Ryan M.

Booked a tour of Montserrat with a wine and tapas tour through Castleexperience. Montserrat is quite far away and takes awhile to get there. Montserrat is a beautiful area and you can get a nice view of the area because it's higher up in the mountains, but there is basically just the one church containing the black Madonna. I'd suggest taking the 20 minute hike to the scenic point at the cross as you look out. They do give you a tasting of a few of the liquors that the nuns make there, i was tempted to buy one as i thought it would go good with an espresso based drink. The wine tour of Oller del Mas with tapas wasn't very good the wines were ok. They offered tasting of their 3 cheapest wines and then explained the other other wines which you could purchase a glass or a bottle to take home of if you want. All their wines are organic so that's something different than most wineries. I thought the last red they offered was pretty good, a merlot blend. The tapas offered were kind of a let down. It was more of a charcuterie plate, cheese, salami, cured ham, and a tiny croquette and tortilla and a piece of cake. Pretty much the worst tapas I've had in Spain. Overall it's a long trip for just the one church housing the black Madonna with a wine tour. The guides were great and gave good information the bus was clean and the ride was smooth, the wines were okay, the tapas were disappointing. Montserrat was a bit colder maybe than Barcelona maybe 10 degrees so be prepared with warmer clothes. It's a beautiful place because it's high up in the mountains, I just felt it was not worth traveling all that way just for Montserrat.

PamelaOnBroadway ,.

Thais was our tour guide and she was energetic and informative. A group of 5 of us thoroughly enjoyed the tour of Monserrat as well as the tapas and wine tasting at the vineyard. A wonderful way to spend a day - 5 stars!

Carolene M.

This was such a great day. Our guide, Pep was awesome. He was very knowledgeable about the history, the region, and the wines. In addition to the tour with him, we got to walk around a bit on our own. At the winery, there was a nice plate of tapas, several wine tastings, then an opportunity to go on the deck and relax with wine.

Gayl B.

What an amazing day trip from Barcelona! We met our guide out front of the Hard Rock Café which was an easy walk from our hotel. After being divided up into smaller groups and given our guide, we boarded the bus. This is not the same bus that we finished the day with, so don't leave anything on the bus at any point because the bus might be exchanged if you are on an all-day tour. The drive up to Montserrat was a little scary, as the roads were super narrow and curvy, but these bus drivers do it all the time, so I should have just been sitting back and enjoying the ride and view. But headlines of "bus crashes, tourists killed," kept flashing in my mind, and it wasn't so easy to just relax on the bus ride up or for that matter on the bus ride down. However, it is well worth it! Montserrat is a must-see for anyone who is visiting Barcelona. We had a lot of free time there, so I was able to visit the art museum there, hike up and out to the cross, and really enjoy the place. Next, down the hill we went to a winery for lunch and wine tasting. The food was good and the wine tasting was fun. We were with a decent size group so by the time we were completely done with the wine tasting and had made a bathroom stop for the return trip to Barcelona, there was no time for shopping in their gift shop or even purchasing a bottle of wine! Bummer. Note: the wine tasting isn't a true wine tasting (you don't spit out the wine, as there are no spit bowls--you're expected to just drink, drink, drink). If I'd drunk all the wine that they'd poured into my glasses, I would have had trouble standing up. This trip from Barcelona was, however, a great experience!

Oksana K.

What a great tour! Half day Montserrat and then the wine tasting at a local family owned castle. Excellent experience. Our guide Mariana was very knowledgeable, friendly and funny. Would highly recommend.

Jester C.

I did the whole day Montserrat wine tasting & lunch tour on September 5 with Marta Price - 4/5 I paid $120 which includes: private bus with other guests, tapas lunch, 1 around 5 glasses of wine tasting. -1 point because I wished there was more food & wine included. Service - 5/5 Our tour guide, Marta was especially entertaining. She had lots of information to share but did it in an amusing way and also has good energy and sense of humor. I feel as if she really enjoyed being a tour guide and that made the experience much better! Food/Wine - 4/5 We were taken to a private vineyard which had this beautiful almost hotel like design. We took lunch and had some wine at a private room with overlooking views of the vineyard. -1 point cause I wish I had more food/wine. Oh and btw, lunch is late around 2-3pm so bring snacks if you get hungry by 12-1pm Views - 5/5 Beautiful views of the Cathedral/Monastery. We also took a 40 min back and forth hike to reach the Giant Cross (sorry forgot the name) which has 360 views of the city. You can check my pictures for reference Overall Rating - 4/5 Excellent day tour with a wonderful guide (Marta). I would recommend to others. Again, just wished we had more food/wine. Other than that, everything is excellent! PS If this review helped you in some way, please "like or mark as helpful" so others may see it too and help them. Enjoy your Barcelona trip!

What a great tour through Castlexperience! We did a full day starting at Montserrat Monastery ... I mean the cogwheel train was an experience on its on... but what a sight when you get to the top and you see the monastery and its view! Afterwards we headed to Oller de Mas for a lunch, which was delicious, and a wine tasting. The wine tasting consisted of 3 wines, including 2 at lunch. You then have free time to relax and drink more wine. The tour guides were fabulous and very informative the whole time! Vince was fantastic, very professional and personable. He was very knowledgeable and explained a great deal! It was a beautiful day with great people. I would recommend this to anyone.

Priyanka C.

Highly recommend if you're visiting Barcelona. This was honestly the highlight of my trip! We had booked a tour package that included a tour of Monserrat and a wine castle tour with the addition of tapas for lunch. The tour started at 8:45am leaving from Hard Rock Cafe and we returned back at 4:30pm. Monserrat is absolutely beautiful. Our tour guide Alex did an amazing job of educating my group of friends on the history and gave us a lovely tour. After Alex gave us a tour, he gave us about an hour of time for us to explore on our own and gave us a time to meet back up with him before we headed to the castle. The castle was gorgeous from the inside. After the tour, we were seated for our wine and tapas. We had a variety of tastings and I surprisingly loved one of the reds and ended up buying a bottle. Our host poured a very generous amount of wine in each tasting and the tapas were all delicious as well! When we were leaving Monserrat to get back on the bus to head back to Barcelona, we saw several local vendors that had many samples and things to offer. I didn't end up buying anything but the honey and cheese I tried were fabulous! Overall the tour was very organized and my friends and I ended up having a great experience! Monserrat is a beautiful spot to take pictures and I highly recommend visiting if you're going to Barcelona!

Mariani D.

This is a really nice, memorable experience to do when you are vacationing in Barcelona. This review is based on the Montserrat, Food & Wine Package, which is a full day experience (08:45 - 19:30). We met the tour group in front of Hard Rock Cafe. After meeting the tour guides, we boarded the bus, and drove the 90-minute ride to the majestic, jagged mountain of Montserrat. Our tour guide gave us a brief history of Barcelona once the bus started moving. With the assurance that I was not going to be quizzed, I slept until we arrived at the monastery in Montserrat, which sits at a little over 4,000 feet above sea level. Once we arrived at the top, we were given 2 1/2 hours of free time. Besides the monastery, there is an old church where the Black Madonna sits, a big cafeteria, a gift shop, and if you're adventurous enough, you can hike to the edge of the mountain, which I highly recommend because the view is breathtakingly amazing. Wear sensible shoes! Afterward, we hopped on the bus and straight to Oller Del Mas Country Club for a multi-course traditional Catalan lunch. There we had a chance to mingle with other people and had our first taste of the vineyard's wine. Lunch was delicious! We started with a puree gazpacho, a community salad, a fish entree, then a second entree of delicious Coq Au Vin, and lastly, homemade cheesecake. We also had the option to buy more wine by the glass or by the bottle if the wine bottles they provided on the table were not enough. Great value at €10 per bottle. Guided by Clara, after a satisfying lunch, we set off to the vineyard where we walked by the vines (actual harvesting is in September), went inside the production building, and into this medieval castle where we got to do samplings of their wines. The owner of the vineyard, Frank Margenat, greeted us and welcomed us into his home. He is the 36th generation of owning this castle and vineyard that dates back to the 10th Century. What stands Oller Del Mas apart from the majority of Spain wineries is the use of their own strains of yeast in comparison to using commercial yeasts, making them one of the top distinguished wine producers in Catalonia. It was a real treat to be able to taste 3 of their wines, accompanied with cheese and crackers, inside his castle. Thank you Frank for letting us into your home. Time flies when you're having fun, and not surprisingly, we had a quiet bus ride back to Barcelona where the majority of us happily took our naps. A very hands-on approach of Oller del Mas owner, Frank Margenat, to wine making: https://vimeo.com/179735611

Luis P.

This company RULES. They run things like a clock. Very organized and corteous. Ana Cordoba was our Tourist Guide. SHE IS AWESOME! She truly shows passion for her job. She is very enthusiastic, informative, knowledgeable, and very well prepared. Ana made me and my family feel right at home. This is the type of person who makes companies grow and who stimulates good tourism. Ana, eres la mejor. This is my first time in Barcelona and thanks to Ana I will definitely come back. Thanks CastleXperience. And most importantly, thanks Ana!

Alyssa C.

Loved,loved, loved this tour. Our tour guide Merak was so much fun. We visited Montserrat first, then did a drink tasting of different Catalan drinks, then we took the bus to the beautiful winery where we tried some great wines and had a stunning view. I suggest doing this tour, as it was well worth it.

Mina J.

I went on this tour with my fiancé and we had the greatest time! Our guide, Carol, was funny, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic. The busses we took there and back were clean and they were perfect to take a nap on before and after the tour. Even though it was foggy when we visited Montserrat, we were still able to see some of the view. As for the wine, delicious! I would definitely recommend this tour to anyone who is interested.

Chelsea Laine H.

My friends and I are visiting Barcelona and one wanted to do a wine tour. We found this cpany through Trip4Real and are sooo glad we did! We did the castle plus wine tour. We were met on time at a central location and the van, driver, and guide were all super friendly and welcoming. Our guide was Lorenzo and he was so knowledgable and offered us information beyond what another walking tour had done. The castle was wonderful with beautiful rolling hills and mountains in the distance. As a non-wine drinker I found the process interesting and...surprise surprise...the wine was great! My friend ended up buying a bottle to take home! I would highly recommend this tour to anyone!