We are planning to got to Madrid on June 12 take a tour on the 13th and return to Madrid
on the 22. Fly to Barcelona for a week and then return to Madrid for a week departing
Jul 6. The fares are running about $1000 just to Madrid! I need 3 so I need HELP!

For those who don't need a lot of baggage pounds and can leave from JFK, check out
being a courier. see www.aircourier.org
it costs about $60 to join, but I'm paying
only $250 R/T JFK-MAD.

I took a quick look at the Air courier website and I am still a little scared. Is this really above-board? I'm looking to travel to Spain in June 2001 and airfares are pretty high. I'd be interested in any other suggestions you might have.

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Unfortunately, I have a feeling this summer will break all the past few years price records as being high (gas/fuel costs as they are). What a shame. It's usually VERY hard to find anything less than $800 from NYC to Madrid (round trip) and a more realistic average to be around $1,000. For this reason, I'm pretty sure I'll never be in Spain during the summertime. I always go in the spring for no more than $600.

Saludos, MadridMan

This will be my first trip to Spain and I'm hoping to spend about one month. It's payback for completing my graduate work. Because of the pesky job-search thing, I was planning for June, but would May be better price-wise? Or even the fall or Christmas season of 2001? The heat isn't really the draw for me, I'm more into the cultural aspect of my trip. Any advice would be great.

The air courier thing is on the up-and-up. You just have to be available on shorter notice in many instances.

The past few summers I've been flying from LAX to London (non-stop) and purchasing a separate ticket London-Madrid-London. It has always been cheaper than flying LAX-Madrid and I've been able to visit friends in London too! I know it's not for everyone but I just thought I'd share.

I do what nevado does as well, but from Philadelphia. British Airways has better fares via London than USAir has direct. It's worth looking into specials to other European cities and then going on to Madrid.

Kiupui, you'll find better deals if you avoid the summer months. That may be worth it just to avoid hordes of tourists, also.

One of my pet peeves with the airlines is how they raise the fares if you stay over a month. I like to spend as much of the summer as possible in Spain. Grrrrrrrr....

So, after reading the previous responses, would it be better to fly in to London and then on to Madrid/Barcelona or fly to Paris and then take the train to Spain?

I flew from San Francisco to Paris, saw Paris for 4 days then took the night train to Madrid. It is 13 hours and about $105 dollars. Airfare to Paris was only about $530. I flew in the beginning of June. Also since I stayed longer than one month, they did charge me an additional 150 dollars, but if it allowed me to stay in Europe two months longer, it was well worth it. Take Care.....