Wonderful trip to Monserrat. I would definitely do it again. Pau, our guide, was fantastic. He is a local who absolutely knows his way around and is friendly with all of the right people on the trip. Very knowledgeable and extremely helpful. He knew all there was to know and wasn’t the least bit bored with a tour I’m sure he has given countless times

Pau was an excellent guide. He definitely tailored the experience to what we were able to do, offering alternatives at different points. I had been wanting to go to Montserrat and his expertise added to my enjoyment.

Great trip. Our guide was able to get us in everywhere, and offered a great personal experience. I loved getting up close to the Black Madonna. Spectacular!

Amazing experience with a personal guide is worth cost. The trip was seamless and top notch communication and coordination

Our guide Pedro was great and very knowledgeable. He took the anxiety of traveling by public transport and navigating our way to Montserrat easy and enjoyable. Definitely a highlight of our trip. Only knock on this tour, is how it is set up. Would have been worth it, and comparable to other private tours, if the guide accompanied us through the monastery and museum, so he could give further detail and highlights

A visit to Montserrat seemed like a wonderful idea, especially since three of the four of us had already been to Barcelona in the past. Paola met us right on time at 10:00 a.m. We went to the station, and he stood in line to buy tickets for the 10:45 train to Montserrat while we waited. By the time we boarded the crowded train, we found the last few seats where the five of us could sit together so Paulo could tell us about Montserrat, Barcelona, and other tidbits about Spain. He seemed quite knowledgeable, but the noise of the train, his accent, and the people standing around us sometimes made it difficult to take in what he was saying. After the one-hour train ride, we stood in line for well over an hour for the gondola to the abbey. There are only two gondolas--one goes up while the other comes down. Each gondola holds over 20 people, and luck of the draw made us the last people to board the cars (both up ad down), requiring us to stand in the middle instead of next to a window where we could enjoy the view and take decent pictures. When we got to the top, we sat on the steps in the square and had a light snack prepared in advance by Paolo. Fortunately, it was a pleasant, sunny day. By the time we had finished eating, it was time for us to visit the church to see the Black Madonna, so we did not have any time to stroll the grounds or visit the gift shop, if there IS a gift shop. Another long line that seemed to take forever, waiting for our turn to see the statue... (The tour did not say that we would have skip-the-line tickets, so this is our fault for not realizing how much time we would waste standing in lines.) The end result of the day is that we met our tour guide in Barcelona at 10:00 a.m. and left him at 3:45 p.m. During those 5+ hours, we had two 5-minute gondola rides, a light snack, 15-30 seconds to actually see the Black Madonna, and time to view the inside of the church. All that time, Paolo must have felt like a babysitter who had to keep us engaged by sharing his knowledge while we waited around. By the time we returned to Barcelona, we were stressed and decided to unwind with sangria before heading to the Sagrada Familia. We enjoyed this so much that we went looking for churros. By the time we found those, it was time to head back to our cruise ship. As a result, I am probably one of the few people who has ever visited Barcelona for a day and not seen even one Gaudi work!

Jennifer, was an extremely lovely, knowledgeable and an exceptional tour guide, Jennifer is definitely passionate about sharing her knowledge of Spain’s history.

Our tour guide, Pau, was very kind, energetic, and knowledgeable. The views were amazing and the history of the location was very interesting.

Pau was excellent, highly recommend him as tour guide. He was courteous of our needs, very energetic and knowledgeable of the area. His expertise of Montserrat was enlightening. He was a joy and would like to tour with him again!

Our guide was excellent. It was difficult to connect with the guide at first. Meeting place crowded. It was a holiday, and lines were long, so we did not get to see everything that was planned, but it was still a great day. Tour guide awesome! Marketplace nice feature.

The MOST memorable experience, if you are able to request for Pau, do not hesitate. My husband and I enjoyed his wealth of knowledge, wit, and general love of Montserrat and his country. There really was no question he couldn't answer, historical and philosophical. Montserrat is a spiritual pilgrimage regardless of your religious denomination, and Pau took care of us every step of the way. The cable car ride was breathtaking and the sandwich lunch from Pavet was top notch! We hope to link up again in the future for his other tours. Book this experience and ask for Pau, you will not be disappointed!!

Sharri, our guide, was personable, professionable and knowledgeable and a pleasure to be with. However, in terms of the substance of the trip, I would have to say that the amount paid was more than the value added by having it personalized. That is NO criticism of her - just that the trip itself, including the content, could easily have been done on one's own for far lower cost,

We just finished this private tour with Pau as our guide. He is excellent and we highly recommend asking for him by name. He is extremely knowledgeable about Monserrat and Catalonia but more importantly he is personable and fun to spend the day with. Karen K.

The tour guide was amazing however the tour was not what we signed up for! I give her 4+ stars but the train tracks were broken, and it was very hot to have to switch around a lot to get there. Was very expensive for what we got.

We had the best time at Montserrat! Pau was beyond great, he was so knowledgeable, ask questions to get to know us so he could make the trip more about what we want to know and see. I took his time explaining different thing and pointing out thing to make sure we did not miss anything. I was so worth the money and I would so do another Viator guide trip again. Thank you for the wonderful experience!

Pau was an amazing guide. So friendly and interacted so well with the family and kids. He really made the whole experience memorable. We learned so much from him about the history and Catalonian culture.

Our guide Pau was terrific. We enjoyed the trip to Montserrat immensely. Our 14 year old grandson also had a great time. We even had an added bonus of viewing a wedding while we were ther.

The meeting place, Catalonia Hotel was easy to find. Our guide Vicenta met us there and took us to the station where she purchase the tickets (included). Once at the site we stopped by the open air market and sampled cheeses and other products. She guided us around the area and then we went to the monastery. The church was beautiful and we were allowed to go up stairs to see the Black Madonna and child. Very ornate and beautiful. We then hiked up to the cross and took in the view. From there you could see where Spain meets France. She brought a sandwich, some pears and water. We shared some dried figs from the market. A delightful day with a absolutely engaging and fun hostess. Vicenta is delightful!

We recommend Pau to everyone. He is entertaining and really kept us interested in the history of Spain and Montserrat. Montserrat everyone should experience. Thanks again Pau. From the Grazas of 8. 6/19/2023

Pau is a wonderful and knowledgeable guide. We had an incredibly memorable experience. I cannot recommend him any higher!