Las Golondrinas: Harbour tour along the beaches

Here you can book tickets for two very nice tours offered by the Golondrinas. With the Port and Coast 60' grand cruise, you'll cruise into the cruise port and then head out to sea. The Barcelona Port 40' takes you into the cruise port all the way to the cargo port and on the way back you see the superyachts in Port Vell.

The two Golondrinas boat tours

Port and Coastal Tour with the Golondrinas

The grand "Port and Coast 60" cruise takes about an hour. First, large ships of the Golondrinas pass under the Pont Porta d'Europa into the cruise port. Immediately afterwards, the ship leaves the port to sail along the coast of Barceloneta to the Olympic Port. Then it goes back and you make a detour to the Port Vell, where the superyachts present in Barcelona are moored.

Here you can get some fresh air and see the city and its outstanding sights in the truest sense of the word, such as Hotel W Barcelona, Torre Glòries, Montjuïc and the Sagrada Familia.

Harbor tour with the classic wooden boats

The smaller ship tour "Barcelona Port 40" takes you with the classic wooden ships under the Porta d'Europa bridge past the cruise ships to the industrial and freight port. On the way back there is also a detour to see the superyachts in Port Vell.

Here you can see the harbors from a perspective not normally seen, namely from the water.

The ships of "Las Golondrinas"

The company "Las Golondrinas", which translates to "the swallows", started operations on the occasion of the World Exhibition in 1888 and showed visitors the port from the sea for the first time. Today, Las Golondrinas is the only company that operates harbor tours.

Catamarans

Three modern ships are used for the big tour "Port i Litoral" (port and coast). The two catamarans are 26 and 19 meters long and 8.30 and 7 meters wide respectively. The third and most modern ship is a monohull (25 meters long and 6.8 meters wide). The three passenger ships for the coastal tour are double-decker. In contrast to the classic wooden boats, no sun protection can be closed here on the upper floor. That's why you should think about sun protection if you want to sit outside. On the lower floor there is a bar where you can buy drinks and disabled toilets. The ships have space for 149 and 196 passengers respectively.

A special feature of the catamaran is the lower deck: you can look into the water through a glass floor. You can also marvel at the engines through a glass wall. The entrances to the lower deck are in the front of the cabin.

Classic, double deck wooden boats

During the harbor tours, the classic double-decker wooden boats are used. Due to the open construction of the 19 or 20 meter long and 5 meter wide boats, these are only suitable for calm seas and not for the open sea. 150 passengers can be seated here.

The Port of Barcelona

Barcelona is one of the largest freight ports in the Mediterranean, whereas the fishing port has lost its importance almost completely. Barcelona is an important ferry port as well – from here, ships embark to destinations in the Mediterranean – and has jetties for cruise ships.

See chapter "How to get to the ferry port" for a description how to get there. Book a trip on a ferry on our website "Book a ferry".

Facts about the port of Barcelona

• Handled freight (2007): over 51 million tons, thereof 1.3 million tons of  feeding stuff and groceries and 3,000 tons of fish
• Share of containers of the freight: around 72 %
• Cars: Around 801,000 cars have been transhipped here
• Passengers: around 2.8 millions
• Oil and gas: 6.3 million tons
• Average tidal range of the Mediterranean Sea in the port: 1.25 m
• Length of the jetties: 20.3 kilometres
• RoRo (roll on-roll off)-ramps: 32
• Largest dry dock: length: 215 m, width: 35 m, tonnage up to 50,000 tons

Gas and oil tankers can also unload their freight about 1 km off the shore at an unloading point. The load is being transported to the mainland via pipelines then.

In Port Vell there are shipyards that service and repair larger yachts. Sometimes you can go directly to the ships that are moored at the marinas for yachts on the Maremàgnum.

In Port Vell is also a marina. Personally, we think the old wooden sailing yachts are beautiful.

Why a Golondrinas tour is worth it

Barcelona is sometimes loud and hectic and has many impressions to offer. Plan a boat trip so you can take a little break from the loudness and the rush of the city. The fresh sea breeze is also very relaxing on hot days.

Barcelona has two sides: on the one hand the land side, where you do not notice much of the sea and on the other hand, the open, facing the sea side. A coastal cruise is perfect for experiencing this other side of Barcelona.

Our recommendation: a visit to the Aquàrium - it is located close to the port where the Golondrinas start and it matches with the topic ocean.