BARCELONA AIRPORT: THERE AND BACK

What do you do when you have just landed in Barcelona? Where is the airport located? What are the options to get to the city? How much does a taxi charge for a ride to Barcelona?

Barcelona airport “El Prat” is located in southwest – 12 km from the city center. There are 2 Terminals – Terminal1 and Terminal2.

Terminal 2 is mainly used for low cost flights.  It is divided into 3 check-in zones – T2A, T2B and T2C. Terminal 2 is relatively small and easy to find what you need in there. The positive thing about it is that it is directly connected to the city center by a Renfe (train) station. The ride takes around 25 minutes (to Passeig de Gracia stop) and there are trains every 30 minutes. The trains run from around 6 am to 11:30 pm. TIP: If you decide to use the train to get to the city and if you are planning to stay in Barcelona and use the public transport more than once,  buy a “T10” (a card with 10 tickets – the price is 9.80 Euros) as it works out much cheaper than if you get a single one way ticket (3.80 Euros) from the airport to the city center.

Terminal 1 is much bigger and there are many more flights departing and arriving there. It is located a little bit further than Terminal2. Both terminals are connected with a free shuttle that takes around 10 minutes. The shuttle runs 24 hours per day.

Except for catching the train from Terminal2 or catching a shuttle and then the train from Terminal1 – what are the other options to get to Barcelona city center?

Taxi: a taxi from the airport to the city center takes between 20 to 30 minutes depending on the traffic. The price is around 30 euros – again depending on where exactly you are going. Keep in mind that there might be some extra charges such as for extra luggage for example.

Aerobus: A very good alternative of the taxi and the train is the “Aerobus”.  They run to and from the Airport every 5 minutes every day of the year. The single ticket price is 5.90 and the return is 10.20.  The route includes various stops in Barcelona, including Plaza Espanya and Plaza Catalunya.

Another airport that serves Barcelona is Girona airport.  It is the hub for Ryanair who provide low-cost flights and being so close to the Costa Brava is many times more convenient for holidaymakers who are planning a trip to the seaside.

If you need to get to Barcelona however, it is about 92 km from the city, but there is a bus that will take you directly to Barcelona Estacio Nord, which is 5 minutes walk from Arc de Triomf. The journey takes about 1 hour and a single ticket costs 12 Euros, and return ticket 21 Euros. Buses usually depart around 20-25 minutes after the arrival of each flight.

You can of course take a taxi, but this could cost in the region of around 120 Euros, excluding charges for extra baggage etc.