I'll be arriving on a flight from LAX (with a transfer in Paris) to Barcelona around 5:30 pm. From the airport I plan to take a train out of Estacio de Sants to Girona.

How long does it generally take to clear customs and get baggage at the BCN airport?

What would be the best means of getting to Estacio de Sants?

I've taken the Aero Bus service before to Placa de Catalunya but am unsure if it stops at Estacio de Sants? Does the Barcelona commuter rail go from the airport to Estacio de Sants? If so, would it mean negotiating up stairs and be a long distance walk? I'll have a large suitcase and carry on in addition to being jetlagged so I won't be in the mood to deal with stairs and a 50 pound suitcase!

If all else fails and I take a taxi, how much could I expect to pay for fare?

I'm also considering taking a bus to Girona out of Estacio del Nord. It appears the best option in my situation if I take the bus to Girona would be to take a taxi. Is this correct? Or is it possible to take the Aero Bus or commuter rail to this station also?

Thanks in advance for your help.

You go through passport control at CDG (entry point for Schengen). Baggage claim maybe 30 min after landing, customs - none unless stopped for spot-check.
Take the commuter train direct to Sants. There is a pedestrian link bridge between terminals A and B which connects directly to the airport station. Escalators and travelators.
Taxi to Sants would be about 20-25 euro.
Either taxi or commuter train/metro L1 to Arc de Triomf (next to bus station).

Cathy,
I take it you're asking about getting from the airport to Sants station in Barcelona, not Paris.

There are two main train stations in Barcelona (Estació de Sants and Estació de França) and two main bus stations (Estació de Sants and Estació de Nord). These are well connected by metro and bus as well as the local train service that runs through Passeig de Gràcia Station and Placa de Catalunya Station.

Thank you for the responses. It seems like Estacio de Sants is easier to reach from the BCN airport and the connections are better than bus to Girona in any case.

I'm also thinking it would be alot better taking the rail from the airport to the train station due to traffic on a Friday around 6pm!

I don't know what the best way of getting to Sants is, but I just took the train a few days ago. There's a new line 10 that connects the airport with Barcelona, and it stops at Sants and also at Passeig de Garcia. The train takes about 25 minutes and I think it runs every 20 or 30 minutes (probably the latter).

Cost I think is 2.50 euros.

111op-
I actually found a schedule on the renfe site for line 10 yesterday.

When you arrive in Barcelona Sants are there long lines for purchasing tickets? The train to Girona is regional and I can't purchase on tiknet. As far as I know, Barcelona doesn't have a renfe booth at airport like in Madrid. This is so convenient when coming into Bajaras!

There is a train at 6:55 pm and another at 7:25 pm - I'd like to get on one of these if possible.

if you have lots of luggage it wont be fun hauling it from pl. catalunya to estacio nord. get the train to sants, get a girona ticket from the machine (im pretty sure) and youre set.

There's a manned booth at the Barcelona airport where you can buy a train ticket for Sants. I don't know if you can buy a ticket for Girona -- but I don't see why not. Certainly it doesn't hurt to try. Plus there're machines at the airport too, and it'd be hard to believe that you must wait until you arrive in Sants to buy a ticket for Girona.

I remember seeing some long lines at Sants, so I went to the info booth and asked which machine I could use to a ticket for the airport. That worked out quickly.

It's a few years ago now, but the airport station ticket office and vending machine only sold ticket for the commuter rail around Barcelona, not regional train to Girona.
You have to up on the escalator from the platform at Sants and buy your Girona ticket from the ticket office on the main concourse.

Wow, that's inefficient! All I tried to do was to buy a ticket for Sants.

Thanks to everyone - great information. I was afraid I'd have to wait in line at Sants to buy the Girona ticket...oh well. I'll check out the machines just in case. Sounds like this whole process will be relatively simple though. If I had to take a taxi it would cost more money and take more time so I guess I can live with having to wait in line for the Girona ticket at Estacio de Sants!

No, I don't think you will have any problem to buy it at the station..there is one train every 30 minutes...in case you lose one, you can hop on the next