Where Montserrat Tours Leave Barcelona From

There is no single departure point for Montserrat. Each operator sets its own, and they are spread from the Gothic Quarter to Les Corts with a different instruction at each one — an umbrella, a shopfront, a platform number, a check-in desk. Read yours the evening before, because turning up at the wrong kerb is the one mistake a Montserrat afternoon tour from Barcelona cannot fix for you.

The named places a tour leaves from

Every instruction above is the operator's own, taken from its listing. Where a column says no further instruction is published, that is the listing being silent rather than us leaving it out.

Estació de França, and the burgundy umbrella

A main-line station in Ciutat Vella with a grand roof and a quiet concourse, which makes finding a guide easy. More than one departure meets here, and the instruction is the same at each: look for the red burgundy umbrella. It is the most civilised of the meeting points and the easiest to reach on foot from the old town.

Barcelona Nord, where you check in first

Several departures leave from here, all run by the same operator, and all of them require you to check in at the office inside the station twenty minutes before departure and only then go to the buses. This is not a kerb you can jog up to at the last minute. Transport is shared with other groups, which is what keeps these the cheapest fares on the site.

Passeig de Gràcia: three different kerbs

Separate departures use three different numbers on the same street — 26, 29 and 69 — and the street is long. Number 69 is identified by a Benetton shopfront, 26 by a guide in a Catalan Trails uniform, 29 by the operator's own name. Check the number, not the street, and allow for the walk between them if you get it wrong.

The Julià Travel counter and platform 19

This one has two steps and both are mandatory. Find the ground-floor office on Carrer d'Alí Bei, check in at the counter, and then walk to platform 19 with the group. The 08:00 departure runs about five and a half hours and the 10:15 about seven, so confirm which you booked.

Passeig de Colom and the Venetian Towers

Passeig de Colom 2 is down by the waterfront in Ciutat Vella, next to a small supermarket, and the guide holds up a yellow sign; arrive fifteen minutes early. It serves the day that pairs the mountain with the Penedes, so it is an early start with a long afternoon behind it. The Venetian Towers, the pair of brick campaniles at Plaça Espanya, serve one semi-private departure, and being there five minutes early is described by the operator as mandatory rather than advisable.

The tours that collect from your hotel instead

Door-to-door pickup is the alternative, and it is what separates the mid-priced departures from the cheap ones. Your pickup time is confirmed the evening before by email on most of them, and the vehicle comes to you.

• Montserrat & Penedes Winery Private Day Trip with Cava Tasting — Hotel pickup in Barcelona, From $337 per person.
• Barcelona & Montserrat: semi-private with pickup & skip-the-line — Hotel or cruise-ship pickup in Barcelona, From $175 per person.
• Best of Barcelona and Montserrat with Hotel / Port Pick up — Hotel or cruise-ship pickup in Barcelona, From $163 per person.
• Sagrada Familia & Montserrat Private Tour with Hotel pick-up — Hotel or apartment pickup in Barcelona city, From $357 per person.
• Montserrat Monastery Small Group or Private Tour Hotel pick-up — Hotel pickup in Barcelona, From $111 per person.
• Montserrat Private Tour with Hotel pick-up from Barcelona — Hotel or apartment pickup in Barcelona, From $240 per person.
• Montserrat Day Trip Private or Small Group with Basilica Tickets — Hotel pickup, or the Venetian Towers meeting point, From $142 per person.
• Private Montserrat and Cava Winery Tour with Hotel Pick Up from Barcelona — Hotel or apartment pickup in Barcelona city, From $347 per person.

The trade-off is real: collecting several parties from several hotels can take a good part of the morning, and travellers who have timed it say so. A kerb departure leaves once.

If you are arriving by cruise ship

A couple of the days here pick up at the cruise terminal as well as at hotels, carry your luggage at no extra charge, and will drop you at the port, the airport or the Sagrada Família at the end. On a turnaround day that combination is worth more than the fare difference. Check the all-aboard time against a tour that runs eight to nine hours before you book.

If you miss it

You lose the departure. Coaches and vans leave on time, and the two operators that ask for a twenty- and fifteen-minute check-in are the strictest. Screenshot your meeting point the evening before, allow for Barcelona's morning traffic, and if your plans are at all uncertain book a departure with hotel pickup and free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.

Frequently asked about meeting points