Barcelona Cruise Port: How to Spend 2 Days with Limited Time

By Joan. I have lived in Barcelona for 16 years and I watch the ships come in from this side of the water.

The Barcelona cruise terminal is 4 km from the city center but only 15 minutes to Las Ramblas by taxi, which is better news than most port cities give you. The hard part is not the distance, it is deciding what to leave out. Here is how I would use 1-2 days before or after a Mediterranean sailing.

Quick answer: For a short port call take the taxi, €15-20 flat rate plus a €4.50 port surcharge, because on a countdown the fifteen minutes it saves are worth more than the fare. The cruise shuttle to the Columbus Monument is €4 one-way if you have time to spare. Day 1: Sagrada Familia plus Gothic Quarter. Day 2: Park Guell plus Barceloneta. Left luggage at Barcelona Sants station. Fares change, so check the current one before you count on it.

The short version

• You are 4 km from the old town, which is close enough that a ship excursion is a convenience, not a necessity.
• The taxi is €15-20 plus a €4.50 port surcharge and takes 15 minutes, the shuttle is €4 and runs every 20 minutes.
• With 8 hours in port you can do Sagrada Familia and the Gothic Quarter properly, and nothing else properly.
• Book the timed tickets before you sail. Queueing is the one thing a port call cannot absorb.
• If you have a pre- or post-cruise night, leave the bags at Barcelona Sants and stop dragging them around.

How I built these plans

I planned both versions backwards from the time you have to be back on board, not forwards from a list of monuments. That means the far thing goes first and the walkable thing goes last, so a delay costs you a museum instead of your ship. It also means I have cut things I like, which is what a port call is.

Two ways from the terminal, in the order I would take them

1. Taxi

€15-20 flat rate, plus a €4.50 port surcharge. Around 15 minutes to Las Ramblas. It is the option I would take on a one-day call without hesitating. You are buying the top of the morning, and on 8 hours in port the morning is the whole visit.

2. The Port Bus, the blue cruise shuttle

€4 one-way, every 20 minutes. It runs from terminals A-B-C-D to the Columbus Monument, and from there metro L3 or a walk into the Gothic Quarter is immediate. For a two-day stay, when nothing is on a countdown, this is the sensible one and the difference in fare buys lunch.

One-day cruise itinerary, 8 hours in port

• 9:00 AM leave the ship, taxi to Sagrada Familia
• 9:30-11:00 Sagrada Familia with tower access
• 11:30 taxi or metro to the Gothic Quarter
• 12:00-14:00 walking tour plus tapas lunch at La Boqueria
• 14:30 Picasso Museum, and this is the one to drop if you are running late
• 16:00 stroll Las Ramblas back toward the port
• 17:00 back on the ship

Two-day cruise itinerary, before or after the sailing

Day 1: the full Gaudi loop, Sagrada Familia, Casa Batllo and Park Guell. Day 2: Gothic Quarter, Picasso Museum, Barceloneta beach and a seafood dinner. It is the same plan I would give anybody flying in, because two days is two days whether you arrived by air or by sea. The detail hour by hour is in my complete 2-day itinerary.

Before you leave the ship

• Buy the Sagrada Familia slot before you sail. On a port call there is no version of this where queueing works out.
• Agree the fare with the taxi before you set off, so the port surcharge is not a surprise at the other end.
• Leave the bags at Barcelona Sants if you are staying a night. The station is a much better left luggage plan than a suitcase in a museum cloakroom.
• Keep the last hour empty. Traffic toward the port at the end of the afternoon is the only thing here that can genuinely hurt you.
• Every fare on this page is a from figure that changes. Check the current one before you build a budget around it.

Cruise Shore Excursions

Private or small group tours built around your port time, sold with a commitment to have you back before the ship leaves. That commitment is the whole product, and it is the reason to book one instead of improvising: on a short call you are not paying for a guide, you are paying for somebody else to watch the clock.

Barcelona is one of the easier ports to do on your own, so do not let anybody talk you into a coach if you are comfortable with a taxi and a booked ticket. And if the ship gives you two days instead of one, take them, because this city is worth more than a morning.