First time to Spain

We will be arriving in Barcelona in June and staying at Hotel 1898 for three days before our cruise. What would be the best way from the airport to the hotel,

shared transfer or private one? Any advice from seasoned travelers be greatly appreciated.

It's very easy and economical to take a cab from the airport to your hotel in Barcelona, (unless you are in a large group). In fact, while in Barcelona for a few days before our cruise, we used cabs to get around often, especially at night. Cab fares are regulated and standardized. Very safe and convenient.

You could easily take the Aerobus from the airport. The Plaza Catalunya stop is close to the hotel. The following is copied from the Hotel 1898 website:

BARCELONA EL PRAT AIRPORT (BCN)

Aerobus: The Aerobus leaves stations every ten minutes. It’s quick and comfortable, with ample room for baggage. The trip takes 20-30 minutes and costs €5.90 per person. The Plaza Catalunya is just 200 meters from the hotel.

Thank you Chloe1500 and katsmom1

You have been given good advice. Just consider that grabbing a taxi will cost you about 20 Euros more than using the Aero Bus....but you will not have to wait for the taxi and it will whisk you from door to door. If saving 20€ is important than the bus is a good option.

Hank

Thanks Hank

Slugger44......what cruise r u taking? How much was flight to BCN? Please do a review of hotel and cruise? I'm asking bc a Med Cruise is on my bucket list and was looking at same hotel. Thanks in advance for any info.

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I would take a cab. Very easy from the airport. And particularly if you are arriving after an overnight flight from the US, do you really want to be dragging your bags around on and off a bus and then from the bus to your hotel?

One tip: don't expect cab drivers in Barcelona to speak English. Have the name and address of your hotel written out.

Have a wonderful trip!

Ctrinh225 we are on Vision of the Seas in June doing France and Ports in Italy.

We bought our tickets through Choice Air. We are flying from the west coast and flying business class.

Ctrinh225 we are on Vision of the Seas in June doing France and Ports in Italy.

We bought our tickets through Choice Air. We are flying from the west coast and flying business class.

Thank u!

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Public transportation to and from the airport in Barcelona is a prime area for pickpockets as they know tourists with cash will be onboard. it is safer to take a taxi directly to your hotel in Barcelona.

Taxi from BCN airport to center city is 29.50 plus 3.5 euro surcharge. We were there in March. If you feel like public transportation remember you may have to change Terminals to get to it. If you are going to use the Metro while there you could purchase a T10 card for 9.95 euro and it is shareable. You can actually get from the airport to the city center for one ticket each so 2 euros.. Depends how you feel after the long flight

I am going to jump in the frying pan since somebody mentioned pickpockets. Yes, it is true that Barcelona has more than its share of pickpockets/purse snatchers including a pretty large Roma (gypsy) community. The relatively minor penalties for this type of crime just encourages more criminals. However, we would point out a few related issues.

Pickpockets are a problem throughout Western Europe and they tend to work the major tourist cities/sites. If you take some reasonable precautions and always remain aware of your surroundings you will have little to worry about! The Pickpockets generally look for the easy "mark" and are generally not hard to avoid. We have been traveling throughout Europe for over thirty-five years (including at least 18 trips to Barcelona) and have never had a problem. But, we have watched others get nailed...and it was usually their own stupidity (like the lady we saw last year who put her purse under her chair while eating at a café on the Ramblas).

And we have been to other places much worse than Barcelona. The worst I have seen is on the Green Line metro that connects Pireaus to Athens (Greece). And again, taking a few simple precautions usually suffices to prevent any problem.

Hank