Barcelona to Salou, PortAventura and Tarragona — fixed price €226

For the PortAventura hotels, Salou, Cambrils and the Tarragona cruise terminal. Around seventy minutes from the airport on the AP-7, with child seats available and the tolls already counted in.

Fixed price: €226
Distance: 98 km
Typical time: 70 min

Book this trip →Ask a question

What the price includes

The whole fare for this exact trip, agreed before you get in — nothing added at the end.
Any airport or cruise terminal access charge and all motorway tolls.
30 minutes of waiting at no charge at a terminal, 15 minutes anywhere else, then an hourly rate. A delayed flight moves the pick-up instead, and costs nothing.
Luggage for up to 4 passengers. A minivan is available for larger groups.
Card or cash, your choice. Most trips are paid in the car; on some I ask for a deposit or the fare in advance.

Where I collect you

From BCN Airport I meet you inside arrivals with a sign. This route is popular with families, so if you need two child seats fitted before you arrive, say so in the booking and they will be in the car ready.

The PortAventura hotels — Caribe, El Paso, Gold River, Colorado Creek and the rest — each have their own entrance inside the resort. Tell me which one and I will drive to that door rather than the main gate.

For the Tarragona cruise terminal I drop at the terminal building itself, and for Salou or Cambrils at your hotel address.

The drive south

It is about 98 km on the AP-7 and takes a little over an hour. The road is straightforward and the only slow section is the escape from Barcelona itself at rush hour.

This is a long enough journey that a child seat is worth having properly fitted rather than improvised. Both a baby seat and a booster are available; add them in the booking form and you will see the price change before you send anything.

If you are going to the theme park for the day and back, hourly hire sometimes works out better than two transfers. Ask and I will tell you honestly which is cheaper for your plan.

Where this run actually ends

Four different places share one motorway exit and one price band, and people book them by name rather than by region. Tell me which of them you want and the drop is to that address.

Salou

The resort town itself, and the most common booking on this run. Same 98 km down the AP-7, a little over an hour, and I drop at your hotel address rather than at a rank or a drop-off zone — which matters on a seafront where the hotels run for two kilometres.

PortAventura and the resort hotels

Caribe, El Paso, Gold River, Colorado Creek and the rest each have their own entrance inside the resort. Give me the hotel name and I drive to that door instead of the main gate, which with tired children and a day’s luggage is the whole point of booking a car.

Cambrils

The next town along the coast past Salou, and a quieter base than the resort strip. Same road, same car, and I take you to the hotel or apartment address.

Tarragona and the cruise terminal

For a ship I drop at the terminal building itself, in both directions. Worth booking ahead here: taxis are thin on the ground at Tarragona compared with Barcelona, and a ship emptying at once clears what little there is.

Getting there another way

A taxi is not always the right answer. Here is the honest comparison for this trip.

Option	Time	Cost	Best when
Train to Salou / PortAventura	1 h 20 from Sants, plus getting to Sants	€8–€16 per person	Two adults with light bags, travelling in the middle of the day.
Airport coach	2 h with limited departures	€16–€20 per person	Only if the timetable happens to match your flight.
Taxi	1 h 10 door to door	Fixed, tolls and seats included in the quote	Families with young children, groups, or anyone arriving after the trains stop.

Questions about this trip

Do you have child seats for this trip?

Yes — baby seats and boosters, priced per seat and added in the booking form so you see the total before you send it. On a motorway run they are worth having.

Can you drop us at our PortAventura hotel entrance?

Yes. Each resort hotel has its own entrance; give me the hotel name and I will drive to it rather than the main gate.

Do you serve the Tarragona cruise terminal?

Yes, terminal-side, in both directions. It is worth booking ahead as taxis are thin on the ground there compared with Barcelona.

How long does a transfer from Barcelona to Salou take?

About 98 km on the AP-7 and a little over an hour — roughly an hour and ten door to door from the airport. The only slow part is leaving Barcelona at rush hour; the motorway itself is steady.

Can you do a transfer from Barcelona Airport to Salou?

Yes, and it is the version of this trip I drive most. I meet you inside arrivals with a sign, the tolls are already in the price you were quoted, and child seats can be fitted before you land if you add them to the booking.