Girona to Barcelona on a shoestring

October 18, 2007 2:40 AM

What's the cheapest way to get from Girona Airport to the middle of Barcelona, and back again?

Specifically, I'm talking about doing this in January 2008. There are a lot of pages out there that talk about buses and trains, but does anyone have any personal experience?

posted by samstarling to travel & transportation around Barcelona, Spain (8 answers total)

samstarling, what are the unanswered questions you have? You couldn't find the price of the buses or trains on Google? Isn't that what you are looking for more than personal experience?
posted by grouse at 2:44 AM on October 18, 2007

This link should help a bit. My experience involved taking a taxi to Girona town centre and then a train ownards.
posted by rongorongo at 2:45 AM on October 18, 2007

There is a bus between Girona airport and Sants train Station in Barcelona.
posted by kandinski at 3:06 AM on October 18, 2007

Sounds like you will be flying Ryanair/Easyjet or one of the other discount airlines. Everyone else getting off the plane will be doing the same thing. I took the bus in to Barcelona when I did the flight last year. Its very easy. You may want to have some cash on hand because there will definitely be a queue for the ATM though. Alternatively, you can also usually book ahead through the airline's website.
posted by rsk at 3:35 AM on October 18, 2007

kandinski is right... I've taken that bus before. Be sure you have some Spanish down (especially if you want a round-trip ticket).
posted by chuckdarwin at 4:15 AM on October 18, 2007

The train is the cheapest. I've never been to the Renfe (that's the train in Spain, commence bad jokes now) station in Girona, but the tickets, at least as of tomorrow, are looking to be 6.45, or 12.90 round-trip. That's better than the 12-euro Sagales bus from the airport. (It'll probably be a nicer ride, too.)
posted by koeselitz at 8:07 AM on October 18, 2007

...and since I'm bored at work, I'll put all this together for you in an itinerary. Hold on...
posted by koeselitz at 8:21 AM on October 18, 2007

Okay. Here's what to do to save money:

(1) Get off the plane. Make your way, as others have said above, to the Barcelona bus, but don't get on the one going to Barcelona; get on the one going to Girona. Tell the bus driver you're going to RIUDELLOTS (I think this is pronounced "roo-ee-deh-yots," but I'm no expert at Catalan) which is the first stop. It shouldn't cost more than a Euro or two; it looks like it's only two and a half miles to Riudellots.

(2) When you get off the bus in Riudellots, orient yourself. Keep going on the Carrer de l'Estacio away from the airport. This'll take you to the train tracks, and, of course, to the train station. It probably won't be much of a station, more of just a stop, but there should be somewhere to buy tickets. It looks like the train stops every hour or two all day. As you're approaching the train tracks from Costa Brava Station Airport, the train you want will be heading right, which is south.

(3) This will take you to Sants Estacio in Barcelona. When you get off the train, remember that the ten-punch tickets are the best deal, really; you can use them for multiple people, too, so they're useful if you'll be travelling with friends.

A few other things: first, if you're going to go to Spain, familiarize yourself with a few websites:

* Google Maps. You probably already know this one, but linked is the Girona airport. Spain seems to have been done pretty well by Google Maps, so don't hesitate to use it.

* Renfe. This is the aforementioned train. The site is in English, too, although you need to remember that "precios" means "prices" and that times will be in military time. Get used to navigating this site; it's not too hard. When you can't find the individual stop you need, check service to larger cities, and look at the "regional" schedule between them; for example, in this case, I looked up Girona to Barcelona, clicked on the word "regional" next to one of the trains listed, and looked on the list of stops.

The train is great for short trips like this. Longer trips are less economical, and bus will be cheaper for them; there are a lot of bus lines in Spain, though, so you're on your own there. I think the train route won't be tough, I took the train without much trouble when I was there. However, if you'd like it to be as simple as possible, as others have said, there's always the bus.

Finally, a piece of personal advice: you're asking about getting in and out of the Girona Costa Brava Station Airport, which is a few kilometers south of Girona itself, to Barcelona. If you have a chance, however, I adjure you to make the brief trip to the old sector of Girona while you're there. It's not very cheap to stay in Girona, really, but the vast castle walls, gardens, towers, and such are very, very fun. My inner kid went nuts. It takes hours to wander all of the fortifications, which meander over several square kilometers, up staircases, across bridges, through small gardens, from turret to turret...

There are other things nearby, but I think that'll do it for now. Have fun.
posted by koeselitz at 9:04 AM on October 18, 2007