To / From Airport, Barcelona

When relatives, friends, enquires how to get to the city- we explain that there are 3 ways reaching the centre. Taxi: 23Euros- 25 Euros, plus 0.80 cents per luggage. Then the shuttle bus called: AEROBUS- costs 3.75 Euros. Using AEROBUS is cheaper than taxis. Yet, when AEROBUS reaches the centre, when the thieves or THE FAST PICK POCKETERS do not see POLICE in the vicinity or in the parking area of the AEROBUS, they would be pretending with their backs on you reading the papers or whatnot opposite side of the street while observing you. As the tourists starts unloading their luggage’s, city maps on one hand & on the other hand they would be holding their luggage, trying to figure which directions to their hotel or accommodations destination¿This is when the thieves play their fast role on you. Normally there are three men coordinating with you (or tourists) movements.
The best advise we can offer you is taking the train to and from the airport (which we call RENFE) that takes tourists from the airport to the centre of BCN, called Plaça Catalunya. The costs 2.10 Euros. When our incoming guests requests to be fetch at the airport, we NEVER and we repeat, WE NEVER would take the AEROBUS, as it is exposing our relatives, friends or guests to those fast thieves upon them disembarking the AEROBUS. We always use the train/RENFE as it is safest &at most times &hour- police are around the train station. Then too, it is best to be among the locals as it would not be as easy to pin point the tourists, mixing with the locals. The frequency of the train from the airport to Plaça Catalunya would be approx. every 25-30 minutes from Mondays through Fridays to Saturdays &Sunday plus feasts- frequencies are approx. every 30-35 min. The stops made by the train/RENFE are as follows: From the Airport: El Prat de Llobregat, Belvitge, Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Sants and Plaça Catalunya.
We wish you all a happy, safe & memorable holiday here in Barcelona. marieinspain@yahoo.com

There are several ways to getting from the airport to the centre of Barcelona, but I found taking the Aerobus a convenient way. It is located just outside the exit of the airport and runs every 12 minutes, stopping in Plaza Espana and Plaza Catalunya in the centre. It costs 3,45 euros per person (at time of writing) and takes about 20-30 mins.

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.

There aren´t Busses such as "Airport Express" or shuttle in Barcelona....but there are 2 inexpensive ways to get to and from the airport.
There is a bus that will drop you in 3 places of Barclona: Sants Estació, Plaza Catalunya and Plaza Espanya(Near the Triumph arc) . And at all 3 terminals at the airport.
It costs about 2.50
If you travel light, or are well fit to carry your suitcases into the bus, don´t hesitate.

2. Train: There is a Train that will take you directly from the airport to Sants Estació and viceversa(with a few stops between and after Sants, passing by Plaza Catalunya, Arch of Triumph, Meridiana/Les corts etc) . At the airport, follow the signs, passing through a long hallway right into the train.
At Sants Estació, departures are anounced in Spanish, Catalan and English and you can ask, but it is also very well signaled. The price is also about 3 euros each way.

Hola Vince, It is very simple. Pls. don't let directions confuse u nor go astray! Make your trip to your hotel simple yet economical. Take the shuttle bus which we call AERO BUS. As you exit the costoms at the airport,go through those tinted black doors which automatically & lets u exit. Now your amongst the public. Keep walking straight where all those taxis anxiously waiting for passengers...look right about ten feet away would be the que for the AERO BUS, these is colour dark blue and yellow. Have at least 15 euros change, and I will explain later why. Lets make believe your inside the AERO BUS. Get off at the last stop which is called PLAZA CATALUNYA (which is right infront of our famous EL CORTE INGLES). You can either take a cab to Hotel Universal, take the Linea 3 right at Plaza Catalunya or if your young and energetic with a good city map you can easily walk it which would be a good 15 minutes. Taking a cab from Plaza Catalunya would cost you about seven euros, no need to tip the driver, however, taking the cab remember you will be charge plus one euro for your luggage. Now taking the Linea 3 get off at Parel. As you exit the metro walk towards the right side and you will see your hotel from there. Now that your in that area which can be quite busy specially in the dark, please be sure to secure your personal belongings, pickpocketing is so rampant not particularly in that area but because you are now in a very rampant pickpocketing favous beautiful city, just like any other famous city, you will always have many pickpocketing. Make copies of all your important documents, your passport, your credit card, your airline tickets and so forth, anything you hate to loose, make copies of it. Your hotel is a stone through from Las Ramblas so that is the cream of the cream, you will have a great time in that area but extra careful specially in the dark streets. Have a happy holiday and have great memories of beautiful Barcelona. Should you need more information how to get to the city from the airport, take few minutes and read our homepage with the title 'transportation to and from the airport'. CHEERS!

When arriving at Reus Airport you can either take the bus to Barcelona or go there by train. There is a bus for each flight arriving at Sans Estacio in Barcelona.
In my opinion the bus is the most comfortable way of transport (for the way home to catch the flight), but I can highly recommend the train for the way to B. as it runs along the beautiful coastline and through very lovely little villages. Take the airport bus to Reus railway station and then the train to Barcelona - leaving once every hour. This strain stops at several stations in Barcelona, for example Sans Estacio or Passeig de Gracia.
Bus to Barcelona: single ticket 9 Euro, return ticket 16 Euro
Airport bus: 2 Euro
Train: 5,80 Euro

Aerobus is the name given to buses running from the airport to the city centre and viceversa. This service operates normally every 15 minutes; between 6.00 a. m. and 12 p. m. These buses stop in front of each of the 3 terminal buildings.

Tickets are sold by the driver.

If you have to check what terminal you have to go on your return flight; you have to know that terminal 1 is very far from terminal 3.

The RENFE train makes an efficient and affordable means to connect from the airport to the city. The train makes several stops in the city connecting to all the subway lines. If you plan to stay solely in Barcelona during your trip, forget the rental car and take the train. It's great!

I arrived to Barcelona El Prat Airport and from there I took the A1 Aerobús to Placa d’Catalunya. On its way to Placa d’Catalunya the bus also stops at Placa d’Espanya, the corner of Gran via de les Corts Catalanes/Carrer del Compte d’Urgell and Placa de la Universitat. The ride took less than 40 minutes.
I bought a return ticket from the machine next to the bus. It was 7 Euro (February 2008). A single ticket would have cost 4.05 Euro.
The buses are frequent and they are running from the airport between 6 am (6.30 at weekends) until midnight.

The Aerobus is an efficient pick up / drop off express shuttle bus from the airport. It has 3 - 4 stops with the final stop at Plaza Catalunya. Cost is €5 each way and buses run every 5-10 minutes from Terminals 1 and 2.

I prefer this transportation to the city center (Plaza Catalunya) from the airport because:

+ you are on the ground and you get to see the city rather than being underground if you take the metro.

+ easier to get on/off with your luggage compared to going to the metro where you have to take escalators / elevators to get to ground level which can be challenging if you have lots of luggage

+ more conducive to speaking with fellow travelers. Every one on the bus came from somewhere. I sat with someone from Barcelona returning from Miami and we talked about the changes in Barcelona since the last time I visited 10 years ago. I practiced speaking Spanish while he practiced his English.