Barcelona HOHO bus question

[Aussieflyer]

Hi CJcruzer

I too have been trying to find out the difference - this site might help ??http://www.barcelonatours.es/en/index.php

[JPEvans]

In preparation for our upcoming trip, we've also had advice from others who have been to Barcelona, to pay attention to how many ships are in port that day before you buy your Ho Ho tickets as they found there wasn't room to get on because there were so many passengers in town that day. They ended up wasting their Ho Ho fare and walking.

 

That happened to me last year. The Carnival Freedom was only docked till 5pm. By the time our group got off the ship and found the HOHO bus, and we were on our way it was after 11am. We were still on the bus trying to get to somewhere at 1pm. We never got to somewhere, we abandoned the bus on the street where the house of bones is. and just started to walk. The lines at the various stops were very, very long. I think if you are staying in Barcelona a couple nights and don't have to worry about getting back to a ship, it might be a good choice. But for us it was a waste of time. I never did get to see La Sagrada Familia. But next year I'll be in Barcelona again. I'll plan it better next time.

[CeleBrat]

Hello

 

No, the cable car didnt look to be too crowded. We didnt take it, but it looked like a spectacular ride. Maybe on Sunday when we get back into Barcelona after the cruise.

 

CeleBrat

[madra2112]

CJcruzer, we were in Barcelona for two days post cruise (getting off Navitagor OTS on Saturday morning and flying home on Monday morning).

 

Here's roughly what we did.

 

Arrived at hotel (Gran Hotel Barcino in the Gothic Quarter), dropped off bags. Walked up La Rambla, bought two day Bus Turistic ticket at a booth, 26 euro for the two day ticket, 20 for a one day), and then got the Blue Route from Placa De Calalunya through Montjuic, getting off at Port Vell.

 

Went to the Aquarium (stunning), walked around a bit, had some lunch, then got the rest of the Blue Route and walked back to the hotel to check in and go to our rooms.

 

We then walked down La Rambla to the Colombus Monument, watched Navigator leave from beside the World Trade Centre, then went back up La Rambla to catch the Red Route and just circumnavigated the whole route before going to a Chinese restaurant near the hotel for a meal.

 

On Sunday, we walked back to Placa De Catalunya, caught the red route again, getting off at Park Guell for an hour, eating a picnic lunch there, and then going to Futbol Club Barcelona (Nou Camp), a must for us soccer obsessed Irish.

 

At the next stop (Diagonal?), we transferred to the Blue Route, and went to Montjuic, where we spent about an hour and a half or so, before going back to Port Vell, walking up La Rambla again, doing some shopping and eating at the Hard Rock Cafe.

 

We decided not to go into La Sagrada Familia and the Gaudi houses (because we are definitely going back and using the metro next time!!), and found it a very relaxing and enjoyable two days.

 

Froogal, I'm possibly going to complicate matters for you now, because not only are there two HoHo busses, there are two cable cars as well. The cable cars we used are not the red one you see going over the port from the ship, they are the Telerific de Montjuic, which are just beyond the Olympic Stadium and lead up to a lovely castle and military museum.

 

 

It runs automatically, with no wait in either direction, the picture I posted earlier shows the view from the car, and as I said previously, the view over the port from the top is magnificent.

 

Finally, a note about Barcelona Tours - I can't comment on the quality of the audio commentary, but I can say they seemed to go everywhere that we went, and there always appeared to be room on top.

 

Also, I don't know if they offer money off coupons, but certainly, the coupons we got from the Bus Turistic paid for the second day.

 

Whatever you choose to do, enjoy what is one of the greatest cities in Europe!!!

[Froogal]

Hi Madra/Celebrat,

 

Thx for the pix and reply.

 

Though I haven't been to Barca, I am planning to ride on both Tibidado and Montujuic cable cars during the first 2 days that we'll have the 2-day Bus Turistic/HOHO tkts. You bet, we'll be physcially exhausted (ha, ha, ha) at the end of the day, but either 3rd or 4th day will be our downtime to recharge prior to embarkation.

 

Tell us, do you hear a lot of pickpockets and unpleasant experiences around Barca?

 

Cheers,

Froogal

[madra2112]

Personally we had no problems at all, but were very careful. We left the credit and debit cards at the hotel and carried cash only, we all wore little money belts with mobile phones, cameras and a few euro in them, and then kept a few more euro in both front pockets.

 

La Rambla is crowded, as is Placa De Catalunya, and noticeably, our hotel had warnings about some of the scams (cleaning a stain off your shirt etc.). At no time dod we ever feel threatened, and we were all bowled over by what a fantastic city Barcelona is, but forewarned is forearmed, and the key message is take precautions.

 

One comment I would make on your plan is rather than going to Tibidabo on one of the days you have the Bus Turistic pass, I would be inclined to go on the third day and give a full day over to it. We didn't go, but from what I understand, it deserves a good few hours.

[Froogal]

Madra, thanks for your input...we'll surely take that into consideration. I underatand the Tramvia Blau (Tibidado trolley car) operates on limited hrs on weekends (Sun is our 3rd day), so we can just take it slow.

[janchor]

We bought our tickets for the HOHO bus right on the bus from the guide. So if you are getting on at a stop where there is no booth--no problem. We paid cash so not sure if you can use credit or not. We loved the bus and the coupons were useful too.

[Sunshinecrew]

How close to the port can one find a stop for the hoho bus?

[madra2112]

There are several stops in the port area, but none beside where the ships dock.

 

It should be walkable in about twenty minutes or so (very rough guess and open to correction)

 

I understand some shuttles run from shipside to the World Trade Centre beside Jaume 1 (the big tower supporting the cable cars), and there's a Bus Turistic stop nearby. One word of warning, I understand you can use cash on the spot, but if you buy online, you have to use one of the booths or a tourist office.

[clarksnavy]

We arrive in Barcelona around 3pm and our ship leaves the next day at 7pm. When we were in Firenza and UK the HOHO tickets were good for 24hours. Meaning if you bought it at 4pm it was good until 4pm the next day. Is that how the Barcelona HOHO's work?

Thanks,

Sheri:rolleyes:

[Vernoncruise]

I'm still searching for the second tour option that everyone says is less crowded. All I can find when googling is the Bus Turista which you can purchase on viator. Does anyone have the web address of the other hop on hop off bus in Barcelona?

[sunshine nana]

DH caught a nicely dressed middle age man trying to reach into his front pocket when we were in a crowd on Las Ramblas. Fortuately, he had his money and cc in a neck pouch. Later we heard of 2 friends who had all money and cc's stolen in Barcelona on the first day of their trip!

[Wayfairers]

We arrive in Barcelona around 3pm and our ship leaves the next day at 7pm. When we were in Firenza and UK the HOHO tickets were good for 24hours. Meaning if you bought it at 4pm it was good until 4pm the next day. Is that how the Barcelona HOHO's work?

Thanks,

Sheri:rolleyes:

 

Great question - I have been on HOHOs in different cities and it is not always good for 24 hr. Hope you get an answer.

[dons_shopper]

We used the HoHo last year and I would not do it again. but it was our own fault, didn't know any better at that time:

I believe it is only good if you have plenty of time. When we bought the ticket I only looked at the different lines and where they went to. The routes included the places that we wanted to see..

BUT: The waitng time to get on the bus at the popular places were enormous long so this took much longer than expected. PLUS: I was not aware that all the routes only went in ONE direction. So when it was time to go back to the harbour(shuttle to ship) it would have taken much too long to finish in this big circle. So we walked from Sagrada Familia and took the Metro which was easy and cheap.

Our oppinion: a great thing to do if you have plenty of time it is a good thing to do. Taxis might be quite enpensive because of the traffic, Metros are fine and easy to do but of course you will not get any explanations like on the HoHo.

Have lots of fun in Barcelona-its one of my favourite cities in Europe ( but beware of pickpockets!!!)

[madra2112]

Great question - I have been on HOHOs in different cities and it is not always good for 24 hr. Hope you get an answer.

 

Yes, Barcelona Ho Ho is valid for at least 24 hours (Blue 'Bus Turistic' buses. 48 and 72 hour tickets also available

[GlendaleCruiser]

When we talk of the Red, Blue, Green and Orange lines of HOHO, it is the bus Touristic buses we are talking about.

 

Was just there in May.

[Hlitner]

I will be a contrarian and say, Do not use the HoHo bus" if your itinerary is as is posted by the OP. My reason is that the HoHo is actually quite expensive and you will waste quite a lot of time just waiting for the bus. This can be especially true at Sagrada Familia where you may find that you cannot even get on the next HoHo bus that appears because there are too many folks waiting in queue. We would suggest just using a combination of your feet and local transportation. For example, from the ship to the Ramblas you can walk (about 25 min), take the cruise line shuttle (overpriced but convenient), share a taxi (about 4 or 5 Euros per person) or even take the local bus (about 1 Euro) that stops right at the port. Once on the Ramblas you can explore the Ramblas and adjacent Gothic Quarter. To get to Sagrada Familia you can take the inexpensive Metro, local bus or walk (about 30 min). It is the same from going to Park Guell. HoHos are fine if you want to spend the day riding around a city (or if you have mobility issues) but it's not the way to go if you are simply looking to quickly get from point A to point B. Keep in mind that the HoHo bus will cost you at least 23 Euros ($35) per person and you can easily spend more then 20 min waiting for the next bus.

 

Hank

[mmento]

Thanks for all the information and sharing from those who have been on the bus - I thought I must be particularly dim as it always seemed that the HOHO was the same as the Bus Turistic (thank you for pointing out that they are). We will be in Barcelona in October and will probably use the bus to get an overview of the city. (Can rest the feet too which I am sure will be welcome).

 

 

Hello !

I am looking to go on a bus tour next year. Was just wondering how the crowds and weather are there in October?

 

Thanks in advance!

[Iamthesea]

Good question about the weather. We will begin our cruise in BCN at the end of September and come back the first weekend in October. I am assuming the weather will still be warm???

 

Also, there is a large Spanish festival that will be going on beginning with our arrival and ending the weekend that we leave for home. All sorts of activities will be taking place around the city center. I imagine that the public buses and metro will be packed, but maybe the HOHO not so much. At least we are hoping.

 

http://www.barcelonayellow.com/point...ival-barcelona

 

A CC thread about last years festival

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showt...ional+festival

 

http://www.rugatravelgroups.com/Fest...ar_EN-2012.pdf

 

We wish to get on the HOHO bus after checking into our hotel. We plan to ride around the city with no getting off until we are ready to go back to the hotel. This will give us a feel of the city so that when we return after the cruise, we will better know where and what we want to see.;)