General Information
When you are planning to visit Barcelona, you need to take into consideration numerous factors. One of them is the transportation method between the airport and the city. There are many possibilities available to choose from, in order to select the most appropriate means of transportation that will meet all your needs (for additional information – Barcelona Airport Transfer).
Despite the high rates, taking a taxi is quite common among tourists who are traveling between the airport and the city. In fact, together with Aerobus Barcelona, it can be considered one of the most popular options.
You can find detailed information regarding these services below.
Advantages and Benefits of Airport Taxis
The popularity of taxi services is due to the number of benefits that these companies provide their customers with, such as flexibility, availability and promptness. You will arrive at your hotel without any unnecessary stops, even if the location is not situated in a central district of Barcelona, which could also be an area where public transportation hardly operates in. Moreover, you can avoid overcrowded buses and metro and travel in a modern vehicle, equipped with air conditioner and Wi-Fi. It is difficult to estimate the travel time for this particular service, as this highly depends on the traffic and many other factors, as well.
Most of the tourists who visited the city were satisfied with the helpful and professional drivers. However, several customers complained about the various issues they encountered, such as the driver’s rude and dishonest behaviour. The biggest problem is that most of them do not speak English.
Despite the issues mentioned above, the taxi service in Barcelona can be considered as a reliable method of transportation. The chance of getting scammed is low because the prices of the official taxi services are determined by IMET (Metropolitan Taxi Institute, which is an autonomous institution of AMB (Barcelona Metropolitan Area ). Here you can find detailed information about taxi fares. Less transparent solutions, such as Uber, are forbidden in Spain.
Since taxis are owned by private companies, the possibility of a strike is much lower than in the case of public transportation (for additional information – Public Transportation in Barcelona).
You have the possibility to pre-book a taxi in advance, which makes this transportation method even more appealing. What is more, online booking platforms usually provide a great number of advantages, such as the possibility of ordering a child seat. In this case, it is advisable to announce it in advance because not all taxis are equipped with one (for additional information – Barcelona Airport Taxis – Ordering in Advance or not?).
In spite of these benefits, the high taxi fares should always be taken into account (for additional information – Prices of Barcelona Airport Taxi). Even though it is one of the quickest methods to travel to and from the airport, the heavy traffic might influence your trip and turn it into a long drive. This is why it is suggested to consider other options before ordering a taxi, especially during rush hour. For instance, if your hotel is near a train station, such as Sants or Passeig de Gràcia, your ride would be much shorter if you choose to travel by train (for additional information – Trains From Barcelona Airport, Hotels near Sants and Hotels near Passeig de Gracia).
Who is it Recommended for?
Taking a taxi is particularly advantageous for families and groups (more than two people), because in contrast with shared transfer, the price is established per car, not per person. Moreover, shared transfer is less personal and not as fast as a private service (for additional information – Kids and Families in Barcelona).
If the family or group has more than 4 members, it is recommended to pre-book the taxi in advance and announce the number of passengers because only up to 10% of the taxi services in Barcelona have licence for more than 4 travelers (the maximum number is 6).
Due to the fact that this method of transportation provides safe, comfortable and accommodating services, it is recommended for disabled visitors, as well. However, most of the regular taxis are not wheelchair-friendly, therefore accessible cars need to be pre-booked in advance (for additional information – Accessibility of Barcelona Airport Taxis, Accessibility of Barcelona Airport Transfer and Accessibility in Barcelona).
Since the transfer is private and you do not need to share the car with other people, it may also be suitable for couples who would like to spend a romantic vacation in Barcelona and are willing to pay for a private and intimate journey (for additional information – Romantic Vacation in Barcelona).
Due to the extra night-time fees, the price difference between taxis and public transportation is particularly high during the night. Therefore, in order to reach your destination from the airport, it would be more profitable to travel by public transportation during the night-time hours and only catch a taxi if it is absolutely necessary (for additional information – Night-Time Prices of Barcelona Airport Taxis, Visit Barcelona at night and Airport Night Bus: NitBus N17).
In general, taxi companies offer journeys between all three airports in Barcelona (BCN, GRO and REU). Certainly, this will require higher intercity fares and it will not be an advantageous investment. Therefore, we suggest that if you arrive at one of the smaller airports, you should not take a taxi and instead try to look for other alternatives.
During the night-time hours, public transportation networks do not operate between the two small airports and Barcelona. This means that you have two possibilities: you either take a taxi, a private or shared transfer vehicle, or spend the night in Girona or Reus, and continue the trip to your destination the following day. Naturally, the second option is much more profitable and it is particularly attractive in Girona’s case, because this town has an impressive number of significant landmarks.
How to Hire a Taxi?
It is quite simple to take a taxi in Barcelona. You can catch one at the airport, on the streets of the city, or you can order it in advance (for additional information – Barcelona Airport Taxis – Ordering in Advance or not?).
Finding a taxi on the streets of Barcelona is not troublesome, as many of them are available and you can catch one at any time. There are also numerous taxi ranks in the city, however, be aware that many of them are not available at any hour of the day.
Taxis are also available on both terminals of El Prat, regardless of the hour and the day. Nonetheless, you should be prepared to wait for a free car.
It is not allowed to hail a taxi anywhere at the airport. There is a number of established taxi ranks, where you need to stay in a queue and wait until a free taxi will be assigned to you. These places can be easily found, as they are situated near the exits of the terminals and signs are indicating the route to them.
If you land at the airport of Girona (GRO) or Reus (REU), it could be possible that you cannot find any taxi at the rank. In this case, you can use the free phone inside the terminal and order a car.
Despite this well-organized and efficient process, online booking is more convenient because it also offers numerous advantages. Moreover, sometimes it could be even cheaper than catching a taxi at the airport or in the city (for additional information – Prices of Barcelona Airport Taxis).
You can pre-order a taxi very easily and quickly. If you want to pre-order a vehicle, you can call one of the taxi companies, book the service on their website or on different travel websites, such as Viator. Besides these, you can order a car via mobile apps.
Booking your taxi through an online platform is very similar to the process of hiring a private transfer. In fact, in most of the cases, transfers are carried out by normal taxi companies who are publicizing an online booking service as private transfer (for additional information – Ordering Barcelona Airport Private Transfer in Advance).
After you booked and paid for the ride, you will receive the confirmation and a voucher, which you have to show to the driver. You can print it out, however it is also accepted in an electronic format. You will meet the driver at the agreed pick-up time and place, as confirmed upon booking the vehicle (for additional information – Barcelona Airport Taxis – Meeting the Driver at the Airport).
You can interrupt your journey at any time and ask the taxi driver to wait for you. In this case, you need to pay the price of the distance traveled until that moment, plus a guarantee. If the taxi stops in Barcelona, this guarantee is equal to the fare of a half hour’s waiting; otherwise, you need to pay for another hour of waiting. The driver is obliged to wait for you, but if you do not get back during the time covered by the guarantee, he will leave.
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