Barcelona - Neighborhood for 5 day pre-cruise stay

[blan2]

I am looking for some information and suggestions regarding staying in Barcelona pre-cruise.

We will be a group of 6, three married couples in our 40's and 50's. I have started looking at villa and apartment rentals for our 5 day pre-cruise stay but would like some suggestions as to location in or surrounding Barcelona. We will be doing a variety of site seeing and would possibly also like to spend some time at the beach. We are looking for something in a neighborhood that has restaurants and bars within walking distance and a market or grocery area to pick up a few items.

Any suggestions from past experience as to a good location to start our search would be appreciated. There are so many options that I am hoping to narrow down the choice of locations.

Thank you for our suggestions and advice.:)

[b_cruise]

Hey...ur from kamloops...I'm in Kelowna...

 

My fav area is baric gothic or el born... It has all the alleys and cobblestones.. I loved staying at colon hotel across from the cathedral with a view...unbelievable!! I love barcelona..heading back in July!! When r u going?

 

Air bnb has some apartments.

[blan2]

Hey...ur from kamloops...I'm in Kelowna...

 

My fav area is baric gothic or el born... It has all the alleys and cobblestones.. I loved staying at colon hotel across from the cathedral with a view...unbelievable!! I love barcelona..heading back in July!! When r u going?

 

Air bnb has some apartments.

 

Yes we are from Kamloops!

 

We are not heading there for quite a while....fall of 2016....but with so many neighborhoods and a huge amount of vacation rentals to choose from we are hoping to narrow down our search. Thank you for your suggestion....will make sure we check out the Baric Gothic and El Born areas.

[MADflyer]

I would guess I would choose Exaimple Derecha or Gracia for an apartment. You are close enough to the tourist center, but in the neighborhoods preferred by locals and with many good restaurant options along with convenience to Passeig de Gracia train station for a trip outside the city. There are good bus and metro and taxi connections and the zone is walking friendly at all times of the day.

 

I have known others to go for the tourist center and Borne is very popular now, but that would just not be my personal choice.

[blan2]

MADflyer thank you for your input, we will definitely start looking at all these areas.

I have another inquiry......do you have any suggestions for a location outside of the city center (possibly up to a 30-40 minute train ride) to relax a bit more. Smaller neighborhood with a couple restaurants or bar? We are thinking if we want to go with a villa instead of a city apartment we will have to venture out of the main core of the city.

[MADflyer]

MADflyer thank you for your input, we will definitely start looking at all these areas.

I have another inquiry......do you have any suggestions for a location outside of the city center (possibly up to a 30-40 minute train ride) to relax a bit more. Smaller neighborhood with a couple restaurants or bar? We are thinking if we want to go with a villa instead of a city apartment we will have to venture out of the main core of the city.

 

Many choose the Sitges area for convenience to the 'good' beaches and easy access to the city and airport.

[blan2]

Many choose the Sitges area for convenience to the 'good' beaches and easy access to the city and airport.

 

Fantastic this is just the kind of information I have been looking for!

[BaseballMomof4]

We used Tendency Apartments on our trip in 2013. The apartment was wonderful!

 

We were near Passeig de Gracia on Dr. Letamendi Square. It was a wonderfully central location and we found almost everything very walkable.

[blan2]

We used Tendency Apartments on our trip in 2013. The apartment was wonderful!

 

We were near Passeig de Gracia on Dr. Letamendi Square. It was a wonderfully central location and we found almost everything very walkable.

 

Thank you for the info! Looking forward to researching all the suggestions!

[BaseballMomof4]

Thank you for the info! Looking forward to researching all the suggestions!

 

Tendency has a facebook page with photos of their properties as well as locations. Everything from 1 bedroom on up. Some central, some on the beach. I can definitely recommend them from our experience with them.

[blan2]

Just an update. We have booked an apartment......3 bedroom, 3 bathroom in the Exaimple area. It looks like we are in walking distance to many attractions and close to the metro stations. The last time I stayed in Barcelona we were at the Majestic Hotel. That is out of our price range for this trip, but we are still just a few blocks away, as the Majestic is in a fantastic location.

We managed to get this apartment for 300 Euro a night.....divide that by three couples and we feel we have found a great accommodation, for 100 euros a night. I will be sure to post a review about the apartment once we get back......but we are still a long way out from our cruise.

[MADflyer]

Congratulation on your find. That sounds like a great accommodation for 3 couples.

[blan2]

Congratulation on your find. That sounds like a great accommodation for 3 couples.

 

Thank you for your previous information. It helped in choosing our apartment rental.

What do you think the average price would be for a taxi from BCN? Or would you suggest a shuttle service? We are not sure if we will be arriving as a group of 6 or as couples. So transportation information for 2-6 people would be appreciated.

Edited September 8, 2015 by blan2
Add info

[MADflyer]

While you can arrange a transfer for 6 passengers as you might find a more economical option, I would think a taxi would be the best option if you do not have 'excessive' baggage.

 

A 6 passenger taxi will only be an additional 2.70 supplement on top of what a taxi would cost for 4. 29 euro is the estimated fare to the center, but you need to add 1 euro for each bag as well along with your supplements.

 

I would say to the 'Example Derecha' this would cost around 38 on a weekday or up to 42 on a Sunday.

 

When you get in the normal taxi line it may 'look' very long to you but taxi lines in Spain move incredibly quickly. When you get to the front of the line you will tell or show them you are 6 passengers and if there is a large taxi there at the moment they will take you in a separate line to the side. You can end up waiting 5 to 30 extra minutes to get a large taxi is all and it should provide a savings over the transfer option.

 

The Aeropbus A1 or A2 would cost 5.90 per person and could get you fairly close to your apartment depending on where it is located in the Eixample.

[blan2]

While you can arrange a transfer for 6 passengers as you might find a more economical option, I would think a taxi would be the best option if you do not have 'excessive' baggage.

 

A 6 passenger taxi will only be an additional 2.70 supplement on top of what a taxi would cost for 4. 29 euro is the estimated fare to the center, but you need to add 1 euro for each bag as well along with your supplements.

 

I would say to the 'Example Derecha' this would cost around 38 on a weekday or up to 42 on a Sunday.

 

When you get in the normal taxi line it may 'look' very long to you but taxi lines in Spain move incredibly quickly. When you get to the front of the line you will tell or show them you are 6 passengers and if there is a large taxi there at the moment they will take you in a separate line to the side. You can end up waiting 5 to 30 extra minutes to get a large taxi is all and it should provide a savings over the transfer option.

 

The Aeropbus A1 or A2 would cost 5.90 per person and could get you fairly close to your apartment depending on where it is located in the Eixample.

 

Thank you once again for all the information. My preference would be a taxi and the cost seems very reasonable. Are the rates fixed or metered? Do we need to negotiate the rate when arranging the trip?

[MADflyer]

Thank you once again for all the information. My preference would be a taxi and the cost seems very reasonable. Are the rates fixed or metered? Do we need to negotiate the rate when arranging the trip?

 

Barcelona still uses metered fares and has supplements added for airports, train stations and baggage. There are only 4 fare choices for the driver though and the system is policed by lighted signs on the top of the taxi so taxi police know if a driver is trying to cheat someone. Barcelona is so compact that even if a driver tried to 'pad' the fare with an odd route it would only add 2 to 4 euros.

 

Barcelona right now only had the set T4 port to airport set fare of 39 euro.

 

Madrid has switched to a set fare of 30 euro and hopefully Barcelona will follow.

[Shopinpat]

Madflyer you are always so informative.

I have an additional question regarding renting an apartment in Barcelona.

Do you know if there are hidden or additonal fees once you book an apt?

I have read about a lot of unhappy people once they got to Barcelona. I am hoping that this is just a few people trying to make a large profit.

Do you know of reputable companies that rent apts? Or blan2 are you willing to share who you used to rent this apt?

Thanks All

pat

[MADflyer]

Madflyer you are always so informative.

I have an additional question regarding renting an apartment in Barcelona.

Do you know if there are hidden or additonal fees once you book an apt?

I have read about a lot of unhappy people once they got to Barcelona. I am hoping that this is just a few people trying to make a large profit.

Do you know of reputable companies that rent apts? Or blan2 are you willing to share who you used to rent this apt?

Thanks All

pat

 

I am always cautious with apartment recommendations, but actually have had many report extremely positive experiences in Barcelona. I know that many of my European friends use a German website, but I do not even know the name. I think that AirBNB guarantees that there are no extra fees.

 

As I usually use hotels, this is not my area of expertise.

 

The one thing I do know is that the new mayor of Barcelona is wanting to really crack down on the tourist apartment rentals as it is driving up rents that make it unaffordable for locals. For this reason, I would not book an apartment too far in advance.

[blan2]

Madflyer you are always so informative.

I have an additional question regarding renting an apartment in Barcelona.

Do you know if there are hidden or additonal fees once you book an apt?

I have read about a lot of unhappy people once they got to Barcelona. I am hoping that this is just a few people trying to make a large profit.

Do you know of reputable companies that rent apts? Or blan2 are you willing to share who you used to rent this apt?

Thanks All

pat

 

Shopinpat, I did the majority of my research through VRBO and contacted the rentals that we were interested in. We then sat and chatted as a group and came up with a price range and location that everyone was comfortable with and this is basically how we reached our decision. There are many three bedroom-two bath rentals but we wanted a three bedroom with three bathrooms, so we had a much more limited selection. The final rental was linked through VRBO, but the actual agency was Friendly Rentals. I did a lot of research and read quite a few reviews before finally settling on the rental.

 

Up to now they have been very easy to communicate and deal with. The pricing is very well explained. We know that we are going to have to pay the balance of the nightly accommodation, a cleaning fee, taxes and a damage deposit and then another overnight accommodation tax once we arrive. It is clearly explained about a surcharge for using credit cards vs euros, so at this time it looks like there should not be any hidden fees. I will be sure to post once we return to state how the whole experience turned out.

 

I use vacation rental agencies often when traveling, but this will be the first for an international rental. It is a nice experience if you are travelling as a group. It allows us to have a social area to sit and relax and chat about the events of the day and then we all still have our own bedrooms and bathrooms for our our own private areas. We do not often make meals, but may buy some beverages and snacks to have on hand, or may make a small breakfast or have some fruit in the morning before heading out exploring for the day.

 

Madflyer, hopefully we will not run into any issues with the plans of the new mayor.

[BaseballMomof4]

I can say that I used The Tendency Group (they are online and have a facebook page) and they did an excellent job, were very responsive to email and did not have any "hidden fees".

 

We very much enjoyed our rental from them and highly recommend them.

[flapbreaker]

We are booked next summer at http://www.gaudisnest.com/?lang=en they have rave reviews on trip advisor and the view of Sagrada Família out the windows is remarkable. They offer airport pickup for 50 Euros too.

[blan2]

I can say that I used The Tendency Group (they are online and have a facebook page) and they did an excellent job, were very responsive to email and did not have any "hidden fees".

 

We very much enjoyed our rental from them and highly recommend them.

 

BaseballMomof4, I had looked into your suggestion for Tendency Group, but there just wasn't the 3-bedroom/3-bathroom option we needed. I will keep that name for reference if I return in a smaller group, their facebook page and rentals looked really great.