lpotash

We need to hire a driver with an 8 passenger van who can take us From Barcelona to Montserrat for a tour and then take us to Canal du Midi in France. We would need to leave early from Barcelona because we need to be at the Canal du Midi by 4Pm. Does anyone know of a driver or service that I can contact?

mikelg

I assume you´ll be travelling with luggage. The biggest 9 seater van is a Mercedes Viano (old model) or Mercedes V-Class, new model, but I do not think you´ll be able to enter your luggage on the van.

Maribel

I’ve used Esteve.They have Mercedes 10-seat and 19-seat mini vans.

They aren’t cheap, as private transfers in Spain never are, and I don’t know if they would take you to Canal du Midi, but you can ask. They’re Barcelona based.
https://www.autocarsesteve.com/index.php?lang=en

mikelg

Very good recommendation, but then it´s another category, it´s a minibus and not a van (legally, a van can carry maximum 9 passengers). I would think that the OP will not mind a minibus at all, although it may be expensive (prices of diesel now in Europe and in the near future are skyrocketing...)

Maribel

Yes, indeed, mikel. It won’t be inexpensive!

mikelg

Sorry, forgot to mention...a 10 passenger minibus requires of a special driver licensed driver, while a 9 passenger van can be driven by a driver-guide with a standard license.

hetismij2

That's 8 passengers plus the driver just to be clear. More than that and you need a special licence. The vehicle can't weigh more than 3,500kgs when fully loaded either.
Diesel is going up in price and will go higher now Russian diesel really is banned in the EU. There may be shortages apparently, at least in the short term, but who knows.

Hiring a driver for that trip would possibly mean them overnighting in France or needing a second driver as there are time limits on how long they can drive for in a day.