I want to go to Madrid at the end of May -- over memorial day -- for about 10 days and I cannot find a flight from DC to Madrid that is less than $800! I've been to Madrid about 10 times in the last year and a half and I've never paid more than $500. But then again, I've never been in summer. So my question is...will the prices go down or is this how it is in summer? Also, if you've got any recommendations for websites/travel services that offer cheap tickets I would appreciate it. I've tried the main ones - orbitz, travelocity, cheaptickets, expedia, 1800flyeurope....

I have the same problem. I want to go in July but the fares are outstanding!
But typical to be higher in the summer.....I usually pay $350-$550 from JFK but I usually go fall & winter.
Go in september fares drop bigtime!

I just booked a direct flight from Chicago to Madrid, May 4 - 11, on Iberia.com for $400+tax.

I don't know if they fly to your city, but a number of cities are on sale.

http://www.iberia.com/OneToOne/v3/flightOffer.do

OK, sorry, don't think that link works... if you go to the Iberia.com USA homepage, there will be a big link to their promotional offers.

The link worked for me but apparently the end of May is very different from the beginning -- $1400. Wow!! Thanks for the suggestion though.

llewilli, if you can get a flight for $800, I think you should grab it! The prices of flights will only go higher for the summer, especially once we're into June. The airlines sell their cheapest tickets first, and what's left is more expensive. They are also adding fuel surcharges as the price of oil continues to rise. I can't imagine that getting better in the near future. The one thing you might want to do is look into a cheap flight to one of the major European hubs (like London, Paris, Frankfurt) and then use one of the cheap European airlines (like Ryanair) to go to Spain. Don't be surprised, however, if the total cost is still over $800, once you add in things like transportation to another, smaller airport, etc. The budget airlines also sell their cheapest tickets first, and then the fares are higher the closer you get to the date of travel. I think it will be very difficult for anyone to get from the US to Spain for under $1000 round trip this summer, unless they were able to get their tickets on sale a while back.

Hi llewilli,also keep in mind that any travel done anywhere around Memorial Day weekend is going to be more expensive thereby another reason for a price increase in the fares to Madrid.The other bad news is that after this holiday, summer starts,school is out etc,and the prices get higher as the demand for travel exceeds the supply.The fares don't get cheaper until after Labor Day weekend.Unfortunately,if you are planning to travel to Madrid during that time frame be ready to pay higher fares. JoeSambuca came up with a great idea.That is to wait until September.There are many reasons to do this.First,you get cheaper flights to Madrid.Second,the weather in Madrid during September is near perfect(it gets very hot there in July and August and sometimes even in June).Also in the summer months a lot of madrilenos head for the coast to escape the heat and many businesses close for at least a couple of weeks,so Madrid becames somewhat of a ghost town.In September every thing gets back to normal.

Try this site: ITA
You do have to create a free account, but it's quick and easy. I never have been spammed by them, and it's very easy to use. It is NOT a booking site, so you do have to take the info back to the airline site (or travel agent)to book the ticket. It's gives you the specific flight numbers and class codes to book in to get the rate.

I find that I get pretty good deals, and a lot of options, very flexible search choices. I like it because it gives me ALL my options at once. By putting in a month long seach to find out when there were the best prices (for a 6-8 day stay crossing over Memorial Day)here is what came back:
Departing either Tues the 23 or Wed the 24th from Dulles, you can get a fare (inclusive of all taxes and fees!) of $606 RT on Lufthansa. If you left of Sunday the 22nd it's , $596 on Lufthansa, or the best of all, but doesn't sound like it fits your needs is departing on Tuesday the 31st, $573 on Air Europa.

Thanks everyone. Great advice.