Anyone use Barcelona Day Tours?

[Trish Traveler]

We just returned from our Med Cruise and our two day stay pre-cruise in Barcelona where we used  Barcelona Day Tours. The City Tour was fantastic!  Since we knew we would be a bit jet lagged at the beginning of our trip, we really appreciated the personal service of being picked up right at our hotel and taken to the many key sights of Barcelona with a great guide, Mirabel.  She warmly greeted us and gave a terrific overview of her amazing city.  She clearly explained with just the right amount of info and used her I-pad to accent certain areas with great photos, to help us understand better.  Our city tour had about 8 people on it.  The ½ day city tour showed us many highlights including a few stops for photos, an inside tour of Parc Guell, and an outside tour of Sagrada Familia, along with the Olympic sites on Montjuic and a ride down Passeig de Gracia  to view the Block of Discord and the Gaudi buildings.The mini-bus was clean and in great shape, and we appreciated the driver always being there when we were finished with our outside, off the bus visits.  Once again, being dropped off at our hotel at the end was perfect.  We then knew where we wanted to contine to visit on our own for our short 2 night stay in Barcelona prior to our cruise.  Would definitely recommend them.

[HappyDs]

We also used them, but from our cruise ship, and Marta was our guide. Having been on many excursions in the past year, I can say that this was one of our favorites. Can't add much to your review except we will use them again on our return.

[kbemje]

Barcelona Tours are superb and I highly recommend. I used them all through Portugal and Spain.

[jcrued]

We have used Barcelona Day tours for the last several years that we have traveled to Barcelona both for airport transfers and cruise ship to hotel transfer along with several of their other tours Monserrat & Cava tours. they've always been on time very professional and full of interesting history of any of the sites. this past September our flight was delayed 3 hours despite the agreement saying they did not have to wait our driver and guide were there waiting with a smile. because of the lateness of our flight our original tour could not be followed but Maribel and the driver quickly came up with a new itinerary which was better the first! We will continue to us Barcelona Day tours every time we visit Spain !  

[poss]

I, too, would appreciate hearing responses about the questions asked on post #377.

And also from people who may've used this company for pick-up from airport and half day tour before drop-off at hotel.

Thank you to responders.

[fabnfortysomething]

19 hours ago, poss said:

I, too, would appreciate hearing responses about the questions asked on post #377.

And also from people who may've used this company for pick-up from airport and half day tour before drop-off at hotel.

Thank you to responders.

I was the poster who had laptop stolen from supposedly secure van

 

we had travel insurance as always but refused to pay out as electrical items such as laptops cameras etc are classed as gadgets and excluded-check the small print

 

the issue was the driver and his attitude-shrugging his shoulders and saying "these things happen"

he had no knowledge of Barcelona Day Tours website promise of personal belongings securely stored in the van whilst you enjoy a walking tour en route to eventual airport drop off

 

we had to insist he take us to a local police station for a crime report for insurance

As no one in police station spoke English and we don't speak Spanish he acted as interpretor

When we got the report translated later he didn't report actual facts but tried to make excuses as to how a thief would have had to "insert his full upper body into the van"

 

We had got together 2 other couples from roll call to share costs and he was trying to persuade us in the police  station that the other couples were keen to continue with the tour when in fact they had lost any enjoyment in day and he tried to make us feel sorry for him saying he would lose money from a curtailed tour!!!!!

 

I would hope Barcelona Day Tours have learned a lesson from our experience and stress to the drivers that they have a duty of care to their passengers    

[Holly2]

We also used them.  Do you knowif they are still using the driver or changed their policy in any way?

[Vikingfan#1]

We are taking a (5 hour) half day tour to Montserrat with Barcelona Day Tours on December 9th. They pick us up at the dock at 8:30 and return us to ship or anywhere else in Barcelona by 2:00. It costs 69 euros no matter how many people go but the max is 12. If you are at the dock on the 9th, join us if interested! 

[Safari Sissy]

This is a GREAT tour! We did this tour in 2014.. It was fabulous! So very interesting, well worth the money. If you are lucky enough to have Marta, you will really have a great time!

[Vikingfan#1]

Thanks for commenting. Looking forward to the tour and the spectacular views!

[Linda the Book Lover]

I really hope to return to Barcelona and we do they are the tour company we would use.

[HappyDs]

Marta ROCKS! Great tour. I would not leave valuables on the bus though. Regardless of what the driver says. This was one of the best tours and guides we have had.

[Lois McMahon]

I used them last Sunday, December 23rd, and had a wonderful group tour in a comfortable bus with an adept driver and charming tour guide who spoke fluent English. I highly recommend them. It was so easy to not have to worry about my bags during the tour and they dropped me off at the airport and my son at his B&B.

 

[Giantfan13]

We were in Barcelona for one day between  two separate cruises. We needed a tour that would pick us up at our hotel and deliver us to the cruise port and when I contact Barcelona Day Tours, they were the ones who said, 'No Problem'. We even told them that we needed to be at our ship by 1:00 and again, no problem. Also, we weren't staying in the 'heart' of the city but we were told an 8AM pick up and they were there 5 minutes early. We had a fantastic tour of the city with several stops, some for just a photo op and others for much more detail. Sorry I don't recall our guides name but she was great. She even knew how to take great photos of us, something many guides say they do, but really don't. 

The tour went great and we were delivered to the cruise port right on time. I would recommend them to anyone and will surely use them again when I can.

 

Cheers

Len

[HappyDs]

One of our favorite tours. Guide was Marta. Her knowledge was exceptional.

[jean87510]

On 12/27/2018 at 6:56 PM, Giantfan13 said:

We were in Barcelona for one day between  two separate cruises. We needed a tour that would pick us up at our hotel and deliver us to the cruise port and when I contact Barcelona Day Tours, they were the ones who said, 'No Problem'. We even told them that we needed to be at our ship by 1:00 and again, no problem. Also, we weren't staying in the 'heart' of the city but we were told an 8AM pick up and they were there 5 minutes early. We had a fantastic tour of the city with several stops, some for just a photo op and others for much more detail. Sorry I don't recall our guides name but she was great. She even knew how to take great photos of us, something many guides say they do, but really don't. 

The tour went great and we were delivered to the cruise port right on time. I would recommend them to anyone and will surely use them again when I can.

 

Cheers

Len

Thx for posting. We are doing the exact same thing this November with them but going to montserrat instead to self explore. I'm a little nervous about our luggage. How was it stored? Our backpacks and important items of course will be with us.

[Giantfan13]

49 minutes ago, jean87510 said:

Thx for posting. We are doing the exact same thing this November with them but going to montserrat instead to self explore. I'm a little nervous about our luggage. How was it stored? Our backpacks and important items of course will be with us.

We were picked up in a small van type bus that had plenty of room for luggage. We went on two separate cruises and were away for about a month and we had PLENTY of luggage. (2 large suitcases and 2 carry ons plus a couple of hand things and it was all taken care of. We had about 12 people on our tour. 

 

Cheers

Len

[poss]

I've posted my specific question separately and have gotten no responses, so I'm going to  take the liberty of posting my query here.

 

We're half-thinking of doing the airport pick-up, half day tour, and hotel delivery, but I haven't seen much info on this.   It's a good deal more expensive than just engaging a taxi from airport to hotel, and then doing the small group Barcelona tour on another day.   In fact, we usually prefer group tours to private ones anyway.  

 

I would be interested, though, to hear from others who've done the private airport, tour, hotel package.   E.g. did you pretty much follow the route of the group Barcelona tour, or did you create a whole different itinerary?  Also, like jean, I'm concerned about safety of our luggage.   Not a whole lot of people report problems, but some certainly have.

 

Thanks for any input.

[poss]

Thanks for replying, jcrued.   I think the main thing I'm concerned about is having sat for 10 hours or so on the plane, it somehow seems not a great idea to then sit (mainly) for another 4 hours.    Virtually all hotels will hold luggage until room is ready, and I was thinking of spending whatever intervening hours strolling the Rambla, visiting the market, maybe even a first foray into Gothic quarter.   In fact, almost always, even if a hotel room is ready for us on arrival, we tend to walk for a couple of hours, just to get some exercise in.   Of course, what we really most want to do is go to sleep, but I know that's ill-advised.

Thanks again.

[Linda the Book Lover]

5 hours ago, poss said:

Thanks for replying, jcrued.   I think the main thing I'm concerned about is having sat for 10 hours or so on the plane, it somehow seems not a great idea to then sit (mainly) for another 4 hours.    Virtually all hotels will hold luggage until room is ready, and I was thinking of spending whatever intervening hours strolling the Rambla, visiting the market, maybe even a first foray into Gothic quarter.   In fact, almost always, even if a hotel room is ready for us on arrival, we tend to walk for a couple of hours, just to get some exercise in.   Of course, what we really most want to do is go to sleep, but I know that's ill-advised.

Thanks again.

We are fans of Barcelona Day Tours but we waited until the day after arrival to enjoy our full day tour which also included Monserrat. We lucked out and our room was ready when we arrived about 9:30 am so we relaxed a bit before we went out on our own. 

[gma rae]

We arrived at 7:30 am after flying a long time from West coast. We used a taxi to our hotel and deposited our luggage, used their lounge and restroom to change clothes and freshen up then joined a late morning Runnerbean tour of the Gothic quarter. By the time we got back to the hotel our room was ready and we were beyond exhausted!

 

We used Barcelona Day Tours for a full day excursion outside of the city to Montserrat and a private winery tour. Great Day! We could not have gotten much enjoyment out of a tour sitting in a mini van after that extremely long flight.

[Clay Clayton]

For those that have done the city and Montserrat day tour, did you feel rushed at Montserrat?  Trying to decide whether to do this tour or save a few dollars and DIY it on the train which sounds easy.  But will have my elderly DMIL along and the ease and convenience of a tour is appealing. 

 

TIA!

 

[Linda the Book Lover]

49 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

For those that have done the city and Montserrat day tour, did you feel rushed at Montserrat?  Trying to decide whether to do this tour or save a few dollars and DIY it on the train which sounds easy.  But will have my elderly DMIL along and the ease and convenience of a tour is appealing. 

 

TIA!

 

We did not feel rushed we went on the tour with the guide to see the Madonna and walk around. She then left us to enjoy the shops and spend more reflective time. I felt we had plenty of time. Since we did the 1/2 day tour to Monserrat along with a 1/2 day Barcelona City Tour. We did not have time to take the tram up the mountain, which was ok with us. I would do this tour again. 

[Safari Sissy]

We loved our tour to Montserrat! It was very interesting and fun. We did not feel rushed at all and even bought a few native foods at the market at the end. I think it would be quite enjoyable for you!

 

[Sealady1948]

I went on a Sunday tour to just Monsterrat, between a BTB. More than plenty of time saw a Mass and the Choir. Fantastic