Barcelona Airport is connected to the metro, rail and several city and long-distance bus lines.
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The fastest and quickest way to get to the city centre is by Aerobus, while you'll have to change buses if you take the metro.
| Travel time | Price | Frequency | Stops | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metro L9 | 45 minutes | 5,50 eur (multi-day tickets also apply) |
10 minutes | T1 + T2 |
| Bus Aerobus | 35-40 minutes | 6,75 eur (not valid for multi-day tickets) |
5 minutes | T1 + T2 |
| Bus 46 | 50-55 minutes | 2,55 eur (multi-day tickets also apply) |
12 minutes | T1 + T2 |
| Train R2 | 25 minutes | 4,10 eur (multi-day tickets also apply) |
30 minutes | T2 |
| Taxi | 35 minutes | 45 eur | non-stop | T1 + T2 |
Metro to Barcelona
Metro line L9 runs from both terminals to the northwestern edge of Barcelona to the university town. You can also use this line to travel from the airport to Camp Nou.
To get to the centre of Barcelona, you must change at Torrasa station to the red line L1 or at Collblanc station to the blue line L5.
- Travel time to the centre with a transfer - 47-50 minutes on Pl. Catalunya
- First connection from Torrasa station - 5:01
- Last connection from the airport - 00:07
Metro ticket with special airport surcharge costs 5,50 eur and is transferable (only within metro lines). When travelling on the L9 metro line, multi-day tickets can also be used:
- 24 hours (T-Dia) - 11,20 eur
- 48-hour Hola Card - 15,75 eur when purchased online, on site 17,50 eur
- 72-hour Hola Card - 22,95 eur when purchased online, on site 25,50 eur
- 96-hour Hola Card - 29,97 eur when purchased online, on site 33,30 eur
- 120-Hour Hola Card - 36,72 eur when purchased online, on site 40,80 eur
- To purchase online, visit: holabarcelona.com/tickets
The T-Casual ticket for 10 rides is not valid on the metro to/from the airport.
In addition to buying multi-day tickets online, you can also buy all tickets from the red machines at each metro station. You can pay with cash or card.
Coming from the city centre, the first station at the airport is "Aeroport T2" at Terminal 2, the final station is called "Aeroport T1" and is located at Terminal 1.
Bus to Barcelona
It's cheaper to get to the city centre on the regular public bus line 46, faster and more frequent on the special AeroBus line.
Aerobus
Aerobus operates 2 routes (A1 Pl. Catalunya - Terminal 1 and A2 Pl. Catalunya - Terminal 2). No Barcelona public transport tickets are valid for this bus. Special tickets can be bought online at aerobusbarcelona.es or at the blue machines at the bus stop.
To Plaza Catalunya, the Aerobus takes approximately 35-45 minutes depending on traffic.
- One-way ticket - 6,75 eur
- Return ticket - 11,65 eur
The advantage of the Aerobus is that it goes directly to both main squares - Pl. Espanya and Pl. Catalunya and also the fact that it runs 24 hours a day.
During the day with an interval of 5 minutes, at night with an interval of 20 minutes, see timetables.
Route 46
Bus route 46 remains the cheapest transport directly to the centre. However, when using all-day or multi-day tickets, the price is the same by metro and bus.
The advantage of the 46 bus over the metro lies in the journey to the central square Pl. Espanya without having to change trains.
The stops are always directly in front of both terminals marked as TMB bus Barcelona.
- Timetable for line 46 - tmb.cat/en/46
- First connection from the centre - 4:50
- Last connection from the airport - 23:50
- Frequency - 13-15 minutes
- Journey time - 50 minutes
- Ticket valid for bus only costs 2,55 eur, you can change to another bus (but not the metro) within 75 minutes.
When travelling on bus 46 you can also use these tickets:
- 24 hours (T-Dia) - 11,20 eur
- 10 rides T-Casual - 12,15 eur
- 48-hour Hola Card - 15,75 eur when purchased online, otherwise 17,50 eur
- 72-hour Hola Card - 22,95 eur when purchased online, otherwise it is 25,50 eur
- 96-Hour Hola Card - 29,97 eur when purchased online, otherwise is 33,30 eur
- To purchase online, visit: holabarcelona.com/tickets
Day or multi-day tickets can only be purchased at the red machines at the metro station, in addition to online purchase. There is no machine at the bus stop. You can also buy single tickets or a 10-ride ticket from the driver, where you can also pay by card.
When travelling from Terminal 2, pay attention to the destination on the banner. At stops very close to each other, there is a mix of connections going to the centre and connections going from the centre that only continue to Terminal 1.
Train to Barcelona
The R2N train in the direction of the city centre (Sants and Passeig de Grácia stations), you'll mainly use if you're continuing further out of Barcelona on long-distance trains or if you happen to hit the timetable - trains only run once every 30 minutes.
Another disadvantage is that the train only has a station in front of Terminal 2.
- R2 train timetable - rodalies.gencat.cat/en/R2
- First connection from Passeig de Grácia station - 5:08
- Last connection from the airport - 23:38
- Frequency - 30 minutes
- Journey time - 24 minutes
- Fares - 4,10 eur (the airport is in zone 4 for Rodalies Catalunya single ticket purposes)
However, as part of the integrated ATM system for the whole of Barcelona and the surrounding area, the airport is in zone 1. You can also use the following tickets for the R2 train:
- 24 hours (T-Dia) - 11,20 eur
- 10 rides T-Casual - 12,15 eur
- 48-hour Hola Card - 15,75 eur when purchased online, otherwise 17,50 eur
- 72-hour Hola Card - 22,95 eur when purchased online, otherwise 25,50 eur
- 96-Hour Hola Card - 29,97 eur when purchased online, otherwise is 33,30 eur
- To purchase online, visit: holabarcelona.com/tickets
Night buses
In addition to the Aerobus lines that run all night, you can also use the cheaper night lines of the regular public transport.
Between 23:00 and 5:00, use the N17 (Terminal 1) and N18 (Terminals 1 and 2) bus lines, which circulate the entire centre of Barcelona with an interval of 15 minutes, terminating at Pl. Catalunya.
Tickets are the same as for bus number 46 above.
The N17 also goes to El Prat de Llobregat, where you can find cheap accommodation near the airport.
For timetables for night buses, visit www.ambmobilitat.cat.
There is no machine at the airport that sells regular single fares, so you must buy your ticket from the driver, but you can only pay with cash!
Where to buy tickets at the airport?
- You can buy all types of tickets via the TMB mobile app
- Single ride and 24-hour metro tickets can be bought from the machines in the metro station
- Single bus tickets for 2,55 eur can be bought from the driver
- T10-Casual ticket only at the Relay kiosk or at the vending machine at the entrance to the train station in front of Terminal 2
- Hola Barcelona tickets can be purchased from the ticket machine in the metro station, or with a 10% discount online - in this case you will receive a code in your email which you can use to collect your ticket from the ticket machine in the metro station
Taxi to Barcelona
Taxi fares are fixed and always run with the meter on. Scams on tourists are absolutely rare in Barcelona.
For example, for a trip to the centre on Pl. Catalunya you will pay about 45 eur.
Costa Brava
If you're heading to the Costa Brava for a holiday, take advantage of Terravision's direct buses for 16 eur running along the Malgrat de Mar, Santa Susanna, Pineda de Mar, Calella, Blanes and Lloret de Mar routes. Buy your ticket online at Terravision.eu.
Costa Dorada
Similar to the Costa Brava, you can also take a direct bus to the Costa Dorada. Tickets cost 20 eur when bought and booked online. The route is La Pineda, Port Aventura, Salou and Cambrils.
Car rental
Would you like to just use Barcelona as an arrival and departure airport and head straight to the Pyrenees by car, for example? No problem, there are dozens of different car rental companies at the airport and the choice is really wide. Thanks to the great competition, there are also relatively low prices.
For example, for a week's car hire in high season you can pay around 200 eur, off-season from 100 eur.
"Day tickets and Hola Barcelona multi-day tickets cannot be used for the train to Zone 3 (i.e. the airport)."
I don't think this is entirely true. For one thing, the station near the airport is not in zone 3 but 4, but only in the Rodalies map; in the integrated transport map it's still zone 1. Even the ATM website says that integrated tickets, including T-Dia, are valid for the airport train (for the metro too, but not all of them).
https://www.atm.cat/atencio-info...r-aeroport
Hola Barcelona also allows you to take the train between the airport and the city, since it's valid in integrated zone 1. It's just confusing that in the description on their website they specifically mention the metro to the airport, but not the train. But they forgot to add for the metro that it's only valid for one trip to and from the airport.