Private airport transfers in Barcelona: arrivals, departures and groups

I wait inside the arrivals hall with a sign showing your name — floor 0 at Terminal 1, opposite the baggage-reclaim exit at Terminal 2B. You do not need to find the taxi rank, join a queue or work out which exit you came through.

Waiting costs nothing for 60 minutes from the moment your flight actually lands. I check the flight number, so a delay costs you nothing and there is no need to warn me. Past the hour it is charged by the hour, which almost never comes up — an hour clears immigration and baggage on all but the worst days.

If you would rather skip the arrivals hall entirely, I can meet you on the departures level instead. It is quieter and faster to drive away from.

For a departure I collect at the door at whatever time your flight needs, including the four in the morning starts. I would rather be ten minutes early than have you watch the clock.

As a rule of thumb, allow two hours before a Schengen departure and three for a long-haul one, plus the drive. Tell me your flight time and I will suggest a pick-up.

The fare for your actual distance, the airport access charge, all tolls and luggage for up to four passengers. Child seats and larger vehicles are added only if you ask for them, and are priced before you send anything.

A flat "airport to Barcelona" price does not reflect reality — the city is 15 km across. Your price is worked out from the driving distance to the address you actually give me.

Most arrivals are going to a hotel or an apartment, and that is a door-to-door job rather than a drop at a landmark. Give me the hotel name and I will find the address; give me the apartment address and the buzzer or floor if it is a building with several.

It matters more in some parts of the city than others. The Gothic Quarter and parts of Gràcia have streets a car cannot enter, so the drop is at the nearest corner and I carry the cases the rest of the way. Around Passeig de Gràcia and the Eixample the door is usually reachable, and on the Diagonal the loading restrictions change by the hour.

The price is worked out to the address you give, not to a zone, so a hotel near Sants and a hotel in Poblenou are not quoted the same figure for what is not the same trip.

They are 4 km apart and connected by a free shuttle bus that takes about ten minutes, so turning up at the wrong one costs real time. Book for the terminal your flight actually uses, and if you are unsure, send me the flight number instead — I will check it and confirm back.

Terminal 1 handles most long-haul and Vueling traffic; Terminal 2 handles most low-cost European flights, and splits into 2A, 2B and 2C along one long building. If your booking says T2 without a letter, meet me opposite the T2B baggage hall and I will guide you from there.

If there are more than four of you, or the luggage will not fit a saloon boot, book a 6-seater or a 7-seater instead of two cars. You travel together and arrive together. Choose the vehicle in the booking form and the price updates straight away.

For children, tell me the age of each child when you book and the right seat goes in the car. A wheelchair-accessible taxi with a ramp is also available if you ask for it at booking.