canuckuphereathome

Are they regulated? Are there specific colour ones we should use? Do they charge a flat rate or by distance? And finally, how much should we expect to pay from airport to centro Barcelona and from airport to Centro in Seville? Thanks.

m_kingdom2

25EUR from Barcelona airport, use the ones in the taxi queue.

Graziella5b

As in any city we have found honest and dishonest taxis in Spain. I am thinking Madrid. The last time we took a taxi from our hotel going to Atocha, the driver instead of turning around the block as he should have done, and could have done, was taking us in the opposite direction. When I asked him, where was he going he gave me such a wild idea that we asked him to stop right there gave him a couple of Euros ( which he did not deserve) and luckyly we got in a perfectly honest taxi who took us to Atocha . So what can I say, ?
I always find it useful to check in the map where you are going before getting into the taxi. That particular time I knew exactly what he was supposed to do because the day before we had taken a taxi going to the Prado and that was in the same general direction.

lincasanova

there are regulated supplements at the transport stations and airports.. they will be listed on the window in a sticker.
also night supplements.and in some towns, suitcase supplements.
each taxi has a number to iddnetify himself andhis license. if you have any problem.. call the police and make a report using those numbers. your hotel could assist you.

difficult to say sometimes if taxi is realy going out of his way with such heavy traffic in big cities.. sometimes they do take alternate routes they know are flowing better.

one taxi trick is to cover the taximeter with a suitcase so you cant see it ..

and try to give a bill closest to final price.
1) they do not have change for large bills and can cause a huge delay looking for change.. and 2) less chance of them (dishonest or distracted ones) to say you gave them a smaller bill than you did.

short trips are not expensive at all, but the longer journeys get expensive quickly.
the 13.50 euros 2 day tourist bus is the best bargain to save your feet from walking unnecessarily in madrid and barcelona. ( that price is for madrid)

zbjoon

You might run into both honest or dishonest ones.

I took a taxi from Malaga airport to the Malaga center on a Sunday night. The Taxi driver was asking for 25 Euros instead of 15! He wanted to charg me 10 Euros extra since it is Sunday!!! He got real nervous when one of the hotel personnel showed up and changed to 15 Euros which was the correct amount. Apparently, you can take their number and report them.

lauralamb

Unless you've got a lot of luggage, why don't you take the train from Barcelona airport to the city centre? It only costs a few euros. Similarly in Seville, it's easy to take the public bus into town. Public transport is cheap in Spain and excellent.

NEDSIRELAND

I try to avoid being paranoid about this subject: thinking every taxista is trying to 'rip us off' when most are honest working people trying to make a living. However, I know Madrid and Barcelona and Sevilla, and when I think he/she is going in the wrong direction, I ask. Once, in Sevilla we were on our way back to estación Santa Justa and the taxista took us on a route to avoid all the street closures associated with religious Processions. It was Good Friday (viernes de Semana Santa). It was a circuitous route and I still can't figure if we were 'ripped off.' But, hey: we got to the station in time for our train.

Have a little faith and trust in your fellow man.

josele

Yes, they are regulated. You should pay what the taximeter shows, but have in mind that there is an extra for any piece of luggage in the trunk. In any case, you can always ask for an invoice with every information you may need to place a claim. I'll try to get extra info.
Josele.

artista

RE: taxis.

Are we better off to have the hotel send a car for us at the airport or take a regular taxi.........we will have luggage.

m_kingdom2

An hotel organised car service will usually cost more money as it's a smarter car.

lincasanova

IMHO a regular taxi is just fine. you will need to wait in line with other passengers which seems endless but you finally get into one.

depending on amount of luggage you have, they will put some on top of car on rack tied down, or in front seat.

unless you would rather be in the hotel's private service car, i doubt you will get there too much faster. however, if you would feel more comfortable with their service which i assume is much more expensive.. then go for it.

we only did that in moscow...in europe i have never worried about it.

NEDSIRELAND

artista: If your hotel provides free airport transportation, as a few of them do (Best Western, Barajas, for example), go for it. They have a van that's quite ample. It's probably better to let them know in advance that you will be calling on their airport pickup service.