Hop On Hop Off in Barcelona

David, several years ago we had a great experience using the HoHo bus in Barcelona. It was our first and only time we've used this sightseeing option. We did this on our first day and felt it gave us the "lay of the land." We especially enjoyed the West route. We stopped at the Miro Museum to enjoy the view of Barcelona. We used www.barcelona.city-tour.com. We booked online and got a 10% discount. The following day we did a couple of walking tours with www.runnerbeantours.com. It was recommended in the RS Spain Guidebook. We were very pleased with the knowledgeable tour guides.

You can do Barcelona without the HoHo. We walked everywhere.
We took a day tour with Barcelona Day Tours that was great, it went to Sagrada Familia and the Gaudi sites.

I was in Barcelona a month ago, and HIGHLY recommend the HOHO. The weather was sweltering and the cool breeze from the (shaded) top of the bus made it a very attractive thing to do. But also, I got to see parts of Barcelona that were not clogged with tourists--neighborhoods, parks, the hilltop. And it's great for getting a sense of where the big things are so you can go back to them. We did it on our third day in Barcelona; probably could have done it earlier.

We did 2 of the 3 loops over 2 days. The one we skipped was the short one that went along the beach, mostly because we'd walked the beach. But the tickets cover time, not number of trips, so you can do 1 or 2 or 3 loops, depends on how tired your feet are. Be sure to take the one that goes up the hill and outside of downtown--that's a lovely ride. There is some duplication on the loops, but we were just enjoying the scenery and didn't mind. The price was good--can't remember how much but it seemed reasonable at the time. They all start at Plaza Cataluna, which is a nightmare location, but the ticket sellers are very efficient at working with monolingual Americans--they will get you on quickly and explain the options.

Have fun. See the Sagrada Familia (get tickets online ahead of time). Consider taking a boat ride (the sailing ship is nicest) around the harbor if the weather is warm. Avoid the Ramblas.

Hi. Thing I don't really like on hop of, is that most of the time the guides are only electronic and that the guide can go with you, show you those things, so for me its not that interesting...
There are many others bus tours, we booked this one https://www.reasontosee.com/tour/all-barcelona-highlights-tour
We saw everything we wanted and the guide was really friendly, and answered all of our questioned.

I have a theory about HoHo bus tours. If I'm in a city for the first time and have some time to spare, I will try to use the HoHo. The reason is that you get to see everything. Maybe not up close, but you can always go back. You also get a taste of the city's size, people, areas, landscape, etc. I also find the HoHo bus to be nice on a particularly hot day when I've done too much walking around. I can sit in the air conditioning and just watch the city go by. Barcelona has a great HoHo. In fact, it's really good way to get to some of the attractions, like Parc Guell, La Sagrada Familia, the Futbol stadium etc. Just hop off at your stop and hop back on when you're ready to go back. It's extra good if your hotel is on the route. I'm not sure I would do it if I only had a few hours or only one day in a city, but that's up to you. Oh, btw, the Barcelona HoHo gets really crowded at the more popular stops like Placa Catalunya. You might have to wait for a couple full buses to pass you. Buen viaje.

Tickets to Parc Guell now include a shuttle bus from an accessible point--I think a Metro station. In 2016 I observed an incredible line of people (definitely more than would fit on one bus) waiting at the HO/HO stop at Placa Catalunya, with no bus in sight. With the Metro so easy to use, lots of buses, and public transit rides costing about 1 euro each if you buy the (shareable) T10 ticket, I don't think the HO/HO buses are a good deal for most visitors.