Explore Catalunya — Local services in Barcelona

Fraudulent, aggressive and unprofessional. I purchased three different tours for 6 people through TripAdvisor.com with Explore Catalonia. We came to exactly at specified time, and the buses were waiting outside the office, and when I talked to Robert, which is the owner, to check in, he looked at the time, and it was 8:30, then he portended that he was checking on the buses on his computer, then he said the bus had left already. And when he was asked what those buses outside for? he said they were for someone else, although the name of his business was written on the buses. He did this to retaliate over an argument took place the previous day for a tour that I also purchased from him. Robert kept giving b/s excuses, such as that I had to be responsible, and drink my coffee on the way to save time, he also claimed that bus already left and I was supposed to be here 15 minutes before the departure time and claimed it was a term on the ticket, which was not true. And when Robert ran out of b/s, and he looked like he didn’t even know the terms on the tickets that he was selling, he started to become aggressive and got off his chair, and charged towards while yelling “get out of here” with pointing his figure to the door. He even tried to insult me in front of my family. I told him, that I would report him. And when I called TripAdvisor, they told me that he called them an hour ago, and said that I came in late after the bus has left, and I started to become aggressive against him, although it was him which was trying to be aggressive and totally uncivil. He also requested from TripAdvisor to never return the money for a service that he purposely was looking for excuses to not deliver and blamed on me. At first, TripAdvisor didn’t help, and believed this man’s lies. He was attempting rob a total value of $1,600 for two tours for 6 people that he never provided the service for. Later, I raised a dispute through my credit card, and TripAdvisor accepted the dispute after I provided overwhelming evidences to prove his cheating. And TripAdvisor returned all the $1,600 that he was trying to rob.

Stay away from this man, it is not enough his tours are nothing but a painful 10-hour-bus-ride, which hardly can be called tours, they are just bus rides. He is also fraudulent and will try every excuse to take your money and not deliver the service. Barcelona is a beautiful and a cheap city, you can find much better-quality service for cheaper price else where. Don’t make my mistake and ruin your valuable vacation by dealing this man that only cares about taking your money and protecting his...

Disappointed with the Guided Day Trip – Not Worth the Hype

I recently joined the guided day trip from Barcelona covering Andorra, France, and Spain. While the scenery, especially through the Pyrenees mountains, was stunning and truly beautiful, the overall experience was underwhelming and not worth the price we paid.

First, the tour felt rushed at almost every major stop. There was little time to explore or enjoy the locations meaningfully. For instance, I had seen a vlog about this trip where the guide took travelers on a short hike in Ax-les-Thermes, which I was excited about and prepared for. But our guide gave minimal information, pointed us in a direction to find food, and didn’t share much about the village. I had to rely on Google Maps to find the thermal springs, so much of it felt self-guided.

The guide himself lacked energy or passion. He often stayed by the bus smoking cigarettes rather than engaging with the group. In Andorra, he gave a generic explanation about the EU and Schengen zone while we were still on the bus, but provided very little once we arrived. He collected our passports to get them stamped but didn’t even confirm whether we got the stamp before handing them back.

What felt particularly uncomfortable was the way passports were returned. Those of us from “third-world” countries received ours outside the bus with no interaction, while others had theirs handed back inside the bus with positive remarks about how “strong” their passports were. It felt dismissive and made us feel isolated.

Additionally, the bus ride itself was far from comfortable. The AC vents were extremely loud, making it difficult to hear the guide’s commentary, what little he did offer. The bus was cramped, and the ride was tiring due to lack of space and constant noise.

Even minor delays were not tolerated. Being just 2–3 minutes late was met with impatience, yet ironically, the stops between cities were so rushed that we didn’t get time to properly shop, explore, or enjoy the surroundings, especially in Andorra.

In summary, the tour description is exaggerated and doesn’t reflect the actual experience. I’ve visited over 60 countries and taken many guided tours, and this was one of the poorest I’ve encountered. If you’re a young or independent traveler, I strongly recommend doing this trip on your own at your own pace, you’ll enjoy...

The city of Barcelona is great but the surrounding little villages are so charming, almost out a fairly tale frozen back in time like the Game of Thrones with Romanesque Italian villas, deep emerald waters of the Mediterranean Sea, and majestic serene Pyrenees mountains. There was a fusion of French, Roman, and Greek culture, all in one spot. I would highly recommend FELICIANO as your tour guide. He was amazing ! Local, knowledgeable, passionate, hilarious, hip, attentive, experienced fella. He gave us enough time to admire, wonder, Instagram, learn, shop and eat yes eat haha. We didn't feel rushed at all. My family and I did three tours, Girona & Costa Brava, Dali, and Pyrenees Mountains. 2 out 3 tours with Feliciano. Explore Catalunya actually have a store front next to the Palau de la Musica; you can purchase the tickets in person if you wish. The admin staff was warm and easy going. We like the fact that the tours were small and friendly. All the tours are almost similar if you think about it but the difference between a four stars and a five is the definitely the service. Thank you and Gracias Feliciano for showing us the magical and wonderful Catalunya. We loved it ❤️ ❤️ ❤️. We...