We are flying in to Barcelona and have friends picking us up to take us to a wedding in Perpignan.....but we need to get back to Barcelona for our flight back to the states....Would a rail pass be the best...and how convenient is the station in Perpignan as afr as distance from the city center...or would a car rental be best...what are the procedures for car rental abroad...or is there another option...ferry, etc..?
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Hi Garp, Perpignan station is walkable from the city centre and you can get a train to Barcelona from there (you have to change at Port Bou), a full fare one-way costs 15.60 euros, journey time is 5 hours. you can book online (in English!) at www.voyages-sncf.com.
It%26#39;s about 200 km to Barcelona airport and by car would take you around 2 to 2.5 hours but the roads are good and traffic is usually reasonable. Toll costs for the car would be in the region of 16 euros. There are lots of car rental agencies in perpignan, Herts, Europcar, Avis, Ucar etc. but the airport ones stick a location fee on so be warned! Hertz and Europcar are located in Espace Polygone which is an industrial area only 5 minutes drive from the airport, Ucar is in central Perpignan on the road to Porte d%26#39;Espagne, again only 5 minutes out of the city centre and about 15 minutes from the airport.
In your shoes I would opt for a car as there%26#39;s so much to see around Perpignan and along the route to Barcelona - you have numerous little seaside villages with gorgeous restaurants and plenty of scenic views and you can travel at your own pace.
Hope this helps!
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Garp -
Please tell me how you choose to travel. I am facing the same situation. Flying into Bacelona and going to Perpignan for the WPF Universe competition Nov 10-12. 5 hours seems quite long for a 128mi distance from Barcelona to Perpignan. But, I%26#39;m wondering if it%26#39;s a difficult drive into Perpignan. Afraid of not being able to read the signs and terribly afraid of getting lost.
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I%26#39;m faced with the same choice. I am flying into Barcelona but need to travel to Perpignan for the WPF Universe bodybuilding competition. Please tell me whether it%26#39;s better to drive or take the train. It seems that 5hours is quite long for only 128 mi trip by train. But, I%26#39;m also worried that driving could be challenging if I can%26#39;t read the street signs.
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Hi Tamel,
If you drive by motorway from Barcelona to Perpignan there are only 2 exits to the city, numbers 42 and 41. I would assume that your competition is being held at the Palais des Expositions and this is signposted (let me know if this is the case and I can give you detailed directions if you wish). Exit 42 would be best but either would get you to there. The drive from Barcelona is not difficult at all as it%26#39;s just getting on the motorway and keep on going!!!
let me know if you%26#39;d like more details.
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Barcelona to Perpignan is very easy. The problem is when you%26#39;re going back to Barcelona airport. As you get into Barcelona there are 12 separate turns that you need to make to get to the airport - you%26#39;re actually staying on the same road almost the whole way but for some reason need to go off to the left or the right across the 5 lane highway. The problem we find is that the signs are dreadful - frequently you get one sign for the airport and it%26#39;s 5 lanes over but you%26#39;ve only 200 yards to make the lane changes. Other times, they don%26#39;t even have a sign for the airport and you almost have to guess when to turn.
The biggest problem is that when (and, for us, it usually is %26quot;when%26quot; rather than %26quot;if%26quot;) you get off the road, it%26#39;s a major hassle to get back on again and usually adds an hour or two to our journey.
If you rent a car in France, it adds about 1000��� to the price to return it to Spain (and vice versa). Hertz and all the other car rental places have offices at the airport and at the rail station. The Hertz station at Polygone is mainly for truck rentals.
Arnold
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Forgot... if you%26#39;re arriving at the rail station and picking up a car, all the rental places close by 6pm (and most by 5pm). They will let you book a car rental for pickup after that but they won%26#39;t be open!
If you find yourself in this situation, you%26#39;ll find a little sign on their window saying that you have to pick the car up at the airport which will mean a taxi trip (around EUR 20 I think). If you%26#39;re very late (much after 8pm) you will arrive at the airport and find it closed too.
Arnold
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