As I previously mentioned, I was going to review the
gocar tour in Madrid so here it is. By writing this review
I also qualified for a discount, although this is by no means a biased account as they allow for both positive and negative opinions in any case!
Overall my experience of the gocar tour was very positive - definitely one of the highlights of our trip to Madrid! It was fun, unusual and a very practical way of getting around and seeing the main sights.
The vehicles themselves looked like toy cars, and were quite easy to ride with no gears and just acceleration. There was no reverse, but as they were so small and light it was easy to get out and push them back whilst steering at the same time. The engine was slightly noisy at times, which could make the GPS voice hard to hear but there was always the option of turning the volume up. One of the funniest things were the bemused looks of passers by. It honestly looked as though just about everyone had never seen any of these things before.
We went out with the intention of doing the historic tour which was only supposed to take an hour, however we seemed to end up doing a lot more than that! I have to admit to getting quite lost at times, which I would put down to a combination of driving with a girl who couldn't read maps to save her life, having a Spanish speaking GPS which was not my native language and some of the GPS directions not being completely clear. However, it didn't really matter too much - it added to the adventure and the staff kindly made us pay an hour less than we were meant to as well.
A lot of the sites we saw were probably not manageable on foot - so I was glad that we used the buggy - we were able to park the buggy off as well and walk around the Prado which was quite pleasant. The GPS also did point out some interesting sights and facts along the way. It was also a source of amusement as it came programmed with some quite crass jokes.
So all in all, a lot of fun, quite an adventure and highly recommended! I would advise going with someone who knows how to read a map though..
Carrying on with our unusual trips around the main cities of Spain on wheels, we carried on our trip to Barcelona where I had booked a trip on a sidecar motorcycle with a company called Brightside. Very conveniently Joao our guide for the day was happy to pick us up right outside our hostal! We were then shown a map of where we would be going and also given the opportunity to choose or indicate in particular where we wanted to go. We decided to go
with the must-do itinerary, which led us first up to the Montejuic mountain with it's castle and spectacular views. On the way we also passed the Olympic village where Joao described interesting nuggets of history along our tour. Of particular interest were his descriptions of some of the neighbourhoods which we passed through, where they had been revitalized after a rather seedy past. The motorcycle really gave us an opportunity to really see a great deal more of Barcelona than we would have managed by any other means of transport - we managed to take in the sagrada familia, the palau de musica catalana, casa battlo, the beach and many other sights all within the tour. He also had some very helpful tips and hints, one of the best being a recommendation to check out the bar at the top of the hotel majestic on the passeig de gracia, which we did afterwards - the views at the top made us feel on top of the world!
