Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
GETTING THERE
It's easy to reach Barcelona by air, with a variety of budget airlines from regional UK
and European airports competing with the Spanish national carrier Iberia to get you
directlytothecity,quicklyandcheaply.There'salsoafairamountofchoicefromNorth
America, though you may have to fly there via Madrid or another European city to get
the best fare.
To get the very cheapest fares advertised by the budget airlines you'll need to book weeks, if
not months, in advance. Flights with Iberia and other major airlines tend to be more expens-
ive and seasonal, with the highest fares from June to September, at Christmas, New Year and
Easter, and at weekends all year.
Most airlines prefer you to book tickets
online
these days and you can turn up some great
deals, but always check the small print as most budget airline tickets are non-changeable and
non-refundable. Another option is to contact a general flight or
travel agent
- these have
similar deals on flights and services, and some are particularly geared towards youth, student
and independent travel. Other specialist
tour operators
can book you onto a variety of city
breaks or themed tours in Barcelona and Catalunya.
Travelling to Barcelona from elsewhere in Europe by
train
or
bus
inevitably takes much
longer than flying and usually works out more expensive given the travelling time involved.
However, if Barcelona and Spain are part of a longer European trip it can be an interesting
proposition, and is an increasingly popular, green alternative to flying.
Driving
to Barcelona
isalsosomething ofanundertaking and,withmotorwaytollsinFranceandSpain,fuelcosts,
cross-Channel ferry and Eurotunnel fares, it's certainly not a cheap option.
Flights from the UK and Ireland
Flying time
to Barcelona from the UK or Ireland is between two and two and a half hours,
depending on your departure airport.
A whole host of budget
no-frills airlines
compete on the Barcelona route from the UK
and Ireland, notably Ryanair (
ryanair.com
), easyJet (
easyjet.com
), Monarch (
mon-
arch.co.uk
)
, Jet2 (
jet2.com
), Vueling (
vueling.com
), Flybe.com (
flybe.com
) and Aer
Lingus(
aerlingus.com
)
,withdailydeparturesthroughouttheyearfromaroundadozenre-
gional airports, including all the London airports, plus Cardiff, Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol,
Dublin, East Midlands, Leeds-Bradford, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle. The earlier
youbook,thecheaperyourflightwillbe-andspecialofferscanevenmeantheseatsarefree,
or virtually free, with just the taxes to pay (from £20 each way). Even Iberia (
iberia.com
)
is forced to compete, with good-value promotional fares - however, their more flexible tick-
ets (allowing cancellation and/ordate changes) are considerably more expensive and can rise
to £200 (€240) return or more in peak season.
