Time to Travel from BCN Airport to Estació Sants Rail Station?
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Q: We are a family of three, my wife, my daughter and myself land
in Barcelona at 16:40.
We want to catch a 19:30 train from Barcelona to Valencia the same evening, could you please let me know the following:
1. how much time to clear customs, pick up our bags and make it to the Sants train station?
2. How far is the BCN main Airport (El Prat de Llobregat) from the Rail Station?
3. Will we be able to make it to the 19:30 train?
A: Although it may be possible, if everything is perfect, the reality is it is close to your arrival time. I think it would be advisable to plan to take a later train.
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| Barcelona Sants Station |
You should plan a minimum of 1 to 1.5 hours to arrive to the city centre from the time your plane arrives to account for possible delays. Although it is possible to make it in about 45 minutes if everything is perfect and you take a taxi.
Even if you did make it on time you would be in a rush to get there and I think it would be rather stressful for you and your family.
Here is a breakdown of possible times for completing each leg of the journey. Based on this you can decide which transport is best.
You have to account for the following times:
a) time for possible late arrival of your flight.
b) time for you to leave the plane and make your way through passport control and to the baggage pick up point. (20 minutes to 30 minutes). Remember since you are with a family you may have to wait longer for all the bags to arrive.
c) time for your baggage to be unloaded and for you to pick up your bags (10 minutes).
d) time to clear customs - they may inspect your bags (5 minutes to 30 minutes).
e) time to leave customs and make your way to either an airport taxi (10 minutes) or a airport train (depends which terminal you arrive at).
f) if you arrive a T1 and you want to take the train you would need to account for time to transfer from T1 to T2 (15 - 20 minutes) depending on if the shuttle bus is on time.
g) walk from the shuttle bus drop off point to the train (5 minutes).
h) purchase your ticket for the train (2 minutes - 10 minutes depending if there is a queue).
i) wait for the next train (depends on whether a train has just left or not - 30 minutes).
j) train journey from BCN airport to Estació Sants (20 minutes).
k) leave the train at Estació Sants find the right ticket booth to purchase your tickets to Valencia (5 minutes - Estació Sants is a big station).
l) Queue at the ticket counter to buy your ticket (2 minutes to 30 minutes. There are often long queues at the ticket counters).
m) clear security at the entrance of the gates to the train to Valencia. They scan your bags and check your tickets for each member of your group (5 minutes).
n) make your way to the right platform for Valencia (2 minutes).
I would suggest you plan for catching a later train unless you wish to be under stress from the moment you arrive.
Luggage Storage
You may also be interested in our tourist website on Valencia that covers all a tourist needs to know about a visit to this beautiful Spanish city.
Map showing exact location of Barcelona Sants station
Carrer d'Arago, 2
Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, 373 - 385
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