It has been several years coming, but the full high-speed service between Madrid and Barcelona was…read moreinaugurated on February 20th 2008, becoming Renfe's flagship main line the process. Construction of the line began over 5 years ago, and the line was opened in stages, reaching Tarragona (actually a new station outside the city, called Camp de Tarragona) in 2006. Problems completing the line into Barcelona, alongside existing tracks - including some spectacular tunnels collapses - delayed its final opening, but the full service is now running. All the stations along the route have been either remodelled, as at Zaragoza, Lleida and Barcelona, or built from scratch, as at Tarragona. The AVE (Alta Velocidad Española - High Speed Spain, but also the Spanish word for 'bird') uses standard European gauge tracks, instead of the broader Spanish gauge, and so needs a dedicated railway line throughout. The trains running most of the services on the new line are based on the latest German ICE units, and are built by Siemens. They have a maximum speed of 350kph (217mph), but in normal service run up to 300kph (186mph). The line passes through some spectacular scenery, with impressive and ambitious engineering to match - lots of tunnels and big bridges. The fast non-stop services from Barcelona to Madrid take 2 hours 38 minutes for the 342 mile journey - one of the fastest averages in the world - with those stopping en route taking 45 minutes longer. The trains are very spacious and comfortable inside, with even those in Second (Tourist) class having reclining seats. There are small TV screens along the carriage roofs to provide a film service, and radio channels provided at every seat. We found the ride very quiet, although a little bouncier than expected. Announcements are made in English and Spanish. So why not 5*? Well, for a very expensively-built new main line, there are only 17 trains in each direction a day, with several two-hour gaps in the middle of the day. The service may improve in frequency as traffic builds up, but the competing airline service is much more frequent. Also, tickets are very expensive by Spanish standards, although discounts are available if you book ahead. The normal AVE tariff is over four times as expensive as the (admittedly rather slower) ordinary trains, so you do have a choice of frequency vs price.

The high speed train takes 2 hour 45 min from Barcelona to Madrid. "Turista class" seating is very…read morecomfortable, but I still prefer paying more for first class. They offer drinks and snacks for purchase onboard. There is plenty of overhead storage for carry-on luggage and a separate storage area for wheeled luggage. "Sendada class" seating has adequate leg space.

I rolled into Barcelona Sants Estació from Paris to begin the second leg of my trip in Barcelona…read more Train stations tend to be chaotic, and they're prime spots for people to get pickpocketed, so I like to spend at little time in them as possible, and constantly be moving while there. This is the main train station in the city, and as such it's quite large with several different areas and connections. I was a little confused once we arrived as I needed to find the Metro, but after orienting myself it was no issue. Besides that, Barcelona Sants Estació is really no frills. It got me where I needed to go, and at the end of the day that's all that matters.

The main train station in Barcelona, therefore the busiest almost all the time…read more Currently there is a lot of construction work going on inside and out. So paths are a bit constricted and not clearly marked. I recently took the inOui from Paris to BCN, a 7 hour trip that was nicer than the bustle of air travel. Arriving at 10 pm BCN Sants was quite busy, but was able to pop up easily and get out of the station. I would have liked to have grabbed a sandwich to take to the hotel, but construction made it impossible to find a vendor. The outside construction and some rain made areas a muddy and rough mess. Bummer, it has been a great station in the past. Just be aware of pick pockets here.

Completely dishonest advertising. I wanted to purchase tickets to climb the dome of the Duomo in…read moreFlorence. The Do Travel web site advertised "Duomo Florence Tickets - Climb Up to Dome" and further on under "What to Expect" they state: "Our Duomo Florence Tickets online with guaranteed Access offer you a seamless experience. You will be able to enjoy access to climb up to the top of Duomo. Moreover the tours include climbing Duomo Florence and enjoying the unique view of Florence." However, when I received the vouchers from them, they expressly excluded climbing the Duomo. When I brought this to the attention of Do Travel, they pointed out their "No Refunds" policy and refused to do anything about it. Fortunately my credit card company recognized this as the scam it was and declined the charge. Stay away from this company. Do not believe anything they put on their web pages (except the "No Refunds" statement.)

I CANNOT EXPRESS this ENOUGH!!! This company is SCAM!!!! Read their reviews! They pull NO SHOWS!…read moreand when they do most of the time they are still in SCAM mode! We booked a tour of the Vatican, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's... tour guide NO AHOW and when we tried to contact the company via the phone number on their confirmation email... DISCONNECTED! Texted then and emailed them to call us and sent them pictures of where we were waiting... they said they callled us - no MISSED calls on our phone! This was our 20th anniversary!!! RUINED!!! & then they had the NERVE to charge us and ask for a review! There are so many reputable companies out there to use!!!

Excellent service. They were waiting for us at the Barcelona airport as scheduled and it was an…read moreeasy process to get to our hotel. I recommend welcome as a Transportation company you can count on.

The most efficient, well organized port I've ever had the chance to visit. Easy to access drop off…read morebags and get through security. Check in was a breeze and the staff was super friendly

It's big, lots of ventilation, and cold in the wintertime. The staff are nice and the place is…read moreorganized. Pretty smooth sailing, if you ask me.

We have used this Cruise terminal a few times now and always had a good experience. They have…read moremultiple terminals (A-H) in the Moll Adossat Quay Piers and seldom have we had any issues with congestion. Taxi and bag pickup up have been quick and seamless. On our recent trip we counted 5 ships and didn't have any issues on the trip to our hotel. About a 1/2 hour from the City Center and Europe's busiest cruise Hub.

I honestly think that Barcelona loves to switch up this port cruise terminal with the WTC terminal…read more I left out of WTC but arrived back to Moll Adossat. Moll Adosant is larger and receives more larger cruiseships so it can become very hectic on drop off and pickup. I was not changing anything getting back to the airport so I arranged cre service for 7am. when it is least busy. Getting over the large bridge to the mainland can seriously back up for a long time. The traffic pattern is one way in and one way out for all traffic. Since my voyage was a closed loop, clearing immigration is not necessary and that is the quickest way out of the terminal. The taxi queue is steadily moving and prearranged car services are allowed to park for their waiting passengers. In my opinion, I like this terminal much better than WTC.

Easy access from Tarragona train station to the city.read more

Train from Barcelona El Prat Airport to Tarragona. The…read moretrain station in the airport can be easily found, follow the red roof. Ask for a ticket to Tarragona which you can purchase for the bargain price of 5.80e. (The Regional and catalunya express cost 5.30 euros, other trains though are 16 euros if you get on the wrong train you'll have to pay the difference when the ticket inspector comes around.) Take the journey into Barcelona, it is three stops and takes approximately 20 minutes. You will then need to change platforms in Barcelona Saints, however a word of caution, be careful when catching the train to Tarragona, platform changes without notification, and there is no indication on the front of the trains where the final destination. Confusing, unfortunately we ended up getting on the train we had been told was going to Tarragona by a fellow passenger and ended up heading back to the airport from which we'd just left :-) It is prudent to check once on the train that it is the actual train you want.

U see these tours in just about every city, here is one the places I'd say is really worth doing…read more Two bus routes take u to every single spot worth checking out, the 24 hours pass depending on what u are doing is well worth it, easy pick up location, easy to follow w the map as well as easy transfers between the red & green line buses. Nice way to sit back & enjoys the views, u can of course get off & explore & hop back on & off as u please, very easy & nice way to check out all the views.

We bought a two day ticket on the Hop-On Hop-off bus. The are two lines (Red and Blue), We took…read morethe tour and mapped out the stops we wanted and had a good plan for day two. You are given head phones to listen to the audio commentary. There are many languages you can choose so that was not an issue for tourist from any country. This is a good way to tour Barcelona without lots of walking.