Для любителей путешествовать. For lovers of travel.

We rested in this hotel with my family in June (20) days of 2013. There are no questions about the hotel - service, food, location, etc. I want to share my experience with travel lovers. After meeting with the hotel guide on the first day, do not rush to buy excursions from him, chat with the "old-timers" of the hotel on this excursion. Better yet, travel on your own. Download to your phone (Google Maps) a detailed map of the region and cities where you are going to be. On the spot in GPS mode, you will always know the location. It's not, no, it doesn't take money. The road to the railway station is really much shorter than the guide says, trying to discourage you from all the desire to travel on your own. The road - along the railway tracks to the SECOND tunnel 400-500 meters, pass through it, then to the left along the field along the road 100 meters, bypass the first house on the right and the first turn to the left 30-40 meters and you are on the platform, along it to the station 200 meters . DO NOT BELIEVE the guide that the last train from Barcelona is at 21 o'clock - you are being promoted to the most expensive (and stupid in my opinion) tour of Barcelona with a visit to the "singing fountains". They work Thu. Fri. Sat. Sun. from 21.00 and according to the guide you will not have time to return. BAD LIE. The last train from Barca is at 23.57 or 00.03. Come to the reception and they will print out the round-trip train schedule for you. Moreover, the station "Barcelona Sants" is 400 meters from the fountains. DO NOT BELIEVE the guide that the ticket for the tourist bass in Barca is only for one route. Tourist bass ticket costs 26 euros (adult) valid for the whole day and for all (three) lines (red, blue, green). You can get off at any stop for a walk, wait for the next one (10-15min) and drive on. Where the lines intersect, you can safely transfer to another route. When buying a ticket (boarding the bass), you will be given headphones and along the way you will receive information in Russian about the city and its attractions. If you arrive in Barcelona by 10.00, you will have time to ride along all the lines with access to the main attractions, sit quietly in a cafe and watch the fountains in the evening. How to get there? You determine the time of leaving the hotel (it is better to order an early breakfast at 7.00 a day in advance at the reception and move out early). You already know the way to the station. Round-trip ticket to Barca 12 euros. Compost train tickets (there are two machines at the box office) MANDATORY. Go to Passeig de Gracia station (1h05min), then walk to Plaç a Catalunya (300m). Under the square there is an information office (4-6 entrances next to pillars with a red letter i down the escalator). There you take free maps around the city with tourist bus routes, a shopping map with all the shops, etc. any information. You can also buy a bus ticket there or you can buy it when boarding the bus. Blue and red routes start from the square. Trip to PortAventura. If you are going for one day, DO NOT BUY A TICKET FROM THE GUIDE. Buy a ticket on the day of your visit to Port Aventura at the railway ticket office for the same money, but at the same time, the round trip is FREE (save 10 euros per person). And so, everything is in order. Tomorrow as soon as possible. Count on the train at 8.47 (next 9.17), buy a ticket at the ticket office of the railway station in PortAventura and they give you a round-trip train ticket for free. Compost train tickets (there are two machines at the box office) MANDATORY. To the port 30min, from the station to the entrance 300 meters. You arrived at 8.47 - there is almost no queue, be sure to change the tickets purchased at the railway ticket office at the PortAventura ticket office for tickets with a barcode. If there is food (you must take it, because food is very expensive in the park) - hide it in bags under your clothes, otherwise they will not let you in. The park is open from 10.00, but they open earlier and some children's attractions in the yellow zone are already open. I advise you to go back by train at 18.18 NOT LATER. Later there are VERY MANY people and pickpockets WORK in this crowd, BE VERY CAREFUL, do not take anything valuable with you (documents, cards, mobile phones). What excursions can be bought from the guide? You can buy a tour from ANY guide, not necessarily your tour company. This is Montserrat, provided that you leave no later than 9.30. This is the Dali Museum (Figueras), provided that you leave no later than 8.00. I advise you not to get in line for Madonna immediately upon arrival. We did so. After the instructions of the guide at 11.30 we visited the museum, tasting liquors. At 12.30 we took a convenient place (first right rows) in the basilica (cathedral). We watched and listened to the boys' choir 13.00-13.15 (I advise MANDATORY). DO NOT BELIEVE the guide when he says the boys choir is on vacation. This is done by those companies that bring tourists there later than 13.00. Then we bought souvenirs, visited the cave. The line to Madonna stood at 15.25 and already at 16.10 left the gallery. (Those who got up immediately stood for 2-2.5 hours). Next cafe and departure at 17.00. The excursion to Andorra with the San Mar company and the guide Yuri Kotelnikov left an extremely unpleasant impression (I will describe it in a separate post). I can reliably say that the prices for clothes there are almost the same as in Barcelona, ​ ​ and the choice (number of stores) is less. Travel time round trip 7.5-8 hours. Do you need it?? ?