Moses2013

Hi,

A friend of mine has asked me how the commute would be from Blanes to Barcelona (near Sant Marti) with car. I have no idea to be honest and he would try it beforehand, but maybe someone has done this commute and it's just to get an idea. On Google maps it's around 80 km, if he'd take the AP-7. Is an hour realistic if he left Blanes around 6:45 am, or would traffic be too bad? Thanks for your answers.

cricketman

An hour sounds about right

I have done that journey but not during rush hour. However, rush hour in Barcelona isnt usually too bad and anyway, before 8am isnt rush hour, normally it starts at around 8am

Moses2013

Thanks cm. I suppose it's still early enough to avoid traffic, but maybe the return journey would be the problem if he leaves around 5 pm.

cricketman

You never know until you try it out, but very few people leave work at 5pm in Spain so I dont think it will busier than any other time of day

MarkusM

I live in Blanes and drive into Barcelona quite often. If you don't mind tolls, straight down the C-32 then C-31 through Badalona is your best bet. Generally I leave myself an hour and a half to do it, but it's usually only around 50 minutes on most days. Rush hour traffic isn't usually bad at all - it's usually only the bottom bit of the C-31 as it comes into Barcelona itself (adds about 5 - 10 minutes).

Generally I've seen it busier coming out of Barcelona between 5 and 7pm .. but it's very rarely at a standstill.

It's worth doing the toll road - the alternative route along the N-11 get's very clogged. Leave yourself 2 hours at least if you're going that way. Also there's a direct train, but it takes about one and a half hours to get from Blanes to the city. Nice views though as it runs alongside the beach for the most part

Moses2013

Thanks MarkusM. It's something I would maybe consider doing in a few years time too, should we ever move permanently. We have a place in Lloret Blau, so would be roughly the same. Girona would be easier, but the work I could do is mostly in Barcelona.