Arriving in Barceloan...Now what?

[vivian02]

Alot of Cruisers are excited about getting on that ship but in the case of cruising Europe the first sinking feeling you get is where do you go and what do you do? The best thing to do is to arrive one or two days early so you can adjust from jet lag. Once you arrive at the Barcelona airport you will find it modern and easy to navigate. Probably the first thing to do is to exchange Dollars for Euros and then attend to getting the luggage. Now I think my wife and I did everything right but there is one thing in the back of my mind that keeps wondering what would have happen if we had agreed to the offer from a man speaking English "Do you need a private driver to take you downtown?" The answer was "No". Has anyone ever hired one of these drivers and how much did it cost. We declined the invitation and took the Aeroporto Bus instead. If I had not gotten the three hours sleep on the plane from the night before I probably would have taken a taxi. Here is the price break down as I see it can anyone let us know what the hiring of a private driver would cost.

 

Aeroporto Bus - $3.40 Euros to the Plaza

Taxi - $22.00 Euros to the Plaza

Train - ????

Private Driver - ????

Hired Driver - ????

 

Please lets hear your experience. Tim

[usavvy2]

Tim -

no experience to relay just some more pricing from our hotel for our upcoming visit in September.

 

I think we'll take a taxi when we arrive in September so we are delivered right to our hotel (I assume I won't get much sleep on the plane). Our hotel tells us that a taxi costs about 20 Euros and takes 20 minutes. They also advised that the Aerobus leaves from the airport every 15 minutes, costs 3 Euros/pp, is comfortable and fast - also taking 20 minutes (if timing is right it's the same time as a taxi but if you miss the bus and have to wait another 14 minutes...). The bus stops in Cataluña Square (which is the fourth stop). The hotel can also arrange to hire a private car at an approximate cost of 72 Euros! :eek:

[ClaudiaF]

We have hired a company called Barcelona Taxi to pick us up on 3 trips so far .

http://Http://www.barcelonataxi.com

They are not a yellow taxi they are a tour/transfer company -so not to be confused with a taxi..

They are always on time and waiting for us at exit to customs with sign. The cost for 4 of us from the airport to ship was 60Euro ( Mercedes van)this summer. I can't recall what the charge is for two people but I do know that a taxi is about 30US for 2 w/ luggage.. so their price is very fair. I like the assistance of someone carrying the bags,waiting for us, having the car right there, rather than waiting in lines for taxis.. although it isn't that difficult an airport to get around or out of.. They do offer tours of the city if you want to do that , I am not sure of the price, as we didn't need to do that having been there before -I think it was 40 EU per hour.

[vivian02]

The reason I posted this tread is for those who are going to Europe for the first time will find out fast that things get alittle confusing. Yes you will be tired and making that last minute decision can be critical. Its should be noted that just because someone approches you that speaks english send up a warning sign in my book especially in a different country. I had our plans figured out ahead of time and felt confortable about taking the Aeroporto bus or a taxi. The taxi was my back up. I knew our hotel was only two blocks from the Plaza so I was the one to find the hotel while the wife stood at the plaza guarding the luggage. What was even more funny was the fact that she stood watch over the luggage talking on here cell phone. I found out later that she really wasn't confortable in a foreign country alone guarding the suit cases so she pretended to be using her cell phone. That was probably a great idea since she just looked like all the other Europeans talking on their cell phones. Nobody bothered her. For those getting ready to go to Barcelona this coming summer "have a plan". Barcelona is a nice place to visit and doing your homework ahead of time can save you alot of time and effort. Tim

[DJHere]

We are arriving in Barcelona on June 16,05 and have booked our transportation and Hotel Majestic with RCL.

The price is $47.00 USD for picking us up at airport to hotel, taking us to The Brilliance on June 17, and returning us to the airport after the cruise.

It's worth the $ to me to have RCL take care of us...

[Jane110]

We never take a private car from the airport. If it's not pre-arranged transportation, we take a taxi. We get on the line, which is generally only a few minutes, get the "lay of the land" from the dispatcher or from the taxi desk inside the terminal.

 

In Barcelona, our metered taxi from the airport to our hotel was under 20 Euros, I believe. OUr driver was very nice about helping us with our luggage so we tipped him well.

 

Jane