Sep 22, 2024
Beautiful Costa Brava - We were picked up on time. Our guide Rodrigo was polite, attentive and helpful. The day in Costa Bravo was remarkable with weather cooperating. The boat trip was beautiful.
Review provided by Viator
Aug 23, 2024
Need that playlist haha - The trip was great, our guide was Alex and he was very pleasant, cheery and funny! highly recommend as he was very flexible with the schedule, always asked us if we had any requests beforehand.
Very prompt pickup and dropoff too, one castle on the way turned out to be closed but he found us another one in a flash.
Played some great music too, Alex if you see this - enjoy your trip with your friends and send me that spotify playlist!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jul 31, 2024
Wonderful trip!! - This trip was fantastic! Marcel was prompt, courteous and genuinely a pleasure as our tour guide. He shared great information about Barcelona while guiding us through our tour. I highly recommend this excursion!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jul 31, 2024
The Way To Go To Costa Bravo - First of all, it was great to be picked up and dropped off at our hotel. The van was spotless and Marcel our guide was very enthusiastic. He wanted to ensure that all our questions were answered. The towns visited allowed time to sightsee, dine and/ or have beach time.
Marcel was a wonderful host. Great driving and safety focused.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jul 23, 2024
Beautiful trip - I had a really good time with this tour guide. It was most highlights of my Barcelona trip and beyond my expecting!! Especially visiting places where I can’t go by myself are amazing and communicating others who joined this tour from some countries are priceless.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jun 23, 2024
Great day in Costa Brava with Rodrigo! - My family of five (teenage boys) had a great day with Rodrigo, our guide. We explored several areas of Costa Brava, including a castle, two old villages, and one beautiful beach. Rodrigo was awesome. He was warm and low-key, helping us navigate comfortably (air conditioned van, walking with us, helping us buy tickets, helping us find food) and great fun to talk with. His son Mateo joined us for the day, which also made things warm and fun. Overall, a great day, and a very good way to see Costa Bravo.
Review provided by Viator
Jun 16, 2024
Awesome day trip to Costa Brava - Xavi was such a great tour guide! He was so enthusiastic to show me and my girls Costa Brava - our first time . He was very kind, a safe driver, and very informative. He made many stops to show us the coast and gave amazing recommendations! Muchas Gracias, Xavi!!!!
We highly recommend this tour
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jun 9, 2024
Must do. - Marcel was incredible. He provided a bespoken experience and was our personal chauffer. Being a native Barcelonian, his knowledge of the area is unequaled. He could provide a NY cabbie with lessons on storytelling and commentary. Costa Brava was beautiful and we missed most of the crowds. The boat ride provided spectacular views. We never felt rushed nor did we feel that we were wasting time sitting around. Highly recommended.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jul 20, 2024
Aleix was great but your description is a bit misleading - We actually purchased Costa Brava and Tossa de Mar: Panoramic Boat Ride with Small Group and Hotel pick-up (FD) with In Out Barcelona.
Aleix was right on time. Very nice enthusiastic person who showed us many places on the drive to Costa Brava. He also listens to the same type of music we like so that was fun to talk about.
I removed one star since the description of the tour did not completely match what we did. The description makes it sound like we are in a small group the whole time on the boat and to a cave to swim but in reality we were given tickets to a huge boat with at least 50 people and no caves or swimming on that boat. It was more like a boat taxi really and not a guided boat to see the coast.
Aleix met us at the last stop where he guided us through Tossa Del Mar and gave us flexible free time and made us lunch reservations which was really nice of him. We had a chance to shop and eat at a very relaxing pace and go to the local beach. We told Aleix that we didn’t get to to into caves or swim on the boat ride so he took us to a secluded beach where we could swim. It was gorgeous and so much fun. Aleix saved the excursion for us and this review. He was also really great to talk with in the car. I would recommend this trip and Aleix, just be vocal if you’re not experiencing what was advertised. I’m really glad I said something to Aleix.
I dont know if we went to Lloret de Mar, the route by ship did not include hidden caves or sunbathing, and I don’t think we went to Sant Feliu De Guixols at all. Thankfully Aleix did take us to idyllic beach to swim once we told him we didn’t get a chance to do that which we loved! We are a family of 5 with kids 20, 18, 14 who’s favorite part was the idyllic beach.
Below is what was advertised:
* COSTA BRAVA:
One of the most beautiful regions of Spain, located in northeastern Catalonia. Bathed in the clean blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea, Costa Brava has a long history as the entry-point to the Iberian Peninsula from the sea.
* LLORET DE MAR:
This has been the most touristic spot in Costa Brava since the 1920’s or maybe even earlier, when it became the town chosen by most Catalan families to spend their holidays. This colorful and dynamic place was named in a zarzuela, an opera called “Marina.” It appeared in the lyrics as “Costa la de Levante, Playas las de Lloret”, which later became the town’s motto.
* ROUTE BY SHIP:
Take a moment to marvel at the coast of Costa Brava, its artist’s palette of colors, sharp cliffs and amazing natural landscape. We will take you along the coast to discover hidden coves that can only be reached by sea. Here you will have the chance to sunbathe and enjoy the refreshing sea breeze.
* TOSSA DE MAR:
An old fishing village and residence of great artists and intellectuals. Tossa is also called “ la Perla de la Costa Brava” (“ the pearl of Costa Brava”). Our guide will take you up to the medieval castle, from where you will enjoy stunning views of the bay and learn about the place’s fascinating history and heritage.
* SWIM AT AN IDYLLIC BEACH:
Dive into the crystal clear waters of the Mediterranean Sea surrounded by nature.
* SANT FELIU DE GUÍXOLS:
Take a walk through the charming streets of this old fishermen’s village, which grew thanks to the production and commerce of cork. Nowadays, this beautiful coastal town is the perfect place to discover with family and friends while enjoying the refreshing marine breeze. Sant Feliu de Guíxols is also known for its Carnival, along with other national festivals.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jul 15, 2024
This trip is just a scam. I WOULD REALLY LIKE A REFUND OF MY MONEY FOR THIS SO CALLED TRIP. - In Out Barcelona Tours - Costa Brava Small Group with Hotel Pick-Up and Boat Ride
This trip is just a scam.
I WOULD REALLY LIKE A REFUND OF MY MONEY FOR THIS SO CALLED TRIP.
I booked it via Expedia paying $220, thinking it will be with a small group of 8 people and we will get to see some good sites with a local guide, but it was a total waste. We basically wasted 260 plus euros for a highly expensive driver to drive us around and we did not even get to sit together the entire
You are basically paying for a very expensive driver to drive you to PLACES HE WANTS and not as per the itinerary. If you care to question it, then he will be rude and argue with you with and fighting saying what more do you want? Only thing the so called guide did was drive. That’s it. He did not even care to say the name of places he was driving us to and not even a word of history about the places he took us to.
In addition, the website says “Panoramic Ship tickets (approx 16€) To be paid to the guide on the day of your tour” but beware, it is actually 21euros per person for the tickets into a mass boat ride (not Private with your tour people) which is really pathetic.
The messaging about our guide and pickup timing information was emailed to us promptly the previous evening.
We got picked up by Rodrigo, our guide, at the time we were told. We got picked up last so we had to sit separately as other couples had taken all consecutive seats, which was fine.
We drove around the city to reach the first stop and the guide didn’t seem to utter a word even though we were passing lot of good stuff on the way. We were trying to talk amongst ourselves and figure out what each monument was. That itself set the tone for the trip.
Rodrigo drove us to the boat ride place and we followed him to the ticket counter. He told to buy our own tickets and we were asked to pay up 42 euros for 2 people and not 16 euros per person as mentioned on the website for the boat ride.
We paid that and followed him and he just took us to a generic boat and told us to board it. It was one of the big generic ferry type of boats. We kept waiting for him but he never showed up and we all wondered what is going on. No guide nothing. No instructions on what we are supposed to do and where do are to get off or anything. The boat was overcrowded and the glass bottom is a joke. Seriously. We could have gotten to stop2 from stop1 by road in 15 minutes by road and we were made to pay 42 euros for nothing.
The boat ride took us to the 2nd stop and Rodrigo met us there and pointed to the castle and said, that is the castle and you get 2 hours here. I will meet you at this spot after 2 hours. We were all like what is happening? We asked him are you not taking on a walking tour and saying anything about the castle. He seemed to pretend and say that is for other walking tours and in this it is a relaxed tour and we can do what we want and just left us.
We entertained ourselves and looked up all details about the castle ourselves on our phones and then met him after 2 hours.
After which he kept pushing for a restaurant in the mountain which was 1 hour up the hill for lunch. While booking and after booking and the previous day of the trip, I had mentioned multiple times about we being vegetarians and if our requirement can be accommodated. However, for no good reason, other than the fact that Rodrigo gets his cut from this super expensive restaurant he drove us to for 1 hour, we were taken to this remote place where there was absolutely no food options for vegetarians and when I asked him about it, he laughs it off and says eat salad. How illiterate are you to not know what a vegetarian food choice means?
Another elderly couple who were on this trip also had had enough of this and started to argue and fight with him that this was nothing like the itinerary said and it was more like driving to places Rodrigo wanted. He kept fighting and arguing with them and pretended he did not understand English when we all have specifically chosen for an English speaking guide while booking.
After their argument, He calmed them down saying he will take us to a hidden place and it was basically stop3 but he stopped 5 minutes before that and was a steep walk through the rocks to the beach. That was not walkable by everyone and no heads up about this to anyone.
He finally drove us to the last stop and again just left us there for 1 hour to entertain ourselves and does not even care to the tell the name of the places he is driving us to. The drives were just silent and he spoke nothing useful except sighing and mumbling that people were complaining and kept saying what more do you expect.
He even said that they do the exact same thing for a private tour and charge $600 or more for this. Oh my Gosh. They are basically scamming tourists left and right.
We were dropped off last, so after dropping off the elderly couple, he kept arguing with us that what more could he have done and he showed us all as per the itinerary and there was nothing else. We did not want to argue and waste our energy with someone who does not even see his mistake.
So we just basically wasted 260 plus euros for a highly expensive driver to drive us around and we did not even get to sit together the entire trip as all the other couples wanted to sit together and did not even care to rotate and neither did the driver Rodrigo do anything about it.
Hopeless and horrible experience in the name of a day trip. How pathetic.
Review provided by Tripadvisor