Taxi from airport to city help

All,

We are a party of 6 we arrive into Barcelona airport at 2230 and need a taxi into the city. I've seen threads here that suggest you should be able to get something for 20-30 euros if you go to the taxi stand - but i thought it would be cheaper booking online - the best i can get for a private taxi for 6 is around 75-80 euros which seems steep! Is it likely to be cheaper at the airport, or am I best booking beforehand?

i don't think you will get a rate of 20 - 30 euro at the taxi stand. Probably closer to 40 euro. There is a 'guide price' of 29 euro up to 8pm, so you will get hit with the later arrival time and also the surcharge for 6 passengers.

the latest information is here:http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2141997#

As stated as the standard taxi fare is advised to cost around 29 and you pay about .23 more per km and then a large vehicle supplement of 3.10 you are looking at minimum of around 38 euros and then when adding 1 euro for each bag over 2 you are more likely looking at around 45 euro +. If it is a Saturday or Sunday it would be about 10% more. Terminal 1 is a little greater distance than terminal 2 and about 2 euros more at times.

You can check the km at viamichelin.com and enter aeroport de el prat and your destination address.

Airport taxi rank map

http://www.aena.es/csee/Satellite/Aeropuerto-Barcelona/en/Page/1237554373046/

Bearing in mind the time that you are arriving and the fact that there are 6 of you, my advice would be to pre-book your transport.

BCN Travel do a 7 seater vehicle for around €70. For me it would be worth the extra €20 or so to be sure that, at that time of night, there was a vehicle big enough for my party.

If you are pre-booking a taxi, remember to inform them how many pieces of luggage you are bringing!

Many taxis will have half of their boot space taken up by a gas tank.

Last time in BCN we have witnessed some funny scenes of people getting 4 passengers with luggage into a car.

:-)

would your hotel be able to arrange a van?

Many of the larger hotels (specially the chain hotels) often have airline crews in house and will therefore have access to mini vans.

Barcelona Day Tours provided us transport from the port to airport for six persons with extensive luggage.

Price in 2012 was 79 Euros per transfer, not per person.

Barcelona Day Tours

Top-Day-Tours Group

http://www.BarcelonaDayTours.com

Tel: +34 931 815 287

Fax:+34 933 728 413

Email: info@BarcelonaDayTours.com

I do not consider 10:30 PM really 'late' in Spain at the airport as you are still having flights arriving about one every 2 minutes from 9 PM to midnight, but do realize the limited availability of large vehicles.

If you do not book and proceed to the taxi rank you can face a slight delay between 5 and 10 minutes for a large vehicle to pull around if one has not already been sent over from the holding area for taxis at the airport. If there is not already one at the holding area it can then take up to 30 minutes. You do not pay for the service at the airport taxi rank, but you would at a city hotel.