First of all, I’d be careful with the “old geezers like us” thing. At 69-79, I wouldn’t automatically assume a tuk-tuk is necessary in Spain unless there is a specific mobility issue. You are visiting cities, not attempting Everest in flip-flops.
That said, I can only really speak for my own turf: Catalonia. And here, tuk-tuks are not exactly a major thing. You may find some in Barcelona, maybe the odd one elsewhere, but it’s a small niche, not a standard way of visiting cities. This is not Thailand, despite what Instagram would like you to believe.
Barcelona, for example, is very walkable in most areas tourists usually want to see. Yes, there are hills here and there, because the city is not a billiard table, sadly. But around 21% of the 1.7 million Barcelonians are over 65, roughly 6% are over 80, and people still walk, shop, complain about tourists, and get on with life every day.
What I would take seriously is the heat. In summer, Barcelona can be sweaty, humid and unpleasant in that special Mediterranean way where you feel like a croqueta under a heat lamp.
Now, tuk-tuks.
My own issues with them are basically these:
- They are very superficial. Much of the Gothic Quarter, the old Roman and medieval part of the city, is pedestrian, narrow, or simply not tuk-tuk territory. So you often pass near things rather than actually experience them.
- They can be expensive. Prices vary, and some charge by vehicle rather than per person, but it can still feel like a lot for what is basically a scenic loop with commentary.
- And then there is the guide problem. Barcelona has a sizable tourist market, so everyone and their cousin suddenly feels qualified to explain Gaudí after reading three paragraphs online and buying a microphone. To be clear, this is not about where the guide is from. I don’t care if they were born in Barcelona, Buenos Aires or Birmingham. The problem is when someone has lived here for five minutes, speaks decent English, reads a few blog posts, and sells themselves as someone who can explain the city. They may know the big names, but miss the layers: Roman, medieval, industrial, political, neighbourhood stuff, all the small details that make Barcelona Barcelona. Without that, you get a moving postcard. A good guide can make the experience. A bad one can turn Barcelona into a Wikipedia page with wheels, or worse, leave you with a completely wrong idea of the city.
- One thing I'd keep in mind is that many tuk-tuk drivers are drivers first and guides second. Sometimes very distant second. That's not a criticism, any more than I'd expect my taxi driver to explain 2,000 years of local history. But when the sales pitch is "guided tour", the quality of the guiding matters. Some know the city inside out. Others appear to be operating on a dangerous combination of Google, confidence, and a laminated cheat sheet.
Personally, I’d use public transport instead. The metro, tram, buses and taxis are excellent, clean, reliable and much cheaper. Walk when you can, use the metro when distances get boring, and take a taxi when your legs start filing a formal complaint.
My opinion: if you have limited mobility, very little time, or just want a fun, quick overview, a tuk-tuk can be fine. If you actually want to understand Barcelona, walk it. The city makes much more sense at street level, with a coffee stop, a wrong turn, and at least one unnecessary complaint about the heat.
And honestly, getting slightly lost in Barcelona is still cheaper than a tuk-tuk. Worst case, you end up in a nice bar. Terrible tragedy.
