Fracesco was my guide and there were only the 2 of us. During the drive to Montserrat, he gave me lots of the ancient and current history of Barcelona and Catalunya. The approach to Montserrat was breathtaking and I now see why one really needs a full day to truly enjoy and appreciate it. The weather was a bit too cold and windy for me to do the walks or enjoy the tram to the top plus there wasn't enough time. We went down the opposite side of Montserrat and stopped at a charming little church from the 1400's. As we approached Barcelona and La Sagrada Familia he gave me more history and made sure I knew where to go to enter,etc. Like another reviewer, I was confused that we went to Montserrat first, then to La Sagrada, without any explanation. I found my way back to my hotel, which ironically is just a few blocks from the Explore Catalunya office.

The highlight of our trip in Barcelona area! The tour guide was so knowledgeable and did not "watch the clock" of a half day tour! She wanted to give us the full experience of Montserrat! Beautiful!

This trip was awesome! Our guide Alejandro Gonzalez was absolutely top-notch! The cathedral was astonishing and breathtaking. Then to follow that up with a trip to Montserrat was the icing on the cake. You've got to take this trip!

Enjoyed the small group aspect - only five total. Our guide was very good and gave us quite a bit of historical information! Beautiful place, a must see! Plus the skip the line ticket was most helpful. It would have taken us as long to get in on our own as it took for us to tour the Segrada!

We ended up getting a private tour which was incredible. Our guide Lydia was fantastic and very well informed. We got tons of private information on all the sights and dropped up right out front of both venues. She was one of the best guides on our trip to Spain! WONDERFUL!!

As for the sights, The Sagrada Familia was incredible, definitely the highlight of Barcelona. Do not miss this attraction. The Cathedral is unlike any other that we have visited across Europe. Gaudi was such a genius and it shows! Just breathtakingly beautiful and incredibly unbelievable construction! GO...GO...GO!! Do not miss this!!

Monserrat was great too, just too crowded on the weekends. Sunday was our only time so nothing we could do but fight the crowds. The line to see the Black Madona took hours and trying to get into the Basilica to hear the choir sing was suicidal. We did hear their heavenly voices from outside and if you stood on the Madona's second standing place outside the Basilica you could see her inside. So if you can't avoid the weekend, then avoid the lines and say a silent prayer from outside if it's too busy. I absolutely loved the outdoor merchants selling homemade honey, cheeses and candies! Overall a nice tour but avoid the weekends if possible!

Because my family was already a group of 8, we had the van for ourselves. Enjoyed the trip to Montserrat and we were able to hear mass as well. Then we rushed to Sangrada Familia for the 1pm appointment of our group.

This was a great tour. The La Sagrada Familia was awesome. We met Gloria at the tour office and left on time. We were with another couple (so were just four of us- small group :) ). She took us to the La Sagrada and went inside right away (skipping the long line) We were left on our own for most of the time. She gave us a a quick history of the church and then we were on our own. Julia was our tour guide to Montserrat. She was excellent. The drive to Monserrat was about 45 minutes. This place was fantastic. We had a great time with this tour.. Wish we had enough time to shop though. Other than that 4 stars:)

Recommend adding optional rack railway!

Highly commend our experience with this operator. The office was convenient, the staff were great to deal with, and the small bus group worked well. We went on a Sunday morning and arrived early enough to avoid the later crush which gave us opportunity to easily look around the many sights (and sites!). The cable ride was great, and gave time to explore the sights at the top of the mountain. The morning start allowed us to view the monster tailback created by the later arrivals as we drove back down to Barcelona.
We have returned home with many impressive photos from our time at Montserrat.
Great experience and at a good price, with good people! Could not ask for more.

Really wonderful area to visit, it's a must see if you are interested in the history of the Spanish kingdom. Your guide shares so much historical information that you just can't get by visiting yourself that it's best to go on tour.

Enjoyed the trip to Montserrat very much except that the visibility could have been better and this is hardly the fault of the tour operator. It was a foggy, rainy day! We saw the Black Madonna (very fortunate not to have to queue!), visited the museum and went up on the Funicular railway. The tour guide was very informative.
On our return to Barcelona we did the Skip-the-line visit to La Sagrada Familia and this was just amazing! My only criticism is that we were supposed to be visiting the church first in the morning and we were expecting to be dropped off at the tour operator's office on our return from Monserrat. We did it the other way round and were expected to find our own way back from the church. Considering I changed my date to fit in with the tour operator I was very disappointed!

good view from mountain top