We are going to Barcelona next month for the first time. I recently made arrangements for a tour through OkaiBarcelona, with the owner, Nestor. I can't comment on the quality of the tour, but he has been VERY responsive in email communications thus far, sending confirmations, details, etc. We are using him for a tour of various Gaudi sites, going inside some of them, which I understand are some of the more spectactular sites in Barcelona, including Casa Batllo, La Padrera and the Sagrada Familia church, which I believe is a can't miss. Nestor also has several other tours and can custom design one also, maybe you want to check out the website. I'll post back on my return from Barcelona to give comments about the tour.

One of the best tour services is through Forever Barcelona (foreverbarcelona.com), but since it is one of the best, Marta is often booked weeks ahead of time. Sandra Tours (www.barcelonasandratours.com) would also an excellent choice, but again, you'll have to check to see if she's available for your dates.

Both are from Barcelona and have been in the tour business a number of years.

We did several tours with Jordan Sussleman and Hithisisbarcelona.com. We found him after seeing a reference in National Geographic Traveler. He certainly can put several days together for you, including a tapas tour, a Picasso tour, and several other programs.

Thanks for suggestions.We have contacted OkaiBarcelona and they seem to be very helpful.

Just got back from spain and wanted to do a quick follow up. While Nestor from Okai Barcelona was very nice, I can't say I can recommend him. It seems like he woke up one day and decided he wanted to be a tour guide, but does not seem to have put in any work to prepare for it. Despite my several emails to him to set up the tour, telling him we wanted the Gaudi tour listed on their web site, and specifically telling him that we wanted to do visits of the inside of the buildings, when he picked us up, he asked if there was anything in particular we wanted to see or if we just wanted to drive around and see the sites of barcelona. I reminded him that we wanted the gaudi tour, and he asked if we wanted to go inside. I said yes. He drove by Caso Batllo, and just said there it is. We asked if it was worth going in and he said no, Casa Mila was better.

We then got to La Padrera (Casa Mila), and I asked if he could stop so we could go inside. He dropped us off in front, told us to go in and he would wait for us there.

When we were done, he mentioned that if we wanted to go in sagrada familia, we should drive by and see what the line was like. I assumed he would have arranged tickets in advance, as they are certainly for sale, but he did not. We then drove around to find a bank where they had a machine that sold tickets so we did not have to wait in line. When we finally got there, he said there is the entrance, I'll wait for you here. We had to go in and look around on our own.

Same at Parc Gruell, but when he asked if we'd like him to go in with us, we said yes, so he did. Did not provide much information though.

He is just not very professional, or organized, and does not have much information to share. Later in the day, after we had been to Sagrada Familia, he asked if we had seen Gaudi's body there, and we said no. It was in the museum under the church. Would have been nice of him to mention that before we went inside, not after.

I hope you have other options. If you are going with him, I would make sure to be very specific in emails in advance, tell him what you want and make sure all the details are set.

You've just experienced one of the major problems with the internet, anyone can claim to be a guide, but only the official guides can get you into the major tourist sites in Barcelona, guides like Marta of Forever Barcelona and Sandra of Sandra Tours. And there are others, but it's difficult for them to fight the onslaught of those looking for a free ride in the tourism business.

The professional guides work long and hard to obtain their credentials, others just hop on the band wagon and take advantage of the situation.

WHY NOT USE THE ON/OFF BUSES -I THINK THERE ARE 2 OR 3 ROUTES-THaT WAY YOU CAN CHOOSE WHAT YOU GO TO-sorry about caps``

Sorry, northie, but the HOHO bus does not get you into the major sites, as what almesq wanted.

And drop the caps!!!

Hi, you can get a proffesional official tour guide around the city which charge you also in proffesionally way. The other option is to get a travel assistant who will take you around the city & shows you the most importants/or those things who you like). This is the cheapest way!(but is not professional guide) so it is depending on what you really need and how much money you can spend )
Have a nice travel & enyoj fantastic Barcelona!

Hi!
It's my first time in this website, and I thought you'd be interested in this post:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g187497-c135365/Barcelona:Spain:Barcelona.Tourguides.Must.Be.Licensed.html

It explains really well the differences between an official tourguide and a non-official one for Barcelona and Catalonia.
Hope it helps!