Transport
Barcelona is a big city with many transfer options, such as buses, trains, and taxis. There are many different companies that you can use for your transport, but which one is the best for you? We've established a list of the best companies to help you make your decision.
Using the bike or scooter
A great way is to use Bicing Barcelona. Bicing Barcelona has many bike stations around the city where you can grab a bike and drop it off at another station when you're done. You can choose between mechanical or electric bike. Depending on which you choose it might be more or less expensive. You make an account on their website and choose a yearly contract. Depending on which contract you choose, you only have to pay less than 1 euro per bike ride. The Bicing service has over 519 stations spread throughout the city of Barcelona.
Another good option is SwapFiets. SwapFiets offer subscriptions based on the bike you want. You can choose from Dutch city bikes or electrical bikes. The subscription includes maintenance and repairs, making it a convenient choice for those in need of a reliable bike. A big plus is that they also offer theft replacements. In a city like Barcelona, it is always necessary to store your bike safely, but when it does happen that your bike gets stolen, you can trust that they will replace it for you. SwapFiets subscriptions start at €12.90 per month.
It is also possible to rent a bike for a few hours or a day if needed. This is great when you want to explore a certain part of the city but still be active and outside. With Bike Rental Barcelona, you can choose between many different bikes. They have normal bikes, cargo bikes, fat bikes, and children's bikes. There is even the option to rent extra accessories such as helmets, babyseats, and phone mounts for your convenience.
Another way to go around the city is by renting a scooter. YEGO is a moto-sharing company. You can rent YEGO's 100% electrical scooters all throughout the city. They are a perfect option for short distances or sightseeing. The only thing you need is a license and a smartphone app to unlock and start the scooter. Insurance, helmets and a full battery are included in the price. It costs around €0.33 per minute to get around the city, you can only park your YEGO scooter in the designated areas. The app also provides a map of the city showing you where you can find available scooters to rent.
Car Rental
Going around the city by car is often faster than taking public transportation, but it can be more stressful and expensive. There are a few businesses that offer car rentals in the city. Europcar has four pick-up and return locations within Barcelona. You are able to select different cars and also different car types, like trucks or premium cars based on your needs and preferences. Sixt and Hertz are also great options with many pick-up locations within the city.
The most environmentally friendly option for car rental is BlaBlaCar. BlaBlaCar is a company where you can publish the trip you are going to make, for example from Barcelona to Madrid. If you drive alone, you can take other passengers with you via BlaBlaCar. This will save you and the passengers money as they pay you to drive with you.
Public Transport
Barcelona has a great public transportation system that includes buses, trams, and metro. With a large metro network, two different trains and a city bus. The ticket system of the different transport companies is conveniently integrated, so in most cases, you can use different means of transport with one ticket.
The province of Barcelona has 6 different zones, zone 1 is mainly around the city of Barcelona. On the map, you can see which towns belong to which zones. Barcelona's suburban areas start around zone 2. In Barcelona, you can travel by bus, train, metro, or tram. You can use all these means of transport with the same card, which is very convenient.
Metro:
The metro in Barcelona consists of 9 lines that go all throughout the city. The metro is the fastest way to get around Barcelona, as there are 165 stations.
Mon-Thurs: from 5:00 to 0:00 a.m.
Fri & days before holidays: from 5:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m.
Saturday: from 5:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m.
Sunday: from 5:00 a.m. to 0:00 a.m.
December 24: from 5:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
What kind of metro cards are there:
- T-Casual: This travel card is meant for one person and is valid for 10 rides. You can only stay in Zone 1 and have 75 minutes to complete your trip. This card costs €12,15. If you want to travel in multiple zones, the price goes up.
- T-Dia: The T-Dia is a card you can use unlimited within one day, this card costs €11,20.
- T-Usual: This travel card is valid for unlimited travel for 30 days. It costs €21.35, and this is only for Zone 1, when upgrading to more Zones, the cost will increase. There even is a cheaper version available for single parents or people with a large family. You can buy this ticket at the machines in the metro station, but only if you have an NIE. If you do not have one you can buy one at the T-Mobilitat kiosks with your passport.There are kiosks in the Arc de Triomf, Placa Espanya, and La Sagrera stations. You can go there at opening hours or book an appointment to make sure they will help you fast. Here you can book an appointment:
- T-Jove: The T-Jove card is a personalized card that is valid for unlimited travelling for 90 days. You can only get this card if you’re under 30 years old. It costs €42.70. To get this card you have to get it at the few T-Mobilitat kiosks in the city. There are kiosks in the Arc de Triomf, Placa Espanya, and La Sagrera stations. You can go there at opening hours or book an appointment to make sure they will help you fast. Here you can book an appointment:
- T-16: The T-16 card is free of charge and only available for children aged 4-16 for unlimited travel. You will need the following documents: national or foreign-national ID passport or family book. To get it you need to login in the TMB app and request the card. This can take up to 2 days.
- T-Grup: This card is perfect for groups. It allows for 70 trips in 30 consecutive days from the first validation. €84.80 and is available for many zones. Depending on how many zones you want, the price will increase.
- T-Familiar: this card is similar to the T-Grup card, only this allows for 8 journeys in 30 consecutive days from the first validation. This card costs €10.70 and is available for many zones. Depending on how many zones you want, the price will increase.
- Hola Barcelona Travel card: The Hola Barcelona Travel card is the perfect option for visitors who want to explore the city in a few days time. You can get this card for 2 days (48 hours) or more up to 5 days. It is valid for zone 1 only and is meant for 1 person. Prices range from €17.50 for 2 days to €40.80 for 5 days.
Bus:
Barcelona has an extensive bus network. There are buses for normal transport, night transport and an airport bus. You can easily find out which bus you need to take by using the Google Maps app or the TMB app itself. For the city bus they have the same prices as the metro, you can use all the cards above also for the bus. It is not recommended to buy a bus ticket on the bus itself because €20.00 will be deducted from your account and then the restitution will be refunded, however, this can take up to two weeks which is not pleasant.
During the week the metro is going until 00.00, instead of the metro, you can take the night bus which is always available starting from 22.00 till around 05.00/06.00 in the morning. There is also a special bus that goes only to and from the airport which is the Aerobus. You can choose the bus to Terminal 1 which is for out-of-continent flights or Terminal 2 which is for flights within Europe. Both buses make 3 stops within the city before arriving at the airport. The last stop and start-stop is a t Placa Catalunya. Tickets for this bus cost €7.25 for 1 way. You can get tickets here.
Taxi
Another great way to travel around the city is by taxi. Taxis are not crazy expensive, and it is very easy to book one via an app.
The first and most well-known taxi company is Uber. Uber is a big taxi corporation that is available in many cities around the world, also in Barcelona. You can easily order an Uber in the city with the app which you can download here. An Uber in Barcelona generally costs around 18,00 for a 17-minute ride. Uber in Barcelona is 24/7 available and has many options for cars. A big plus with Uber is that you can also use UberEats which is a online take-away app.
FreeNow is another great option. It is similar to Uber and has many taxis available in the city. You can order by the app. It even has the option to order a green taxi which produces fewer emission rates. FreeNow is usually a bit cheaper than Uber but it depends on the time of the day and from which part of the city you are travelling. You can download the app here.
Cabify is similar to FreeNow and Uber but in some cases is the cheapest option, again this depends on your location in the city. Cabify does not only offer many car options but also motorbikes. For more information, check out the website here.
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