 |
 |
Barcelona El Prat Airport Basics.....
The El Prat has been around for almost 100 years, in one form or another. Expansions beginning in the 40's up to the current millennium have led to what we see today, an airport second only to the Madrid International in terms Spain's busies airport. It currently sits as one of the top 10 airports in Europe and one of the largest in the world. 2009 saw the most recent expansion, creating a new T1 Terminal with 166 check-in desks.
Barcelona Airport Car Rental.....
Car rental customers have a few choices when it comes to renting cars at the El Prat. Avis, Europcar, Hertz, National and Sixt all are represented at the Barcelona Airport - in two different places. Each has car rental representatives at the T1 Terminal and at the T2B terminal (there are actually three different buildings that comprise the T2 Terminal - A, B, and C).
Leaving the airport is fairly easy. You should take the Carretera al Aeropuerto, or Airport Road then, merge into the Autovia de Castelldefels or the Castelldefels Highway to get out of the facility.
Driving a rental car in Barcelona is a little more difficult than driving in the U.K. (which many folks find difficult in itself). This is evidenced by the fact that there are more accidents per driver than in the U.K. While no one knows exactly the cause for this, one might blame the lack of signage for a direct cause, although the narrow road lanes could make a strong case as well.
Like the U.K., when driving your rental car you must wear a seat belt at all times and mobile phones are strictly prohibited as well.
The legal blood alcohol limit, or BAC is .08, which is slightly higher than in the U.K, and the same as is in the U.S.
When returning your vehicle, there is a Carburants Solanas fueling station just off the side of the road, heading Southwest to the Airport. It is located about 6 or 7 km from the El Prat, on the right hand side of the road. Filling up here may save you some bucks when arriving at the airport.
Barcelona Airport Food Choices.....
Restaurants in the T1 Departures area include a Fresh and Ready (Pictured Below), serving Mediterranean food and cold drinks, and a Jamaica Coffee Shop. They are actually one of the market leaders in terms of Spanish coffee houses. Each place would be a nice pick-me-up before finding your car and heading out to Barcelona.
In the T1 Arrivals area you will find a Haagen Dazs, a couple of Jamaica's and a Caffe de Roma, an Italian Coffee shop chain.
T2 Arrivals and departures offers (among other restaurants of course) a Pans and Co. for your bakery and cake needs. There also is a Dehesa Santa Maria, serving a variety of tapas.
Barcelona Airport Hotel.....
Less than 4 km from the airport is a Renaissance Barcelona Airport Hotel. The hotel is sometimes used by airlines to put up stranded passengers when flights are cancelled. It's more than serviceable, and by most reviews, clean. It has free Wi-Fi, but may not be exactly, um, Spanish? It's not exactly within driving distance, but there is a free shuttle service that goes back and forth. The problem sometimes is noted that the shuttle service doesn't run continuously. Maybe you'll time it right.
Other Airport Amenities.....
The El Prat offers banking services via the La Caixa. Office hours are from 7:30 am to 10:00 pm, 365 years of the year. There are actually two offices available in the Barcelona Airport. One is situated in the T1 Terminal, and the other is in the T2B (Remember T2 is divided among three different buildings.)
A Children's Play Area, a Police Station, and a Service station round out the airport offerings. Obviously, there's more than we listed here, but this should get you started.
Car Rental Driving Distances.....
We have compiled some car rental driving distances from the Barcelona Airport to some local attractions. Remember, these are estimates only, and for a more exact distance number, you should probably reserve a GPS when booking your car.
Downtown Barcelona Center, 14 km
Cook and Taste, 16 km.
CosmoCaixa, 16 km
Magic Fountain, 11 km
Badalona, 26 km.
Terrassa, 40 km
Sabadell, 40 km
Mataro 48 km.
Manresa, 60 km.
Rubi, 30 km.
Cars Available for Rent at El Prat....
When renting a car from the Barcelona airport, you will find that many types of vehicles will be available for rent. SUV's, Minivans, Luxury Cars and regular standard type cars will generally be available for rent. Occasionally, however, airports do run out of a certain type of vehicle, so it is important to book early to make sure that you get what you want to travel Barcelona in style.