Barcelona El prat airport to Sitges by rail

[Howardh]

If anyone's done that trip recently, a question;

Can you buy a single ticket from Barcelona airport to Sitges as I understand the first part is by tram/train and then you have to change on to the rail line? Or would two separate tickets be necessary? I'm pretty sure it's the former as all areas fall under the Barcelona zonal system? Thanks!!

 

[30907]

Not from experience, but from T2 you would just use the train and change at El Prat, with a through fare. If you land at T1 there's a free shuttle bus.
Sitges is outside the Barcelona integrated ticketing area according to
http://rodalies.gencat.cat/en/tarifes/servei_rodalia_barcelona/servei_integrat_atm/

 

[Howardh]

Not from experience, but from T2 you would just use the train and change at El Prat, with a through fare. If you land at T1 there's a free shuttle bus.
Sitges is outside the Barcelona integrated ticketing area according to
http://rodalies.gencat.cat/en/tarifes/servei_rodalia_barcelona/servei_integrat_atm/

BiB; thanks, thought so. Looking at that link you kindly provide, isn't Sitges in 3a so outside zone 1 but inside the whole area's ticketing region? Therefore (I haven't researched this yet) I'm assuming there will be an all-day all-zones ticket for bus/tram/train like London's travelcard - not good for airport/Stiges but good for a day out?

**I'll ask about contactless another day...just happy to pick up a card/ticket at the local station!

 

[Ravens]

If anyone's done that trip recently, a question;

Can you buy a single ticket from Barcelona airport to Sitges as I understand the first part is by tram/train and then you have to change on to the rail line? Or would two separate tickets be necessary? I'm pretty sure it's the former as all areas fall under the Barcelona zonal system? Thanks!!

From experience 5 years ago, travel by an innocent with no spoken or written Spanish or Catalan was quite economical and (this) idiot proof. The only ticket inspections experienced on several days on the local railways were at 5pm at the main Barcelona station- supervised by armed police mind.

There is an overhead walkway from Prat Terminal 2 to the station and ranks of ticket machines. It is R2 on the Rodalies (suburban) network with zonal ticketing. One appropriate ticket will do. Change at the next station El Prat de Llobregat, for the half hourly service down the coast to Sitges.

During your stay, the next station south beyond Sitges is Vilanova i la Geltru, where the adjacent regional railway museum has a splendid collection from the replica first train in Spain to Talgos, and accomodating staff. Just beyond the harbour at Vilanova is an elaborate 5in gauge miniature railway run by a club AFEVI on Sundays and holidays.

Memory has the central zone carnet tickets good for trains, subway and trams, but time limited. On the SW of Barcelona is the Catalan Government FGC metre gauge electrified route to Manresa and Igualada, from Sitges change at Bellvitge/Gornal. You can go to Mold Nou for a flavour on a carnet ticket or make a longer journey by dedicated ticket. There is another eleborate club miniature railway also operated on Sundays and holidays in the Parc L’Oreneta- I think you could walk from Reina Elisenda

 

[30907]

Looks from said site as if you need a T-dia, but not sure if it's good value.

I second the suggestion of the railway museum - v impressive and not heaving with visitors. Even some info in English!

 

[Oscar]

BiB; thanks, thought so. Looking at that link you kindly provide, isn't Sitges in 3a so outside zone 1 but inside the whole area's ticketing region? Therefore (I haven't researched this yet) I'm assuming there will be an all-day all-zones ticket for bus/tram/train like London's travelcard - not good for airport/Stiges but good for a day out?

**I'll ask about contactless another day...just happy to pick up a card/ticket at the local station!

You are correct. It is outside zone 1 (the city of Barcelona and adjacent municipalities) but in the zonal area covering the Barcelona Metropolitan Area. There is also a metropolitan fare zone, introduced three years ago, in which zone 1 integrated (i.e. multimodal) tickets are valid. Articles suggest this was done due to political pressure.

For the whole zonal area, integrated zonal day tickets, 10 journey tickets and passes, but no integrated single tickets are available.

Sitges - Barcelona

Integrated (multimodal) tickets - 3 zones
20.10 T dia - 24-hour pass
30.50 T casual - 10 journeys (max. 1 h 45 min per journey)
75.60 T usual - monthly pass

Local 'suburban' (not 'regional') Rodalies trains only - 3 zones
3.85 single
24.20 10 journeys
47.05 Monthly pass

For suburban services, the airport is in zone 4 (presumably to increase revenue for travellers heading into Barcelona), so you will need a four-zone mode-specific single between Sitges and Barcelona Airport Terminal 2 costing 4.60 EUR. For the local Barcelona public transport operator (ATM), it is in zone 1, but single and 10-journey tickets for zone 1 are not valid, and a special, higher airport fare applies (though zone 1 ATM-specific passes are valid to the airport on ATM services). For the purposes of integrated (multimodal) ticketing, the airport is in zone 1, but T casual 10-journey tickets are not valid for travel to the airport on the ATM metro service - all other tickets are fully valid to the airport.
A three-zone T dia at 20.10 EUR would also cover you between Sitges and the airport.

The integrated (multimodal) ticket for all 6 zones for 24 hours (T dia) costs 28.15 EUR. This allows you to travel a significant distance, for example almost 100 km out of Barcelona on the line to La Tour de Carol.

Map of the integrated fare network

None of these tickets allow you to travel on Media Distancia (Middle Distance) or regional rail services. Both the regional rail services and the suburban services run under the Rodalies brand, and the distinction is not obvious. The suburban lines are R1, R2, R2 Nord, R2 Sud, R3, R4, R7 and R8. The regional services are R11, R12, R13, R14, R15, R16 and R17.

You can find the information you need on the Rodalies website.

 

[richardderby]

from experience, if you land at T1 (the BA terminal for arrivals) its quicker to take the new metro L9 straight to El prat station, which is on the direct main line to Sitges, or as stated there is the bus to the station and then change of train en route, which is a bit of a faff but only costs around 4 euro's one way..

 

[Oscar]

from experience, if you land at T1 (the BA terminal for arrivals) its quicker to take the new metro L9 to El prat station, which is on the direct main line to Sitges, or as stated there is the bus to the station and then change of train en route, which is a bit of a faf...

That would require an airport single for 5.15 EUR plus a 3-zone suburban single at 3.85 EUR, or a 3-zone T-dia at 20.10 EUR.

 

[Howardh]

Thanks for all the info - looks like a day ticket for all the zones isn't much of a bargain, I'll go singles from the airport's rail station - using the inter-terminals bus if necessary.

 

[johnnychips]

There is, apparently, a half-hourly bus to Sitges calling at Terminal 1

https://www.busgarraf.cat/wp-qbicus/uploads/2021/10/Vilanova_Les-Roquetes_Sitges_Aeroport_Bellvitge.pdf

 

[Howardh]

There is, apparently, a half-hourly bus to Sitges calling at Terminal 1

https://www.busgarraf.cat/wp-qbicus/uploads/2021/10/Vilanova_Les-Roquetes_Sitges_Aeroport_Bellvitge.pdf

Thanks! could be a better option than the train!

 

[dutchflyer]

T1 is the NEW terminal, other as expected the old one is T2. Free shuttle buses between these 2. Its quite a walk from T2 via an overbridge to combined train/metro-station, metro also runs on to T1, this line does not run into central Barca.
As said-a direct bus will be more easy from T1.
A T-dia is priced a little more as 2 normal singles, so no use for just one way trip. Its for the day, not 24 hrs.
Nearly all Spanish airport links have higher prices as the normal urban fare, mostly around the 5 € mark. F.e. in Valencia-but there the walk to next stop is less as 10 mins and easy-then you get the normal urban fares.

 

[Cloud Strife]

Nearly all Spanish airport links have higher prices as the normal urban fare, mostly around the 5 € mark. F.e. in Valencia-but there the walk to next stop is less as 10 mins and easy-then you get the normal urban fares.

Malaga is an honourable exception in this respect, probably because it's just another stop on the C-1 commuter line.

With Valencia Airport, how do you get from the terminal to the nearest Metro station? There doesn't appear to be a pedestrian route...

 

[Oscar]

A T-dia is priced a little more as 2 normal singles, so no use for just one way trip. Its for the day, not 24 hrs.

I think this may have changed, as the ATM and TMB websites state quite clearly that it is valid for 24 hours from validation.