Day trips from Barcelona with a private driver: 5 itineraries

Each of these five day trips from Barcelona takes one day with a private driver. Montserrat and Sitges are about an hour away. Girona and Tarragona are about 1 h 20 min away. The medieval villages of the Empordà are around two hours away. The five itineraries include driving times, opening hours and vehicle advice.

Driving times and weekly closures

These are driving times without traffic from Plaça de Catalunya, rounded. On a weekday between 8:00 and 9:30, allow extra time to get out of the city. Coming back from the Costa Brava on the AP-7 motorway on a summer Sunday is often slow too.

If your free day is a Monday, choose Montserrat, the Penedès or the Costa Brava. Many museums and monuments close that day. Check each venue's calendar for holiday exceptions, including the Dalí Theatre-Museum.

Montserrat and a cava winery

This day adds up to about 2 h 30 min of driving, with plenty of time at each stop.

1. Leave your hotel at 8:30. You reach the monastery at around 9:30 via the A-2, the C-55 and the mountain road up from Monistrol.
2. Visit the shrine of La Moreneta, the Black Madonna, first. It is open from 8:00 to 10:30 and from 12:00 to 18:25.
3. Book on the Escolania website for the weekday Salve and Virolai at 13:00. The choir does not sing every day. Check its calendar before you fix the date.
4. After lunch, travel 45 minutes to Sant Sadurní d'Anoia for a cava winery visit. Cava is Catalonia's sparkling wine. Visit the winery you booked.
5. After the winery visit, return to Barcelona in about 45 minutes.

The monastery car park has limited space and fills up at weekends. Your driver drops you at the entrance and collects you from the same spot at the agreed time. Our page on the private transfer from Barcelona to Montserrat covers the mountain road, the museum and the funiculars in more detail.

Girona and the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres

This one means about 3 h 45 min in the car, so start with the furthest stop:

1. Leave at 8:30 on the AP-7. You reach Figueres at around 10:15. Check your ticket time, because the museum opens at 10:30 in some seasons.
2. Visit the Dalí Theatre-Museum. Buy your ticket on the museum's website and download the confirmation. Staff ask for the booking code at the ticket desk or entrance. The jewellery collection that Dalí designed occupies rooms 23 and 24 in the same building.
3. Around midday, drive 40 minutes to Girona for lunch and a walk through the old town. See the coloured houses along the River Onyar, the cathedral and the Jewish quarter, the Call. Continue through the Arab Baths and along the city walls.
4. Drive back to Barcelona in 1 h 20 min, a shorter return than from Figueres.

From September to June, the museum usually opens Tuesday to Sunday until 18:00. Check its calendar for holiday exceptions. In July and August it opens every day from 9:00 to 20:00. The ticket desk and entrance close 45 minutes before the museum does. If you prefer Girona in the morning, visit Figueres after lunch and arrive before 17:00.

Medieval Empordà villages and Calella de Palafrugell

This is the longest itinerary: about 4 h 40 min of driving and a ten-hour day.

Pals has a medieval core around its clock tower, the Torre de les Hores, and rice fields on the plain below, where the local Pals rice grows. Peratallada keeps a moat cut into the bare rock, seven to eight metres deep, a castle with its keep and the remains of three rings of walls. The Catalan government listed the village as a historic ensemble in 2009. In Begur, the castle stands above the town, and the streets below have the "Indianos" houses built in the 19th century by local people who made their fortunes in Cuba and Puerto Rico. You finish in Calella de Palafrugell, where the camí de ronda coastal path follows the sea to Llafranc.

For a shorter day, leave out Begur and do Pals and Peratallada in the morning and Calella in the afternoon. For a quick trip to the coast instead, Tossa de Mar is 1 h 15 min away and its walled old town, the Vila Vella, takes a morning.

Tarragona and Sitges

About 2 h 50 min of driving. Go to Tarragona first, since it is further away and has stricter opening hours.

1. Leave at 8:30 and reach Tarragona at around 9:50.
2. Walk through Roman Tarraco: the amphitheatre by the sea, the Praetorium and the circus, and the Archaeological Promenade along the walls. The archaeological ensemble has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000.
3. After lunch, drive 50 minutes to Sitges for its old town, the church of Sant Bartomeu i Santa Tecla above the beach, and the Cau Ferrat and Maricel museums, open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 19:00 between April and October.
4. Back to Barcelona in about 40 minutes.

The Tarragona History Museum sites open all day Tuesday to Saturday, but close at 14:30 on Sundays and public holidays. On a Sunday, aim to reach Tarragona before 11:00. On a Monday, pick another route.

Half a day in the Penedès

Sant Sadurní d'Anoia is 45 minutes from Barcelona, and Vilafranca del Penedès, the main town of the wine region, is 15 minutes further. You can visit two wineries and head back, or drive 25 minutes from Vilafranca down to Sitges for dinner by the sea.

Each winery sets its own hours and most ask you to book. Book them yourself, or tell us which ones you like and we plan the car's timings around the visits. Nobody in your group has to drive, so everyone can join the tasting, and the cases you buy go in the boot.

How a day with a private driver works

We collect you from your hotel, holiday apartment or cruise terminal and bring you back to the same place. Before you book, we confirm a fixed price for the agreed itinerary, with tolls included. If the day runs longer than planned, you pay for the extra time separately.

You can book in two ways. With our private day trips with a driver, we agree the itinerary and timings with you before you set off. With an hourly chauffeur, you book a block of time and change stops as you go. If you only have a port day, we plan the day around your all-aboard time with our cruise shore excursions.

Our chauffeurs are not licensed tour guides and do not give guided visits inside monuments or museums. For a guided visit, book an official local guide. We match the car's timings to the tour. Our team helps you in Spanish, Catalan, English and French. Tell us your preferred language when you book.

Which car to choose

The Mercedes V-Class is the usual choice for families: seven seats, sliding doors and room for a pushchair. Child seats are free if you request them when you book.

To get a quote, send us the date, pick-up address, the stops you want, the number of people and children's ages through the booking form, WhatsApp, phone or email. You pay nothing to receive a quote, and cancellation is free up to 24 hours before pick-up.

FAQ

How many places can we fit into one day?

Two places close to each other fit without rushing: Montserrat and the Penedès, Girona and Figueres, or Tarragona and Sitges. Add a third distant stop and you spend more time in the car than sightseeing.

Can we change the plan during the day?

With an hourly chauffeur, yes, within the time you booked. On a fixed itinerary, tell us about changes before you set off and we include them in the price.

Which day of the week should we avoid?

Monday, for many museums and monuments. Check each venue's calendar for holiday exceptions before you book.

How far ahead should we book?

Every trip we run is booked in advance. For a summer Saturday, or a group that needs a minibus, contact us as soon as you have the date. If your plans change, cancellation is free up to 24 hours before pick-up.

Sources

• Escolania de Montserrat: singing times and bookings
• Montserrat: opening hours of the basilica, the Black Madonna and the Holy Grotto
• Montserrat: getting there by road and parking
• Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation: Dalí Theatre-Museum hours and tickets
• Museus de Sitges: opening hours
• Tarragona History Museum: monuments
• Tarragona History Museum: opening hours
• Visit Peratallada
• Forallac Town Council: Peratallada historic ensemble
• Visit Begur: Indianos houses
• Visit Pals
• Sant Sadurní d'Anoia Town Council
• Girona Tourism