The Ultimate Barcelona Budget Tip! Travel from Barcelona Airport to city center in the cheapest possible way. I explain how this Barcelona budget tip works, where to get the tickets to Barcelona center, and how to use it and only pay a little over 1 euro for 1 single ride.
Traveling Barcelona on a budget can be difficult sometimes. When you fly into a city, you need to get from the airport to downtown. Often your options are a pricey taxi ride or an airport express bus for a hefty fee. Luckily, I found a super cheap, easy, and fast budget tip to travel from Barcelona Airport to the city center for €1,22.
That’s right, for a little over 1 Euro per person; you can travel directly into the city center of Barcelona from El Prat Airport. No transfers, no haggling with cab drivers, or any other nuisances.
Are you traveling to Barcelona soon? Want to know how to get from Barcelona Airport to the city and spend only 1 Euro 22 cents on transport downtown? Continue reading and I’ll explain how the Barcelona Budget transport tip works and how you can do it too!
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El Prat Barcelona Airport
The Airport of Barcelona, El Prat, is situated in the South West of the city of Barcelona. It is only 12 kilometers (7 miles) from the city and El Prat is the main airport for Barcelona. Its IATA code is BCN and El Prat has 2 terminals.
T1 and T2 have a bus connecting the two of them and from each terminal to the city center. There are other airports around Barcelona, Girona, and Reus.
Each of these is situated 120 km (75 miles) away from Barcelona and is mainly serviced by European Low-Cost Airlines. This post is solely about El Prat Barcelona Airport and how to travel from the airport to the city center of Barcelona.
Read more: Athens airport to Athens center
How to travel from Barcelona Airport to City Center of Barcelona?
There are several options to travel from El Prat Barcelona Airport to Barcelone Center. I’ll list them shortly below, so you have all the options and prices available to make a good choice for your transport needs.
Taxi from Barcelona Airport
The most expensive option to travel from Barcelona Airport to downtown is to take a taxi. A cab ride to the center of Barcelona will cost you around €35-40. If you’re traveling with more people or can find a few others to share the ride, you might spend less per person.
Barcelona Card
If you plan on visiting a lot of sites in Barcelona, you might want to consider buying the Barcelona Card. This card grants you a discount to various sites in the city, but also unlimited public transport (from the airport included).
You can already have a 3-day pass from €49,50 and if you buy it before you leave home, you can use it to travel from Barcelona Airport to city center.
Purchase the Barcelona Card with a 10% discount in advance online, here
Hola Barcelona Transport Card
Are you not a big fan of museums, but do you like the idea of an unlimited travel pass? Then the Hola Barcelona Transport card is your go-to pass.
It comes with the option for 48 hours, 72 hours, 96 hours, and even 120 hours (2,3,4, or 5 days) unlimited use of the Barcelona public transport, including transit to and from the airport.
Buy the Hola Barcelona Transport card here
Aerobus – Airport Express Bus
The Aerobus is the Barcelona Airport Express Bus which connects the terminals T1 and T2 with the city center of Barcelona.
You can travel to either Plaça d’Espanya or Plaça de Catalunya in Barcelona. A single ticket costs €9,20. You can buy a return ticket for €15. The journey will take you around 25 to 35 minutes, depending on your destination and the traffic on the way.
There is free Wi-Fi on board and enough room to store your luggage.
Buy your Aerobus transport tickets in advance here.
Metro to Barcelona
Since February 2016 the direct metro to El Prat Barcelona Airport has been up and running. The L9 Metro will take you from the airport to Barcelona center.
Depending on your final destination, you might need to transfer to another metro line. Tickets are €5,50 and you need to buy a special “Airport ticket” as other tickets or discount cards are not valid for the journey to and from the Airport (unless you have a transport pass with the airport included).
Renfe Train from Barcelona Airport
You can also take the train to travel from Barcelona Airport to the city center. The Spanish railroads are called Renfe, and the train R2N will take you every 30 minutes to the center of Barcelona.
Stops are station Clot, Passeig de Gràcia, or Barcelona Sants Estacio. A ticket to Passeig de Gràcia will cost you €4,90 for a single journey (4 zones). If you wish to travel further by metro after this, you need to buy another ticket.
TMB Airport bus 46 to the city center
Besides the Aerobus Airport bus, there is also a regular city bus running from Barcelona Airport to the city center. The bus number is 46 and you can catch it outside the terminal.
The bus is frequent and depending on the traffic, it will bring you within 30 to 40 minutes to Plaça d’Espanya.
TMB bus 46 tickets can be purchased on the bus for €2,55 one way as this is the price for a 1-journey trip on all TMB buses in Barcelona. Space for your luggage is limited but this is a good option to travel from Barcelona Airport to the city center of Barcelona.
The TMB buses are also included in the Hola Barcelona Transport Card.
Travel from Barcelona Airport to City Center for a little over 1 Euro
As you can see, the prices decrease as we get further into this post. But even the cheapest option is €2,55 for a single ticket on the TMB Bus 46 from the airport.
So how to get from Barcelona airport to the city and pay as little as possible?
T-Casual Barcelona Transport Card
That is the magic word. The T-Casual pass is your cheapest option. This card allows you to travel by bus, metro (not the airport one), and railway. You get 10 journeys on this card for the price of €12,15 (it used to be €10)
For the people who are bad at math: that is €1,22 per journey. A little over 1 Euro for a journey on the bus, metro or train inside the Barcelona city area.
With this card, you can take the TMB bus 46 and travel from Barcelona Airport to the city center for slightly more than 1 Euro. You can also use it on the train R2N from the airport to Barcelona city. Although regular Metro rides are included in the T-Casual, the Metro L9, to and from the airport, are excluded.
But, this T-Casual card allows you to travel via bus or train from the Barcelona El Prat airport to the city! For a little more than 1 Euro. I was amazed at this option and had already calculated over 25 euros for a return journey for 2 people into our travel budget.
Use the T-Casual Public Transport Card in Barcelona on Buses or Trains
Recently I went back to Barcelona and used the train R2 to get to Barcelona center from El Prat airport. So, should you take the train or the bus?
If you need to go anywhere around Plaça d’Espanya, you can take the TMB bus 46 as the final stop is this transport hub.
If you need to be anywhere else in the city, for example, the area around Sants Railway station or Passeig de Gracia (Ramblas and the Gothic area included) I suggest taking the train.
In less than 23 minutes we hopped off the train and found ourselves in the middle of Barcelona.
The T-Casual Transport Card is an individual pass
On top of that, I found the T-casual to be super convenient. Even if you do not use all the 10 journeys on this card, it’s still cheaper than the Aerobus.
Unfortunately, you can not use it for multiple persons on the same journey. You need to download it in the TMB app and activate it.
Where to buy the T-Casual card?
The T-Casual Card is a T-Mobilitat card only and you need to buy it online. You can do so via the TMB website or via the TMB app (for Apple here, for Android here).
I found this really the best budget option.
Not only was it cheap, but also hassle-free. It was fast as we arrived in the city in under 30 minutes and we didn’t have to wait long for the bus to arrive. The journey back to the Airport was even smoother with no people on the bus and we were dropped off at the departures within 20 minutes!
Advantages of the T Casual when you travel from Barcelona Airport to City Center
- Cheap! At €12,15 for 10 tickets, this is a steal. That is €1,22 for a single journey
- Fast! You can choose the local bus or the train to travel from Barcelona to the airport
- Available! Buy it in advance online or via the app and be ready to go once you’ve landed in Barcelona.
- Multi-purpose! You can use it on the bus or train, or once you get into Barcelona, on the subway in the center.
The cheapest way to travel from Barcelona Airport to City Center
As you can see, the cheapest way to travel from El Prat Airport to Barcelona City is to buy the T-Casual transport card and travel by regular bus or train into the city center.
This helped me save a huge amount on my travel budget which I got to spend on other things like tapas and entrance fees to Park Guell.
- Learn a few Spanish phrases with this easy Spanish Phrasebook & Dictionary with Audio. Purchase your copy here.
- Book your hotels in Barcelona and Cataluyna via Booking.com or Hotels.com
- Find your direct flights to Barcelona here
- Book your tours and activities direct with GetYourGuide or Tiquets
- Book your train tickets in and around Spain direct here or find the cheapest car rentals here
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- Get your E-sim for Spain ahead of time with Knowroaming
Did you go to Barcelona? How did you travel from the airport to the city? What did you find the best or cheapest way? Please share in the comment section below.
Is there a luggage restriction on the train from Airport to Barcelona Centre ?
Not really but space is limited off course, so I’d say, pack smart!
Thanks a lot for the information, Naomi. This has been super helpful. Would just suggest to use better fonts as it is really hard to read 🙂
Is there a Tobacco shop in Terminal 1 to purchase a T10 card for the 46 bus? I am coming to Barcelona in 1 week. Thanks.
Not that I am aware of. At the airport, you need to go to the train station, where you can buy the T10 at the ticket office or the ticket machine. Good luck Ed!
I am interested in using the T-10 card for travel from / to Barcalona City Center from BCN. Just to confirm, when I land at the Barcalona airport(Terminal 2) I would go to the Renfre trains and take the R2n?
thanks
Hi Jim. That is correct. There vending machines there and you can purchase the T10. Don’t forget to validate it and have fun in Barcelona!
Thanks and one more question, maybe a dumb one…How do you validate the T10? Does that just mean passing it through the machine when entering the train station?
That is correct. If you travel with multiple people, you can use the same card.
Do you need cash (Euros) for purchasing the T 10 card or can you use a charge card?
You can use both but if you buy from the vending machine at the train station, a card will be easier Sally. Have fun in Barcelona.