of time to spend at the Monestary but the views and the Cathedral are worth it. They have a couple of nice gift/book stores as well. It was a great way to end a trip before spending hours on the plan.

We took the ship's tour on the final day of our cruise before heading to airport. It was a fantastic excursion - the drive was.....let's say at time's my heart was in my mouth. I am glad we did this on a bus. We didn't have a lot of time to spend at the Monestary but the views and the Cathedral are worth it. They have a couple of nice gift/book stores as well. It was a great way to end a trip before spending hours on the plane.

Hi,

We did it easily on our own by train from Catalunya station.There was a line change at Placa Espagna(sic).

It was well worth the trip.

Cheers,

Andy

Andy,

Where did you get the directions for using the train to Monserrat? I've found several sites but the directions seem confusing. There will be 4 of us and one person has been ill recently so I don't want to have long waits or get lost :)

Thanks

Hi,

We simply went to the train station and asked there. It was no problem.

Cheers,

Andy

We were in Barcelona in November. We got there easily on our own. We simply took the subway to the Espanya station and went from there. They had people in the train station who directed us to the ticket machines. When we got there a person helped us purchase our round trip tickets for the train and cable car to get there. Total each was 12.30 euros or about 15 dollars american. We missed alot of our planned destinations in Barcelona but, have no regrets going to Montserrat. This place was spectacular and I would reccomend anyone to atleast check it out. The views are stunning and we were awed every second we were there. We have some pics posted at this site from our trip. There is a section for Montserrat if you want to see them. Go, Go, Go, you will not regret it!

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/basill9/my_photos

We were in Barcelona last spring and spent 1 1/2 days pre cruise there. Stayed at the AC Diplomatic - a cruise line hotel. There we were able to purchase a 1/2 day escorted tour to Monserrat by bus. We walked to the bus station which was only a couple of blocks away from our hotel. If you go to Monserrat by bus you will need to depart early morning. It takes about an hour to get there. One of the highlights of this tour is being in the basilica to hear the boys choir sing. This takes place at 1pm each day. Going on the morning bus allowed us to see the area prior to the crowds getting too large, and securing a seat in the church well before 1pm. The church was wall to wall people by 1pm. The boys sing 2 songs and that's it. The bus leaves immediately after that so you have to hustle a bit to get to the parking lot in time - the bus may leave without you as it needs to get back to Barcelona for an afternoon city tour. The route on the way back takes you through the city and we got off right at Las Ramblas and spent the rest of the day in the heart of the city. We also purchased tickets to the double decker bus for the day and saw everything we wanted to see in a fairly short time. I would do the exact same thing again.

We are going on Med. cruise in June, departing from Barcelona. We are arriving the day before we set sail and will have some time on the day of arrival to explore and also the next day which is the the morning of departure. (We leave the port at 7 PM).

Since we won't know how we'll feel on our arrival day, due to jet lag, etc., would you recommend touring the day of departure? We will have a 9 yr. old with us. You mentioned is was an hour drive. When does the tour leave in the morning?? When do you get back?? What did you do with your luggage?? Thanks.

Robin

Not knowing where you're staying...I suggest that you spent the little time that you have in Barcelona...riding the hop on/hop off bus should be fun for your 9 year old AND you as well as walking on La Rambla and the Barri Gotic. Check out the large and fun market just off La Rambla. Maybe you can check your luggage at your hotel and retrieve when you're ready to head to the ship (just a 5-10 min taxi ride from La Rambla. You'll want to avoid too much jet lag as you embark on this very port intensive and wonderful cruise.

I've been to Monserrat twice by train from Barcelona. From memory, I think we caught the 9.36am train from Plaza Espana. The first time we ascended by funicular and the second time by cable car. If you are short of time I'd recommend getting off the train at the first Monserrat stop (Monserrat aeri) as it's MUCH quicker on the cable car which runs frequently from a building by the train station

Robin - the bus leaves fairly early in the morning - I think aroound 9am. It was a half day tour and we arrived back in Barcelona aboout 2:30 so that leaves lots of time to get to the port by 7pm. If you are staying at a hotel offered by the cruise line, this will include the transfers to the port andwe found they were picking us up on cruise day about 11am so we would not have been able to do the Monserrat trip that same day. If you are travelling independantly, then you can always check out of the hotel and they will store your baggage while you are touring, pick it up on your return to Barcelona then proceed to the ship. Another thing that may be possible if you are in a cruise line hotel with transfers included would be to see the ground cruise line ground hostess at the hotel and see if they would transfer your luggage without you (although I have my doubts they would do this) then board the ship when you return to Barcelona.

Thanks everyone. Since it's only a 1/2 trip, either independantly or by tour, it sounds very doable. We may just wait until that day to decide or would that be too late??

Robin

Is it possible to do Monserrat and Barcelona in one day on a tour? If we go to Monserrat, are we shortcutting our time in Barcelona to the extent that we will miss a lot of the highlights of the City? Our ship is in port from 7:00 a.m until 11:00 p.m. Thanks for any help:)

If you do the Monserrat trip in the morning and come back to Barcelona around 2:30 pm you will still have lots of time to see much of the city. I would suggest you catch the double decker bus to do this. As mentioned in a previous thread, there are 3 lines - blue, red and green and you are able to transfer between them.

Those of you who have already gone.....can guys wear shorts? into the church? or are long pants required?

We booked this thru the ship when we arrive there at the end of our cruise. Was pretty inexpensive and seemed the easiest way to get there.

Anita

For additional info on going to Montserrat on your own:

www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/spain/montserrat.htm

www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Spain/Catalunya/Serra_de_Montserrat-260556/Transportation-Serra_de_Montserrat-BR-1.html

Thanks Mark, great information at those sites.

Do you remember if there is a dress code of sorts? We will probably enjoy some of the walks/trails and need to know if it would be appropriate for my husband to wear shorts? Are they allowed inside the church?

Thanks, Anita

BillyBob,

I have doubts that you will be comfortable doing both Monserrat and Barcelona in one day. We stayed in Barcelona for two days post-cruise last fall and decided that there was so much to see in Barcelona that we'd save Monserrat for the next time. AND we still didn't see everything in Barcelona that we wanted to see. Could you do it -- sure. But, you'd have to settle for a pass by on the hop-on/hop-off bus in Barcelona and for being very tired at the end of the day. Remember you'd have to spend some time on such a long day eating and resting.

We're going back to Barcelona in March on our way to Mallorca and spending 4 days. Just an idea of the amount of things to do/see. On this one, we have Monserrat on our to do list for sure.

Enjoy whatever you decide - it's a great city! Can you tell that we loved Barcelona???

Thanks Mark, great information at those sites.

 

Do you remember if there is a dress code of sorts? We will probably enjoy some of the walks/trails and need to know if it would be appropriate for my husband to wear shorts? Are they allowed inside the church?

 

Thanks, Anita

Anita, I don't know if there will be someone at the door to check, or someone to kick you out if your husband wears shorts in the church, but I do know that it is not appropriate to wear shorts in the church. This is pretty much the case with all churches in Europe, although Sagrada Familia in Barcelona is an exception since it is not currently in use as a church. I would suggest zip-off pants, or if one of you will have a backpack or some type of bag, your husband can change into shorts in one of the restrooms outside of the church.

Bustaty,

When we were in Barcelona in 2001, we took a tour to Montserrat that we booked in our hotel, The Barcelona Hilton. We had a driver take four of us to Montserrat. It was a beautiful drive--great scenery. The Monastery is interesting. We heard the boy's choir and had time to tour the small museum and take pictures on the grounds and in the monastery. I agree with others who posted that it is difficult to do Barcelona and Montserrat in one day. We were in Barcelona for several days before our cruise. We took one day to do the hop on hop off bus and toured most of the major tourist sites (Las Ramblas, Bari Gotic, Sagrada Familia, Gaudi buildings, Olympics area, etc). The second day we went to Montserrat. The day we were to leave on our cruise, we took in Park Gruell and the Picasso Museum. One evening we took in a Flamenco Show and Dinner. (it was great--we even danced on stage with the professionals--lots of fun and super photo op!!) Enjoy Barcelona--it's a great city to explore.

Ben and Barbara