Combined Suggestions, Barcelona

The T-10 card is a multi-trip card for the metro/bus/tram/funicular in Barcelona.
You put your card in the reader at the metro station and then walk through the opening gates, but leave your card for your partner behind you to reinsert the card and then walk through after you.
The T-10 gives you a discount of the individual trips, a good offer.

http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/transport/barcelona-metro.html

I have already explained about the "Barcelona Card, 5 days" in another transportation tip and this is the card that we purchased to use before we validated the Barcelona Card and for the day AFTER it expired.

We purchased our Barcelona Card for the longest period, which is 5 days, over the internet at the BCN site below.
The card allows you free travel on the metro/buses/funicular/tram in Barcelona. It also gives you discounts on entrance to many tourist attractions and even a few are free. Also you have discounts in several restaurants and stores although we did not take advantage of those.
We did a check AFTER we returned and found that if we had not purchased the card we would have spent almost double what we paid for it. It also released us from the need to constantly pay for the metro that we rode many times each day.
Be aware that the card becomes "active" on the day you use it. So if you arrive in the middle of the day and pick your card up and use it, then that entire day is gone. We picked ours up in the middle of our second day in Barcelona, but only used it early the next morning so we could use it for the entire day.
There are several options on WHERE you can pick your card up, we chose the Catalunya Square, but you can also get it in the airport. Remember to save it for the next morning.

Barcelona has a pretty good metro and bus service. Here you can see a picture of my metro ticket, which was good for 10 trips (either on the metro or the buses)... There are single ride tickets, day cards or tickets like mine, with a limited number of rides and which can be used by more than one person (eg. if there are 2 people traveling, you valid the card/ticket twice when boarding a bus or accessing the metro). This 10-trip cards are the most convenient because a single ticket costs something like 1.45 EUR but a 10-trip card costs 8.50 EUR....!!! So you end up paying about 40% less by buying the card and it has no time limit so you can keep it for weeks or months and it will still be valid (until the transport rates are modified).

The metro and bus lines connect the most important points of the city. However, if you really want to admire the beauty of the town, you'd better walk.... the downtown area is rather reduced and you can walk down the Rambla to the harbor and visit the Barri Gotic (halfway between Plaza Catalunya and the harbor) and you'll see most of the interesting sites Barcelona has... Montjuic, another very interesting area, is just 3-4 metro stations away from Plaza Catalunya and there are buses and also a funicular that takes you up the hill (or you can also walk).

If you plan on getting around a lot, the Transport Pass (Targetes de transport) is the cheepest solution. It offers unlimited travel on the metro and suburban trains (including the airport) as well as most busses, trams and the Montjuic funicular.
Available for 2, 3, 4 or 5 days (we paid 20.40€ each for 4 days). You can order it on Barcelonaturisme.com and pick it up in the airport on arrival.

The T10 ticket is an excellent way of transportation around Barcelona. It costs 7.70 euros and is valid for 10 trips on the metro or bus within Zone 1 (which covers the city centre and includes most, if not all, of the tourist attractions in the city). A normal single journey ticket is 1.35 euros so you save quite a bit there.

Even if you need to change Metro lines, it will be counted as a single journey (IF you do not exit the metro gates and enter again) and the total length of the journey is 1 hour 15 minutes. It also counts as a single journey if you take the metro and then exit to catch the bus to your destination if it is all within that 1 hour 15 minutes.

Also, the T10 ticket is valid for the entire calendar year. You can share the ticket with friends as well. Just use it to get through the turnstile / gate and hand it back to your friend for him/her to use.

The T10 ticket is easily available from the ticket machines at all metro stations and each time you slot it through the reader at the turnstile/gate, it prints the number of trips you have left on the ticket so you won't get caught ticket-less.

Thanks to the T10, getting around Barcelona was inexpensive.

There are may kind of tickets available to travel inside Barcelona.
In my opinion buyind a card of 10 trips for 7.70 EUR is the best and cheapest option if you stay for three or four days in the city, instead of the tourist card.
One trip allows you to combine metro and bus within 1h15min.

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You can get a unlimited travel pass for 3 or five days.

We got the 3 day pass , which costs 15 euros.

This pass allows you to travel on the train , metro, buses and trams for thr duration of the ticket.

We bought it at the tourist information in the airport arrivals hall.

Metro was very good, never more than 5 mins wait for the next train.

I am always a big fan of day tickets and I always buy one on my trips to enjoy the option of unlimited travel. This is one of the secrets behind my ability to see more in cities in less time or explore unknown areas just to have a feel of the city. Generally I prefer walking a lot but while moving from one destination to another, day tickets offer me the easiest and least time taking option. A day ticket at Barcelona will cost you 5.10 euros and provides you access to all kinds of public transport like trams, buses, metro etc. easily. just board on whatever you see in front of you.

A taxi ride from the airport can potentially be quite expensive given that the airport is not close and there is construction and traffic along the way. I tried to avoid this by using a combination of bus and metro lines.

My way does require you have a few small denomination Euros in our pocket.

There is an Aerobus that leaves from outside Terminal B, just as you leave the baggage claim. The cost is approximatedly E3.50. Once aboard and on your way, you make three stops before you arrive at a major Metro transit area called Plaza Catalunya. You leave the bus and search out the underround by looking for large signs withthe letter M, for metro.

Once inside the metro system, locate your destination on the maps on the wall, and figure out how to get where you need to go. Once you have an idea where to go, buy tickets.

Buying tickets is a simple affair, go to the machine and press the flag for whatever language you want. Bush-voters, don't panic if you don't see Old Glory, you can get English simply by pressing the Union Jack. The machine will ask if you want to buy tickets, present you with your options, and ask for money. I chose ten rides for E6.30 and could use the same ticket for myself and my wife.

Going through the gate, insert the ticket face up, arrow facing away. Once you take the ticket the gate will unlock and let you proceed. To get to the right platform, look for the station at the end of the line and follow the signs.

Barcelona's metro station has a nice convenience, in that lit signs tell you when the next train is arriving. I never waited more than four minutes.

The best way to go around is public transportation....
Among all Tube, bus and trains
I dont suggest cabs...many of them use to coax or trick tourist...not everyone but in fact its so much expensive than other public transportation systems and Barcelona is at some times a bug and amazing traffic jam
Metro system is quite efficient not as in Madrid where is better but its improving more and more and now every saturday the tube is open all night long, sundays till 0h and days before holliday till 2am