We are flying to Barcelona for a vacation from the US. What can we expect when we hit customs. We have found that customs can vary from country to country. Thank you!!

If you have a USA passport, there shouldn't be any problem clearing customs at Barcelona-El Prat Airport. You simply claim your luggage after clearing passport control and head out through the "nothing to declare" door.

http://www.aena-aeropuertos.es/csee/...a/en/Home.html

Going back to the States will be a different story.

I don't recall any particular delays or jumping through hoops when we went. I don't remember any problems going back either. What happened to you, Robert2533?

Your only contact with "customs" will be if you have something to declare. Immigration/passport control is another story entirely and will depend on how many planes are arriving at the same time as yours.

DO you run into armed military and dogs?

Thanks for your posts!!!

You may mean Immigration(entry of people) versus Customs (entry of goods).

At Immigration you just need the answer the few basic questions (why are you entering Spain, how long will you stay and possibly what hotel will you be at).

As for customs, unless you are carrying contraband you just pick up your luggage and walk out through the green lane.

Spain no longer requires the immigration information, no more forms to fill out if flying in from the States and a US citizen. And no armed military and dogs (unless something is imminent), just the typical Guardia Civil (some with machine guns).

TDudette, I see you've never passed through Philadelphia, always understaffed, suspicious and paranoid. A world of difference then landing in Europe.

And a bit of a pain if you have to make a connecting flight (it's only marginally better when flying First Class).

Robert, we are flying back through Philly with just a 2 hour layover. Is this enough time?

is that a joke about the military and dogs? What difference does it make anyway, if you are just going to Barcelona for a vacation, whatever happens, will happen. I don't remember anything about it at all, which is the same thing in France, you basically don't encounter anything (unless you do have something to declare).

Hi JB,

> we are flying back through Philly with just a 2 hour layover. Is this enough time?

Our last time through PHL we had 90 min and no trouble.

The dogs were a joke. We had a bad experience with the Mexican military in Guadalajara several years ago at the airport. They were very threatening and we were just changing planes to Ixtapa.

Thanks Ira!!!!

"...walk out through the green lane......"

the only time I was stopped when attempting to do just that was this summer when I landed in Berlin
( from Paris)
A tall, blond officer stopped me and asked to see my passport.......for a split second
all the movies I have seen about Nazi Germany flashed through my mind.
He said "thank you " and I walked out .

We fly into Barcelona El Prat regularly and find it is one of the easiest and fastest airports to navigate. As a previous post said, the only thing that could slow you down is if you happen to arrive at the same time as many other flights.
It's also an extremely clean and modern airport.
If you can, sit on the right side of the plane - you'll get a great view as arriving planes skirt the coastline and you get a panoramic view across the city.

I don't remember
what side of the plane I was seated, but landing in Barcelona just as dawn
was breaking was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen
A huge moon above the city not yet awake
and the red horizon announcing the arrival
of the sun just beyond the sea.
Fantastic.

There are dogs in Boston. They sniff the luggage as it comes off the belts. Mostly they find the apple that people took to eat on the plane.