Barcelona Port to BCN (airport) travel times

[HALrunner]

We will be disembarking in Barcelona on a Sunday morning. How much time should we plan to get to the airport? What is the earliest international flight you would be comfortable booking?

Is a taxi the most efficient way for a family of four to make the transfer? Would a private driver be quicker? Thanks!

[MADflyer]

A taxi is the best alternative for a port to airport transfer. The taxi fare T4 was created this year and is a 39 euro fixed price for up to 4 passengers and baggage to the airport.

 

The transfer will not be your problem as the trip can take between 20 and 30 minutes and there is little traffic on Sunday mornings. Leaving most ships prior to 0830 usually means very little wait time for a taxi.

 

There are going to be some new flight routes for next season that are not announced yet and some should offer later connections for long-haul flights.

 

Currently many successfully make the 10:45 Non-Schengen flights. A passenger could possibly make as early as 09:45 for a Schengen European zone flight.

 

Current airport recommendations are for arriving at the airport 3 hours prior to non-Schengen and 2 hours prior to Schengen.

 

This actually only becomes necessary on dates when they have implemented 'enhanced security' meaning that those on long haul flights go through 3 levels of security. The problem is you never know when one of these days or periods will happen.

[TLCOhio]

A taxi is the best alternative for a port to airport transfer. The transfer will not be your problem as the trip can take between 20 and 30 minutes and there is little traffic on Sunday mornings.

 

Agree on a taxi being the best, especially with your luggage after doing a cruise. Sunday mornings does make it much easier. Best of all is that the Barcelona airport is relatively closely to the main downtown, historic areas and port. Very handy here!! Unlike Rome and some other cities, things are pretty close together in Barcelona.

 

Hopefully, before your cruise, you will have time to see, experience and enjoy the super charming Barcelona with so much history, great architecture and character.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Dozens of nice visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc. We are now at 203,541 views for this live/blog re-cap, including much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[HALrunner]

A taxi is the best alternative for a port to airport transfer. The taxi fare T4 was created this year and is a 39 euro fixed price for up to 4 passengers and baggage to the airport.

 

The transfer will not be your problem as the trip can take between 20 and 30 minutes and there is little traffic on Sunday mornings. Leaving most ships prior to 0830 usually means very little wait time for a taxi.

 

There are going to be some new flight routes for next season that are not announced yet and some should offer later connections for long-haul flights.

 

Currently many successfully make the 10:45 Non-Schengen flights. A passenger could possibly make as early as 09:45 for a Schengen European zone flight.

 

Current airport recommendations are for arriving at the airport 3 hours prior to non-Schengen and 2 hours prior to Schengen.

 

This actually only becomes necessary on dates when they have implemented 'enhanced security' meaning that those on long haul flights go through 3 levels of security. The problem is you never know when one of these days or periods will happen.

 

Thanks so much for this fantastic advice, answering questions I didn't even think to ask! I very much appreciate all of your thoughts!

 

We have been to Barcelona several times and this time hubby needs to catch an early flight out to make it back to work Monday morning! We will be sad to see it only in passing, but know we will be back!

[HALrunner]

MADFlyer....

One other question for you.

On a future cruise husband will need to fly into BCN last minute to catch a cruise departing the same day. How much time would you estimate he needs to get from BCN to port? I have noticed the signs at BCN for cruise ship passengers, but have never gone directly from BCN to the port. Does this expedite the process somehow? Is taxi still the recommended mode of transportation for a solo passenger on a (likely) tight schedule?

[Keith1010]

When you say an early flight how early are you looking for the flight.

 

Keiht

[MADflyer]

MADFlyer....

One other question for you.

On a future cruise husband will need to fly into BCN last minute to catch a cruise departing the same day. How much time would you estimate he needs to get from BCN to port? I have noticed the signs at BCN for cruise ship passengers, but have never gone directly from BCN to the port. Does this expedite the process somehow? Is taxi still the recommended mode of transportation for a solo passenger on a (likely) tight schedule?

 

If everything is functioning well at Barcelona the timing to the port is usually good. Traffic from the airport to port can avoid the city center route and a taxi can travel as quickly as 20 minutes to the port.

 

While the ship transfers might provide more of a chance of the ship being held for a late arrival, they do not provide speedier service to the port.

 

The taxi line can get quite long at the airport, but it keeps moving constantly and a 10 minute wait might be expected.

 

Most ships close embarkation one hour prior to ship departure.

[HALrunner]

If everything is functioning well at Barcelona the timing to the port is usually good. Traffic from the airport to port can avoid the city center route and a taxi can travel as quickly as 20 minutes to the port.

 

While the ship transfers might provide more of a chance of the ship being held for a late arrival, they do not provide speedier service to the port.

 

The taxi line can get quite long at the airport, but it keeps moving constantly and a 10 minute wait might be expected.

 

Most ships close embarkation one hour prior to ship departure.

 

Thanks so much! Exactly the information I was looking for:)

[tiggrbaby]

A taxi is the best alternative for a port to airport transfer. The taxi fare T4 was created this year and is a 39 euro fixed price for up to 4 passengers and baggage to the airport.

 

The transfer will not be your problem as the trip can take between 20 and 30 minutes and there is little traffic on Sunday mornings. Leaving most ships prior to 0830 usually means very little wait time for a taxi.

 

There are going to be some new flight routes for next season that are not announced yet and some should offer later connections for long-haul flights.

 

Currently many successfully make the 10:45 Non-Schengen flights. A passenger could possibly make as early as 09:45 for a Schengen European zone flight.

 

Current airport recommendations are for arriving at the airport 3 hours prior to non-Schengen and 2 hours prior to Schengen.

 

This actually only becomes necessary on dates when they have implemented 'enhanced security' meaning that those on long haul flights go through 3 levels of security. The problem is you never know when one of these days or periods will happen.

 

Is the fare still the same this year? I am trying to decide between the ship transfer and doing it ourselves. It seems like we could get off the ship about 8:30 and still make a 12:30 flight.

[Michidoeme]

We disembarked in Barcelona this week Tuesday around 9.30 am and waited over an hour in line to get to a Taxi. This happened to us already 2 years ago, but were assured by Celebrity concierge and on blogs here that this must have been a fluke and was usually not the case, therefore we risked it again :eek:

Next time we will make very sure to organize private transport in this port !!

[EnricM]

I've mentioned it many times in the forum. It all depends on the number of passengers disembarking at the same time AND, most importantly, on other major events happening in the city that day. Also, note that sometimes you get quite a few of the biggest cruisers around arriving at once at this port. The city has around 11,000 taxis -for comparison NY has 13,000 and nearly x5 times more population- so getting one is often VERY EASY. That doesn't mean you don't get times in which is very complicated.

[Manbo]

We were able to get from the port to the Airport in 20 minutes last Sunday morning walking off the ship at 9AM. The problem was the security lines. Took us an hour to get through security. Folks that arrived later had a much longer line. 2 hours at least. We watched several people running to their gate and often times it was too late.

I would not book a flight before noon.