Help with BCN airport and hotel logistics

[Biris]

Hi,

We will be arriving in BCN airport at 11:05 PM on last Saturday of May. How long would it take to gather our checked bags and go thru custom?

Salle’s Hotel Cuitat del Prat seems to fit our budget and has good reviews, but their free shuttle service stops at 1:45 AM. From your experience, will we be able to catch their last shuttle? If not, how much would a taxi cost for a family of 4 at that early in the morning?

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

Biris

[EnricM]

AIRPORT

Impossible to say, this is a "complex" airport with a very peculiar operation with too many variables and anyone saying otherwise... simply doesn't know the airport of Barcelona at all! Having said that, at those hours and in May, I should say an hour at the most *should* see you outside the terminal doors.

 

HOTEL

Any particular reason you choose this hotel? I know it seems to be somehow "popular" among some cruise-makers in this forum, but without intending to demerit the hotel in itself, in most instances, IMHO it's a rather a poor choice. Firstly, it's located in an area with nothing of interest at all, and sadly too close (for my taste anyway) to the notorious unsavoury area of Sant Cosme -as close as less than half a mile!- once nicknamed "the drug supermarket", 'nuff said, right? Secondly, since there's nothing much to see/do in the area of the hotel -El Prat de Llobregat is rather a *boring* town-, you'll most probably be taking a train/bus to Barcelona for any sightseeing or entertainment anyway. Then, isn't it better to have the hotel 'closer' so you can pop in to rest anytime during the day without having to travel miles from where you might be? Just sayin' Don't get me wrong, there's no reason why you shouldn't stay in this hotel if you must, and despite my early statement, the area in itself is mostly saf(ish) but having other options it seems wrong not to spread your search to other areas, better if "in" Barcelona.

 

TRANSPORT

The hotel is very close to the airport, 3-4 miles at the most, say 15' tops by car. However note that taxis have a "minimum fare", which is 20€... so that's what you'll pay. As per availability, there are plenty of taxis while the airport is open, you shouldn't have much trouble getting one. If you decide to go to Barcelona, a taxi at that hour on a Saturday -say you're going near Plaça Catalunya- should cost you max 40€. But there's also the option of the Aerobus (6€ p.p.) which works until 12:30 am: http://www.aerobusbcn.com/en/timetable Then, there's also the night bus that works from 1am to 5am, but it takes a long(er) itinerary to Barcelona, maybe an hour or so in all.

 

Enjoy!

 

PS. Can't recommend hotels sorry, not in the tourism business and Barcelona is a very dynamic city in this field, so I am not 'in the loop'

Edited January 11, 2018 by EnricM

[Biris]

Thank you, EnricM. I’ve been dreading the custom and such having read so many posts here about that. It’s such a relief to know that it won’t be too long. After 19 hours flight, we just need a place to crash. We only need to stay for 10 hours max because we are boarding a cruise on Sunday. A place near the airport is our best choice. We also booked a hotel in Eixample for 4 nights post-cruise. Can anyone help me with a better hotel?

Thanks,

Biris