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Reverse day trip? Anyone stayed in Girona and visited Barcelona?

Posted by (Pittsburgh, USA) on

I got an amazing deal on plane tickets to Europe for me and my son provided we departed from Barcelona. Neither of us had Barcelona on our bucket lists, so I thought we'd just go for the last 4-5 nights of our 23 day trip and see how we liked it. I was looking at a potential day trip and Girona was the most interesting option, but the more I thought of it, the more it seems Girona is a lot more our speed in general.

My hesitation with staying there is complicating an itinerary, especially late in a trip. We have to fly from central Europe into Spain, but Girona is either unavailable as a destination or 3-4x the price depending on which place we fly from. (In late September some summer flights are discontinuing the route, it seems.)

That would mean arriving in Barcelona then traveling to Girona on the same day or staying a night in Barcelona then changing locations again when we just changed the night before. Since we are departing from Barcelona, I think we should spend the last night or two close by.

I was thinking it's getting too zany, but if we are going to take a day trip to Girona anyhow, maybe it wouldn't be a huge issue to grab our backpacks and stay a couple nights? And accommodations are considerably more affordable as well.

I'm unfamiliar with the area, so even looking at the bus schedules and flights, it's hard to see how complex (or simple) the whole thing might feel in real time. I'm hoping someone who has traveled more extensively in Spain can chime in.

Posted by
28083 posts

I haven't done that (too much I wanted to see in Barcelona, because I love the modernista architecture), but I've stayed in Girona to see Girona. It's a very nice city with worthwhile sights of its own. There's no reason this won't work for you, but I'm not the one to tell you the best way to get from the airport in Barcelona to Barcelona-Sants train station, which is where you'll catch a train to Girona. Actually, a taxi to Sants might not break the bank at all.

You will have a choice of fast trains (40 minutes or less) or slower trains (roughly 80 minutes or more). Tickets for the fast trains will be train-specific, which may not work well for you, arriving by air that same day. You can wait and buy a ticket on one of the regional or media distancia trains after you get to Sants unless you're really lucky and find there's a soon-to-depart, fast-but-reasonably-inexpensive AVANT train with seats still available. You'll be able to use one of the ticket-vending machines to see what your options are and buy the tickets. You can conduct the transaction in English.

Posted by
2456 posts

I’ve enjoyed spending time in both Girona and Barcelona, each very different from the other, The medieval quarter of Girona is very old and interesting and small, sites include an old cathedral, a small synagogue and Jewish museum, a Roman Walls area with many spots to sit and relax. Very photogenic. Some excellent restarants in Girona. Other nearby interesting towns you can visit too, but they would take half a day or more. I think a night or two in Girona would be better than just a day trip. I can suggest a very nice modest hotel if you like.

Barcelona is of course much, much larger with many, many sites to explore and experience — museums, churches, parks, diverse neighborhoods, markets, musical concert halls.many days of choices, it is a spread out city, but with a great metro to get around.

Public transit from BCN to your lodging in Girona.would involve several steps and some hassle. I think you would find a direct transfer to be much quicker and not that much costlier.

Posted by
481 posts

We went directly from BCN to Girona. We caught a direct bus from the airport..2 hours? Check the BCN website. We also trained into Barcelona for a day. Brad

Posted by
295 posts

@acraven
Thank you very much... this type of info is helpful. Very helpful.

@Larry
Thank you as well! We found that in Paris, a taxi was less expensive than the train since there were 3 of us and I hand't expected that.

When I look at BCN>Girona City Center I'm seeing about $32 for bus and slow train, $60 ish for the fast train and closer to €200 for a transfer, so I am probably missing something. I'm sure having two of us makes the transfer more expensive to book ahead since sites charge per person, but even at €100, we probably would't do it.

@brad
Thanks, I'll check it out. It's looking like a lot of the flights might get in late, so I'm a little nervous about the bus schedule. Missing one and waiting an hour feels loooong in the middle of the night.

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