Purchase the T-Mobilitat
T-Mobilitat is Barcelona’s digital and contactless ticketing system for public transportation. It works on Barcelona’s metro, bus, tram, and Rodalies trains. We paid about €21.35 for the unlimited 30 day travel pass, which allowed us to take the metro from the airport directly into the city. The L9 Sud line runs to Barcelona Airport both Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, and you cannot use the T-Casual or normal metro tickets to travel to the Airport. We also used our pass all over the city, taking advantage of the unlimited rides on the metro and the bus. During our 5 days in Barcelona, we only took a taxi twice. The Barcelona metro and bus system is super easy to navigate and Google Maps works wonders.

Be early for trains!
If you’re taking a train, make sure you get there early! We were taking a high-speed train to Girona from Barcelona Sants and almost missed the train because we had no idea you had to go through a security scan before you are allowed access to the train platforms. Thankfully, we decided to arrive about 25 minutes prior to our train’s departure time and managed to get to the platform on time!

Download the FreeNow App
I actually already had the app from our time in Greece, but I was very happy to learn that it worked just as well in Barcelona. The app connects you with taxi’s that use the app and you basically order and prepay for the taxi. We had a late night at Paradiso and spotted a taxi on the street. They quoted us €38 for the ride back to our hotel. I popped open the FreeNow app and called us a taxi that came within 2 minutes for just €13.80!

Get an eSIM
If your phone plan does not have a good international plan, I highly recommend purchasing an eSIM prior to your departure. Holafly is one of the most reliable and popular eSIM companies in Barcelona. Orange eSIM Holidays is another popular eSIM company. If you plan on using the metro to get into Barcelona from the airport, it would be so much easier to just be able to turn on your phone and have service.

Book your tickets in advance
For popular tourist spots like La Sagrada Família, Park Güell, and Castle Batllo, you absolutely have to pre-book your tickets. When we arrived at Park Güell for our 4PM time slot, tickets were completely sold out.