craftymom914 Posted March 30, 2008 #1 Share Posted March 30, 2008 Our cruise (HAL Zuiderdam) ends in Barcelona on 7/31/08. We are staying two additional nights. The threads on Barcelona hotels have been very helpful. But I have a few questions: 1. Our flight leaves at 6:30 a.m on Saturday morning. Anyone with some experience in Barcelona - are we better off staying at a hotel closer to the airport? I assume we can arrange for a car/taxi to take us. HOw much time should I allocate to get to the airport. And do we really need to be there 2 hours early? I don't mind getting up early - I have all day to sleep on a long flight home! But I want to be safe. 2. We are looking for people who might be interested in a sharing expenses for a private trip to Girona on 8/1/08. I have checked the Roll Call lists as well. 3. Any suggestions of tour guides in Barcelona that you personally would recommend. I have gotten some great leads for ports in Italy, but we would need a guide/driver for the Girona trip. Thanks for any feedback! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Host Karen Posted March 30, 2008 #2 Share Posted March 30, 2008 2. We are looking for people who might be interested in a sharing expenses for a private trip to Girona on 8/1/08. I have checked the Roll Call lists as well. Tour shares can only be posted on your roll call. They will be removed when they are posted on any other forum. Karen HostKaren@CruiseCritic.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiseluv Posted March 30, 2008 #3 Share Posted March 30, 2008 The Barcelona airport is at most 20 mins from the city center. At the time you are going to the airport there will be no traffic whatsoever. I am sure your hotel can help you arrange/ reserve a cab. I can also recommend the taxi service we used when we were there: barcelonataxi@barcelonataxivan.com They transfered us from the airport to hotel and back, no problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sallydh Posted April 4, 2008 #4 Share Posted April 4, 2008 I am sailing celebrity 10/18 east. med. and would love the links for some reasonable hotels in Barcelona that you had mentioned in your thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craftymom914 Posted April 27, 2008 Author #5 Share Posted April 27, 2008 Sallydh, Sorry I didn't read your posting sooner. I suspect you have already found this, but refer to the link below for suggestions for hotels in Barcelona. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=701571 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peteymil Posted April 27, 2008 #6 Share Posted April 27, 2008 I used Jose of Pepito Tours in Barcelona and was extremely pleased. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craftymom914 Posted April 27, 2008 Author #7 Share Posted April 27, 2008 Thanks Peteymil, His name pops up frequently. Always good to hear from someone who had a positive experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandm Posted April 27, 2008 #8 Share Posted April 27, 2008 Last summer our flight also left early AM. We stayed near the port in AC Barcelona and it took about 20-30 minutes to get to the airport. We asked the hotel front desk if cabs would be available at that time and they arranged with a cab company the night before to be there waiting at 5am. There was little traffic at that time and the cab driver was traveling at what seemed like Indy 500 speeds. My children loved it, while I, on the other hand held on for dear life. The hotel was a nice place to stay for one night post cruise. It has a nice terraced pool, and it is with in walking distance to the beach and a mall is across the street. We were able to pick up a book for the flight home and have Tapas for dinner for our last night in Barcelona. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craftymom914 Posted April 27, 2008 Author #9 Share Posted April 27, 2008 Dear Sandm, Thanks. I hear that the Barcelona airport can be really crowded - hopefully not at 6:30 in the morning!!! Plenty of time to sleep on the long flights home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisingmimi Posted April 28, 2008 #10 Share Posted April 28, 2008 We just did a checkin at Barcelona airport in December. We left the port around 6:30 am (pre-arranged Angie's Taxi) and were all checked in and sitting having coffee at 7:00 am. Easiest and quickest checkin we've had. Obviously, the airport wasn't crowded that time of day! Mary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsjb1 Posted April 28, 2008 #11 Share Posted April 28, 2008 We just did a checkin at Barcelona airport in December. We left the port around 6:30 am (pre-arranged Angie's Taxi) and were all checked in and sitting having coffee at 7:00 am. Easiest and quickest checkin we've had. Obviously, the airport wasn't crowded that time of day! Mary Not sure if it was not busy because it was December. We have been to Barcelona several times in the summer(late July and Early August) and the lines have been very long, even or especially for early am flights. There were tons of flights going off in all directions between 630 am and 730 am. There were also very long lines at security. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsjb1 Posted April 28, 2008 #12 Share Posted April 28, 2008 There is no need to stay close to the airport. Have your hotel book a cab for you the night before. There will be very little traffic at that hour, but you will be surprised how busy the Rambla area will still be. We got a cab at 5 for a 730 flight and had no problem. If you are going to claim the VAT back, you need to leave time for this as well. The Customs office can be difficult to find. We used http://www.spanish-trails.com for a trip to The Dali Museum and Girona. They were very reasonable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craftymom914 Posted April 28, 2008 Author #13 Share Posted April 28, 2008 Thanks to both itsjb1 and cruisingmimi for your input. Cruisingmimi - do you have the contact information for Angie's Taxi? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisingmimi Posted May 9, 2008 #14 Share Posted May 9, 2008 craftymom914, Here is the info you requested. Sorry for the delay in posting but I haven't checked in recently. Angie's Taxi Service: http://www.taxiinternacional.com/ Her email: angietaxi33@yahoo.com If you email her, be specific about ship arrival and time you would like a taxi pickup. Mary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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