By plane
From Moscow it is more convenient to get through Barcelona – its airport is located 82 km from Tarragona.
From airport to city
To travel to Tarragona from Barcelona by bus, those who arrive at El Prat airport do not even need to leave it. From the stop at terminal T1, Plana buses depart approximately once an hour in the direction of the resort. Tickets can be purchased at the box office or from the driver, the journey takes about an hour.
Arriving by air in terminal T2, a free domestic shuttle will take you to terminal T1.
From the Barcelona Nord Central Bus Station (Carrer d’Ali Bei, 80) to Tarragona, buses of the Alsa company follow (off. site insolent). It takes about 2 hours to get to the place, tickets are from the driver, in vending machines and ticket offices at the bus station.
The easiest way to get to the Barcelona Nord bus station from the airport is by metro: there are exits to it at terminals No. 1 and 2. From the L9 line, laid from the airport, in the city you need to transfer to the L1 branch and get off at the Arc de Triomf station, from there to bus station 2 minutes walk.
You can reach the resort by rail. From Terminal 2 of the airport, you need to take the train to Barcelona Sants city station. And there, choose a train from Renfe or an electric train from Trenes (off. site in English) to Tarragona – and enjoy the trip, which will take from half an hour to an hour and a little more.
To Barcelona Sants from the airport in 20 minutes, everyone will be taken by a direct Aerobus Barcelona (off. site in English). Its final is Plasa Catalunya, from it to the station – 15 minutes at a brisk pace.
The laziest (or fearful) will be happy to be served by taxis and transfer companies. Their price tag is about the same – from 170 EUR from Barcelona airport and around 25 EUR from La Pineda or Salou. If Spanish allows, you can try to bargain with private carriers for a discount of a quarter of the cost of the trip. The prices on the page are for August 2021.
From Salou and La Pinedy
From Salou station (Port Aventura) to Tarragona – only 15 minutes by Renfe trains, they go on average once every two hours, tickets are at the box office and station terminals. Much more often – about once every half an hour – Plana buses leave for Tarragona from Salou, they can go up to half an hour (a little more if there are traffic jams). The same Plana will take tourists to Tarragona from La Pineda in the same time.
- How to get from Salou to Tarragona
Transportation
The transport company Empresa Municipal de Transportes covers the city with a wide network of bus routes. Public transport runs regularly mainly from 7:00 to 23:00, but there are also night flights – from 0:25 to 6:00. There are several types of travel cards that can be purchased at the box office at the bus station, tickets are also available from drivers. In general, it is quite possible to move around Tarragona on foot: it is not very big, it is difficult to get tired of such a walk, but there are a lot of pleasant discoveries along the way. See Bridgat for climate and weather information of Spain.
The most charming form of transport in the city is the Tarraco Trenet Turistic tourist train with audio guides (off site in English), including in Russian. The train runs from 10:00-10:30 to 20:30, you can sit at any of its stops, get off wherever you want, and then sit down again to complete the route.
It is better to order a taxi from the hotel or via the Internet, at a price they will not differ much from the offers of local cabbies. A short trip will cost 10 EUR.
Bicycle rental in Tarragona is on stream, there are also automatic rental points, for example, on Av. de la Diputacio, 16. Specially allocated paths can only be found on the lower embankment, and the sidewalks on the main streets are quite wide (the situation is worse in the depths of blocks), the drivers are polite, so fans of the most environmentally friendly transport will be comfortable.
Tarragona Hotels
Tarragona has a well-developed network of all kinds of city and family hotels, guest houses, hostels and apartments. But the campsites on the coast deserve special attention: for a relatively small fee, you will get your place under the Tarragona sun, well-groomed parks, and entertainment programs for every taste, age and budget.
The most organized, well maintained and affordable campsites are Caledonia, Las Palmeras and Trillas Platja Tamarit.
Those who want to have a more solid roof over their heads can book a bed in a hostel (from 20 EUR), a 3 * hotel room or an apartment (it will come out the same – about 30 EUR per night). But you can’t find “fives” in Tarragona: the hotel of the Marriott family has AC Hotel Tarragona, and Marriott Lifestyle has only 4 * on the facade. A day in a double room here will cost 95 EUR.
Both in the hostel and in the “four” guests have free WI-FI and parking, the beach is 10-15 minutes on foot.
Rent a Car
Those wishing to “saddle an iron horse” in Tarragona are waiting for rental offices Sixt (Rambla Nova, 116), Europcar (Placa De Les Corts Catalanes N4) and Hertz (Carrer del Comerc, 3). The prices in them are European-style high, the requirements are standard: an impressive deposit, a driving experience of 2-3 years and an international driving license, credit cards for payment and the preferred age is 23-65 years.
Driving here is a pleasure: traffic jams are at a minimum, sights in the area are at a maximum, there are enough parking lots, “savages” on the road are rare, and the police are quite loyal to foreign tourists (provided that they do not violate the law).
