Barcelona Cruise Port: Tourist Transport and Facilities At The Docks.

This page answers most questions we receive from tourists regarding the Barcelona Cruise Ports. These include transport options from the port to the city centre and the airport, car and coach parking, nearby accommodation, baggage storage, car hire, and the location of the terminals in relation to the city centre. We also have a detailed map of the cruise port area shown below.

Where Are The Cruise Terminals?

The ports are at the foot of La Rambla (Barcelona´s most famous Boulevard, also often referred to as Las Ramblas) which runs through the heart of the city centre.

Barcelona Cruise Terminals Map

Cruise terminal names and locations

There are 9 terminals in total at the Barcelona port, 7 of these are cruise terminals. They can be roughly categorized into 3 main locations.

Terminals A, B, C and D are based at the Adossat Quay and are furthest away from the city centre. The Terminal D is also called Palacruceros.

World Trade Centre Terminals

There are 3 terminals at the World Trade Centre (WTC) pier which are called North, South and East terminals.

Sant Bertrand Terminal, is also near to the WTC (refer to our cruise terminal map) This terminal is generally used for ferries between Barcelona and the Balearic Islands.

Maremagenum Port Vell

There is one small terminal at the Maremgenum port vell however this terminal is mainly used for large ships and not cruise liners.

Options For travelling to and from the Cruise port to The City Centre.

Walking

The nearest cruise terminal to La Rambla is about a 10 minute walk away. However there are 7 cruise terminals and if you arrive at one which is furthest from La Rambla you would need to catch a shuttle bus called the Blue Bus (see details below) which will take you to Monument a Colon (The memorial to Christopher Columbus).

It is not recommended to walk to the city centre if you are arriving at cruise terminals A, B, C or D (Adossat Quay) because you have a long walk (about 2 Km). Terminal If you have luggage you will not find this walk too comfortable in the midday heat. If you are arriving at the North, East or South cruise terminals (at the World Trade Centre) then it is possible for you to walk, although it is still a good 15 minutes to the foot of La Rambla.

Cruise Port Shuttle Bus Service (Blue Bus)

The Blue Bus runs from all the Cruise port terminals to the monument of Christopher Columbus and back. The walking time from the Christopher Columbus monument to La Rambla is about 1 minute, and the nearest Metro is Drassanes (Green Line, L3), which is only about 5 mins walk from the monument. Once at the metro you will have a good transport connection to the rest of the city. The price of the ticket is 2 euros for a single and 3 euros for a day return. The tickets can only be purchased with cash on the bus. You cannot use the T10 transport ticket on this bus service. There is no fixed timetable for the Blue Bus however the cruise terminal operators co-ordinate the running of the bus with the arrival and departures of the cruise ships. On average the bus leaves every 30 minutes from the Christopher Columbus monument.The bus is adapted for easy access for the disabled traveller with a wheelchair. If you are looking to take the Barcelona Tours Bus (The hop on hop off tourist site seeing bus) then you can do so once you are dropped off at the Columbus monument. The tourist bus has a stop just a few meters from where the Blue Bus leaves from the Columbus monument.

Barcelona metro map

Taxi

The other option is to simply catch a taxi from the port to the city centre which is cheap (fare around 8 euros to the city centre) and quick (normally less than 10 mins)

How to travel to the Docks from the Airport

Our page on the Barcelona airport transport explains the options for public transport to and from the Airport to the city centre. From there you would need to make your way to the ports by foot. Non of the public transport methods take you directly to the ports from the airport so you would either need to make several changes using different transport systems or be prepared do some walking.

If you want to travel by public transport this is what you need to know: Take the Aerobus to Placa Catalunya, then catch the metro from Catalunya to Drassanes. From there walk to the Columbus monument and then catch the Blue bus to your cruise terminal. As you can see it is not straight forward to use public transport to commute between the airport and cruise terminals.

The best option for travelling to and from the airport to the docks is to catch a taxi. Taxis are quick, available and cheap. The journey will take you about 25 mins and will cost you around 25 - 30 Euros with a bag supplement of 0.90 Euros per bag. You also have 2 additional supplements. One for taking you from the airport and the other for alighting at the cruise terminal or vice versa. For the exact taxi rates and supplements we recommend you visit the Metropolitan Institute For Barcelona Taxis web site that list all the up to date fares for Barcelona Taxis.

Map Showing The Driving Directions From The Cruise Terminals (A) to Barcelona Airport (B)

Important note that some tourists have instructed taxi drivers to go to "Terminal A (or B or C etc) and the taxi driver has misunderstood and taken them to the airport terminal instead. Make sure you specifically say the Cruise Terminal otherwise you could end up at the airport instead!

Car And Coach Parking Near the Cruise Terminals

The terminals themselves only have temporary short term park facilities to give you enough time to load and unload. If you need longer term parking then the nearest private parks to the terminals are given below:

World Trade Centre

The world trade centre has the nearest car park to the terminals and is only a few minutes drive away. It can accommodate up to 900 vehicles. For further information on parking rates contact the World Trade Centre information line Tel: (0034) 93 508 8000.

Montjuïc Car Park at Passeig de Josep Carner / Passeig de Montjuic is only about 5 minutes drive from the cruise ports. This is a surface car park (an outdoor car park) but has 24 hour security. For more information including rates and exact location of this car / coach park click on the link below.

Bus Montjuïc Car Park near the cruise terminal including rates, location and facilities.

If you are arriving on a cruise ship operated by Costa Cruceros, Travelplan or Pullmantur you can obtain preferential rates at the B:SM Litoral Port car park and P.R Biomedica. See our cheap long term car parking article below that explains more about this service.

Cheap long term car parking in Barcelona article

Information on preferential rates for cruise passengers

Baggage Storage

There are no facilities for storing luggage actually at the ports themselves. We recommend you see our Baggage Storage in Barcelona article that will explain how you can store your bags.

Nearby Accommodation

The nearest hotel to the docks is the Eurostars Grand Marina hotel. which is at the World trade centre. This hotel offers magnificent views of the port area and is a good base for your trip to Barcelona.

Review of the Eurostars Grand Marina hotel

The photograph to the left shows part of Port Vell. You can also see the monument to Christopher Columbus (Colon) in the background which also marks the foot of the Southern most end of the Ramblas. The Colon monument is a useful landmark to find your bearings when walking toward La Rambla from your cruise ship. The walkway, which you can see in the centre of the picture, is Port Vell and behind us we have a walk way across the Marina to the Barcelona Aquarium and the IMAX Theatre. This picture was taken in October and the sun is still shinning!

Photo gallery of Port Vell

Disabled facilities at the Port

The port caters for the disabled tourist including those with wheelchairs. The port has lifts at all major locations so travelling around with a wheelchair around the port area offers no obstacles. The Blue Bus (cruise shuttle bus service) is also adapted for the disabled traveller with a wheelchair.

Ferries To The Balearic Islands

If you wish to arrange a trip by ferry across to the Balearic Islands Mallorca, Minorca or Ibiza, its recommended that you visit the official websites of the 3 ferry operators that offer this service to gain timetable and pricing information. The operators are:

Acciona Transmediterranea:
Official Website: http://www.trasmediterranea.es

Balearia
Official Website: http://www.balearia.com/

Iscomar
Official Website: http://www.iscomar.com/

Further Information

If you require more specific information regarding the cruise port and its terminals we recommend you contact the Cruise Port customer services department - SAC (Servicio Atencion de Cliente) or visit the Official website for the cruise port, details given below:

Email: sac@apb.es
Tel: (0034) 93 306 8800

Official Website: Port de Barcelona official web site

Related Pages

Frequently asked questions about Barcelona Cruise Port

Barcelona Olympic Port

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