To / From Airport, Barcelona

Since traveling in Europe is not cheap for us American's we try not to take taxi's. Sometimes we have no choice and this was one of those times, we had a 6:00 am flight to Madrid and the buses don't run that early. We were staying in the center of Barcelona, so a taxi it was ....... the fare was a fair 32 Euro's .... but then here's the add on's that really irk us as travelers ..... 1 euro per bag, so it was 3 of us so that 3 euro's .... a 5 Euro charge because it was before 6:00 AM ..... then a 5 Euro charge to bring you to the airport .... so the 32 Euro ride was suddenly 45 Euro's .... that's about $60 US dollars !!!!!! We had no choice so be for-warned if you decide to take a taxi to the airport !!!!!!!

This is the simplest way to get into the center of Barcelona it stops 3 times with the last stop being Plaza Catalunya .... trip cost 5.90 euro person one way ... the buses run every 10 minutes starting at 6:00 AM to 12:00 AM and run from both terminal 1 and terminal 2 .... the ride into town takes about 35 minutes. The buses have luggage racks ....

Barcelona has an international airport, which you can reach from downtown by train. So if you're flying, your plane will arrive at the airport and then you can take a train (and then the metro) to go anywhere in town. Mind you, the train station is located close to Terminal 2, so if you arrive to Terminal 1 (as it was my case) you will need to take a shuttle to Terminal 2 and then take the train.

However, there is now another option to get to the city center quickly and without having to go through that hassle. They now have a service called Aerobus, a blue bus that takes you directly from the airport to the main centric areas in Barcelona: Plaza Espanya, next to Montjuic hill, and Plaza Catalunya, right in the heart of the city and where the Rambla starts. It's only 5.30 EUR per person for a single ride (2011) and the journey is 30 minutes long, approximately. It's comfortable and convenient, and they even give you a free map of the city. There are buses coming back and forth every 5-10 minutes or so, and every 20 minutes in less busy hours. You can buy the ticket from the driver, from a clerk at their bus stop in Plaza Catalunya or the Airport, or from a vending machine located next to the bus stop (not available in all stops). It runs from 5:30 AM to midnight or even later, depending on the terminal. This bus serves BOTH terminals of the airport, so it has routes A1 and A2. This isn't an issue when going from the airport to the city, but when going back to the airport make sure you take the right bus so you don't end up in the wrong terminal. The clerk at Plaza Catalunya knew which airlines departed from which terminal, so you can also get assistance from these people if you aren't 100% sure where you're departing from. Website provided for more information.

You can also arrive to Barcelona by train, being the main station Barcelona Sants -- this station is connected to the metro system and this is where you will arrive if you take the train from the airport, too.

The Barcelona airport is also known as Prat of Llobregat, and is 12 km Southwest of downtown Barcelona . It is the most convenient aeroport than I've ever been. It is very easy to getting around and almost impossible to go to the wrong gate or be lost.

Barcelona Airport is Spain's second-ranked airport in terms of passenger traffic and in the period 1996-2001 it was second in Europe in terms of passenger growth. In 2004 it was one of the airports in Spain that grew the most, with passenger traffic going up by 7.9% with respect to 2003.

Since the city hosted the Olympic Games, passenger numbers have increased by over 100 percent, rising from 10 million passengers in 1992 to over 24.5 million in 2004. It is currently amongst the busiest ten airports in Europe.

How getting there:
There are taxi stops at the terminal exits. Taxi drivers charge a surcharge for airport rides. There are also bus services that leave every 15 minutes to Plaça de Catalunya . There is train service from the airport to downtown every 30 minutes. All trains stop in Sants, Plaça Catalunya, Arc de Triumf and Clot-Aragó, and all stops connect to the subway.

Now, to get to the airport in the middle of the day on the way back home was very easy to use the airport bus service that leaves downtown in the center of the city. Just remember to check out which terminal you need to select the right bus line.

Arriving very late at night I thought not to hassle too much with bus or train, night walk in searching for the hotel at night so a taxi was a quick and easy solution especially as it was not costing too much as I used to pay in north of Europe :)
So in general, taxi can be an option when you need it and not ripping off your pocket.

Finally landed in Barcelona?
here are some ways to get from the airport to the city, using the bus or the train services.
The Barcelona's airport is located 12 km far from the city.
Next to each terminal there is a bus station , working since 06:00AM till midnight (Saturday and Sunday from 06:30)

To get to airport from the Plaza Catalunya use the bus services that work from 05:30AM- 23:00FM. (Saturday and Sunday from 06:00)

If you are in the Plaza Espania and going to airport , use the EA and the EN bus lines. You can find them till 3:15AM , and if you coming from the airport to the Plaza Espania you can find the same lines till 02:40AM, only that their frequency is low.

You can pay anything from £13 to £20 for a taxi from Barcelona Airport to the city centre. But the Aerobus at the stop right next to the cab rank every 5 minutes will ferry you to the main Placa Catalunya for just £2.60 in about 35 minutes.

Airport Terminals (T1 or T2)

email info@sgmt.cat

September 2005