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Barcelona to Girona/Gerona by train
How to travel by train from Barcelona to Girona
In Girona the high speed and regular trains share the same station, so there is a straightforward choice to be made between either of the two types of train services.
Though most people take the regular trains, because they are the cheaper option, particularly when booking last minute at the station.
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Routes
Option 1: taking the regular trains
Journey Summary
1hr 19min - 1hr 42min
Daily
Travel Information
Final Destination (MD trains): Port Bou Figueres
Final Destination (Regional Express trains): Cerbere or Figueres or Girona
At Sants station these trains usually depart from vias (tracks/platforms) 13 and 14.
In Barcelona these trains also call at Passeig de Gracia station after they depart from Sants station.
Passeig de Gracia station is closer to the city centre than Sants station, but at busy times you can't guarantee finding a seat if you board at Passeig de Gracia.
MD Trains:
Mon-Thurs = 13 x trains per day
Friday = 14 x trains
Saturday = 8 x trains
Sunday = 9 x trains
Regional Express trains:
Mon-Fri = 7 x trains per day
Saturday = 6 x trains
Sunday = 5 x trains
Tickets
Book early and save: No
Tickets will cost the same price if purchased at the same station immediately before departure.
In contrast to the high speed trains, tickets for these regular trains between Barcelona and Girona cannot be booked online.
Journeys by MD trains can usually be booked online, but on this route, the MD trains have untypical terms and conditions, including the fact that on this route the MD trains can't be reserved.
If you want to book tickets last minute at the station, then these trains will be much cheaper than the high speed trains.
However, if you can book ahead the cheapest high speed trains won't be much more expensive - and they're more than twice as fast!
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| * |
On this journey
Journey Features
Good to Know
If you don't want to take a high speed train between Barcelona and Girona then what's not obvious is that there are two regular train services on this route.
The MD trains are more frequent and faster (they make fewer station calls than the Regional Express trains), but rarely for a Spanish rail route, there is an either a MD train OR a slower Regional Express train departing in each hour.
So this is a journey when you can just turn up a station, buy a ticket and jump on the train.
If the next train to leave doesn't happen to be a MD train, it's not worth hanging back, you'll get to Girona quicker if you take the next train regardless.
The MD trains DON'T have to be reserved on this route.
Option 2: taking the high speed trains
Journey Summary
38 min
Daily
Travel Information
Final Destination: Figureres or Paris or Lyon or Marseille or Toulouse
A variety of trains is used on this route - the trains heading to Paris will be TGV trains.
Aim to be at Barcelona Sants a minimum of 20 mins before departure, in order to allow time to pass through the security checks if you want to take these AVE trains.
Factor this in when comparing the journey time with the regular trains.
In Girona, the high speed trains share the station with the regular trains, though they arrive at the lower level part of the station, pictured at the top of the page.
Sunday - Friday = 12-13 x trains per day
Saturday = 9-10 x trains per day
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date - depending on the time of year.
The online booking window can be shorter between late July and early October.
The ticketing is unconventional if you want to take the high speed trains from Barcelona to Girona.
Only THESE high speed trains can be booked online - so the slower regular trains aren't listed on the Trainline website
Also if you look up these journeys on Renfe, the cheapest high speed train option will be choosing the ' Avant' trains.
Either Avant trains are attached to the AVE trains on this route, OR as the 2nd/Turista class only Avant trains are used elsewhere in Spain, on shorter high speed journeys such as this, Renfe is classifying this as an 'Avant' journey.
Partially because there is little point in booking 1st/Preferente class tickets for such a short journey.
Despite this being such a short train ride, you're more likely to be able to buy the cheapest tickets if you target the less popular trains, rather than booking ahead.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Trainline | * | |
| Renfe | * |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
You can usually save money when booking in advance, and will definitely save money when booking tickets last minute at the station, if you take the alternative service of regular trains from Barcelona to Girona.
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