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transport Granada - Malaga and from Balcelona Airport to city

transport Granada - Malaga and from Balcelona Airport to city

Old Sep 28th, 2013, 11:35 AM
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transport Granada - Malaga and from Balcelona Airport to city

Hi

We have been trying to book a bus from Granada to the Malaga airport. The alsa.es site is giving us a hard time. We can get as far as our info and then say "didn't select a product" or "problem with bank. Is their something we are missing? Is there another way to book bus tickets ? We are in the States. Is there a contact here we can communicate with?

Also when flying into Barcelona we plan on taking the Aerobus to Plaza Catalunia. Do we buy tickets on the bus? Before hand ? Do we need exact Euro change?

Thanks for your help..
nicky54 is offline  
Old Sep 29th, 2013, 05:27 AM
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You can buy the tickets for the Aerobus from vending machines at the airport's bus stops - but with credit cards only, and I assume that they will only take chip+PIN cards.
Otherwise you can buy from the driver with cash only. You don't need to have the exact amount, but you should also not expect him or her to be able to handle a €100 bill. So you should have smaller bills available.
If "we" is more than 2 people, you may also consider to take a taxi. The bus is 6pP while the cab should not be much more than 25 to a central BCN location (excl. surcharges for lugagge).
Cowboy1968 is offline  
Old Sep 29th, 2013, 08:43 AM
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The ALSA website will not accept non-Spanish bank cards, but you can pay via PayPal, if you have an account.
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Old Sep 29th, 2013, 06:28 PM
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Thanks for the info..

Cowboy 1968... what is "chip + pin cards" ? Different than a regular credit card..

If I can't set up a pay pal is there another way to make a reservation for a bus once I am in Spain?

Thanks alot...
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Old Oct 3rd, 2013, 07:55 PM
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Setting up a PayPal account shouldn't be any problem. If you're not successful, then you can book you tickets at most travel agencies.
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Old Oct 3rd, 2013, 10:14 PM
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The chip-and-pin cards don't require a signature or a magnetic strip - a PIN is encoded on the card itself in a chip, and when you punch in your PIN the machine compares what you punch in with what's encoded, so no call is made by merchants or their machines to the issuing bank as happens when you insert a card in the US into a swipe machine.

The US is way behind with this technology, just now you can get some cards with a chip but they mostly are not the real deal that has been in use overseas for years now.

Google "chip-and-pin" and read up on it, it's a little understood topic that comes up time and time again - some will say their "old-style" card worked just fine, others were stranded in awkward situations where using cash was not an option...
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Old Oct 4th, 2013, 11:42 AM
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Nicky,

Not sure if this is an option for you, but have you thought about taking the train (Renfe) from Granada to Malaga? At the Malaga train station (which is fabulous, btw; I was just there last week...), you can then catch the local train four stops to the Malaga airport.
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Old Oct 4th, 2013, 12:27 PM
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"The US is way behind with this technology, just now you can get some cards with a chip but they mostly are not the real deal that has been in use overseas for years now."

The chip-and-pin card has been required by card issuers in Europe in response to rampant data theft by Europeans. Don't be so congratulatory about a technology necessitated by bad actions.
BigRuss is offline  
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