Wanting advice on car services. From what I can see there is no Lyft in Spain. Appears to be Uber but only in Madrid and not Barcelona. Does anyone have other experiences in regards to ride services such as lyft or uber in Barcelona? Will mostly do public transit but have a late arriving flight Monday night and hoping to have a plan other than public transit for this arrival.
Thanks, Kathleen
i believe neither operates in barcelona right now. from the airport you will likely be able to get a taxi pretty easily.
Kathleen,
No Uber indeed in Barcelona, but over 13,000 taxis. Contrary to some other places, public transport is safe at any hour. Also clean, cheap, efficient and convenient.
May I ask what "night" means to you? saying so because arriving say at 10pm is not that late as per hour schedules and I wouldn't say the metro is full of people but there are scores of them returning home from work. Shops close between 8 and 9 and department stores and malls at 9:30-10.
In any case, after a long flight, I would do the easy thing and take a taxi at the airport. Plenty of them at the taxi rank and a ride to most of the centre of the city should cost less than 45€ at that hour.
From my perspective, taxis are quite safe in Spain's cities. I rarely take them here in the US, but took a few late night one's in Madrid and all were clean and comfortable. Don't bother with ride sharing in Spain, taxis are fine. You can always ask for "una receta" or a receipt if you worry about fare cheating.
oopsy Heather, surely you meant "un recibo" :)).... asking for a 'receta' you'll get either a pharmacy prescription or a recipe for cooking something, LOL!
PS. FYI, in Catalonia you'd ask for "un rebut, is us plau" (oon-rahboot-see-oos-plah-oo, a receipt please)
Without the long story, I can tell you that we took an uber to the Barcelona airport last fall early in the morning. It was a very good experience.
Others will know better, but I recall a report from a few weeks ago that whilst Uber did restart in Barcelona last year, it has suspended the service again. If so, it might have been possible last Autumn, but not at present.
I've always found normal taxis in either city fine. Taxis in Spain are highly regulated, clean, maintained and licensed. I'm not suggesting some drivers don't take tourists via the scenic route occasionally, but generally you're safe with using a local taxi in Spain.
Just agreeing that I've never had problems with taxis in Spain (more than I can say for some countries). They use the meter, and while there are all kinds of legitimate supplements (such as for picking up at a train station, putting things in the trunk, or carrying more than a certain number of passengers), these are always posted clearly on a sign in the taxi.
In central areas of Barcelona and Madrid, taxis are everywhere. For an early morning flight, you may want to pre-book one; for anything else, just hail one in the street. And I'm sure that any time flights are arriving at the airports, there will be taxis waiting.
I also agree with Enric: what time is your flight arrival? There's nothing wrong with taking a taxi (particularly if you're arriving jet-lagged from the US), but it's quite possible the airport bus will be running. It looks like the last one leaves the airport about 1 AM (exact time depends on your arrival terminal).
On our trip to Spain we took the taxi to and from the airport in Madrid, to and from the train station in Segovia, several times in Toledo, several times in Granada, and from the railroad station in Algeciras to Gibraltar and back. Usually with a minimum of Spanish. We never had a problem. Except in Toledo because the trip was so short the cost was only a few Euros, and we were a little embarrassed.
I would not worry about taxis. I would recommend.
Airport taxis from Madrid are a flat fixed fee of 30 euros- but can have added on fees depending on luggage size and number of people. The taxi service in Spain is great tho! Fast, clean, and efficient with meters. Enjoy your trip!
Happy Travels✨💫
From the positive accounts of using taxis in Spain on this forum, can I assume that is also true in Seville? It seems straightforward getting a taxi at a train/bus station, but how do I go about scheduling a taxi from my rental flat to the bus station? Thanks.
I don’t understand the love for rideshare services when you have a huge line of taxis waiting for you when you step foot outside of the airport. Instead of having to find “your” specific vehicle when using Uber or whatever ( which can be difficult in a place like an airport where there are many people doing it, plus you have a language barrier to deal with) you can just take the first taxi.
If you like Uber because you can type in the location of where you are going and not have to tell the driver, you can take a similar strategy by having a pre-printed slip of paper with you that you can just hand the driver which has your hotel’s address on it if you are worried about a language barrier.
In short I totally understand the appeal of ridesharing services in underserved areas that do not have robust taxi services, but Barcelona is definitely not one of those areas.
The issue for many of us who prefer the ride hail services is having for years, been attempted to be scammed by traditional taxi drivers. In NYC , for example, taxi drivers had long been viewed as a necessary evil , forcing one to always be on guard every time we set foot in one. We had longed for a better way, and finally, uber came along, followed by all the others and now I avoid regular taxis every chance I get. They have forever lost my trust .
I do understand being leery of taxis due to experience in the US, but taxis in most of Europe are a different experience.
I was in Spain twice this Spring--used taxis in Madrid, Seville, and more with no issues. Clean and pleasant. Two different taxi drivers in Madrid REFUSED a tip.
From the positive accounts of using taxis in Spain on this forum, can I assume that is also true in Seville?
Lindy - The only time we felt "taken" by a cab driver in Spain was in Seville. The cab ride from the train station to our hotel was half the price of the ride to the train station. When we got to the station, the cab driver sat on the trunk with his arms folded - almost like he was holding our bags hostage.
At the end of the day, it wasn't enough money for us to make an issue of it; but I wish we had asked the hotel staff how much the ride to the station should cost.
Hoping for some advice here. We need to get from Ronda to the airport in Malaga for an 11 am flight and bus/train schedules don't work for us (we can get to Ronda from Malaga by train or bus OK, but not back in time on the day we need to). I can rent a car in Malaga, drive to Ronda, park it for three days (for $20 a day) since we won't need a car in Ronda, and then drive back, but it seems like it might be easier and maybe no more expensive to use a ride share service. Mydaytrip.com seems like a decent choice and slightly cheaper than taking a taxi, which our hotel says will cost about $155 (yikes). Has anyone used that service or know of any other service like Lyft or Uber that services that area? Thanks.
