Hi everyone. I'm traveling to Spain in March and a couple of friends may be able to come along if they can find cheap tickets (anywhere from $380-$480). We can't seem to find flights that will allow for travel from March 13-23, all of the cheapest flights seem to cut off at March 20th! Does anyone know of any other search engines to try besides Expedia or Travelocity? Do airlines usually open up more flexible reduced fares closer to flight dates (February for travel in March for example)? Any helpful suggestions you can give would be greatly appreciated!

Senkare,

Good luck with finding tickets in your price range. Let me give you some hope. We flew from San Francisco to Madrid in December (!!) for $425. I've had good luck with Orbitz, where we bought these tickets. Plus, our Delta flight from New York to Madrid was off to Barcelona after we left the plane at Barajas. As for ticket prices coming down, yes, many prices tend to fall as the dates come closer and there are still seats to sell.

PS: There are some good threads in this Transportation section to read, especially the one on BestFares.com and TravelSelect.com. Good luck!!!

senkare,

All you have to do is ask

I have a special application that searches all of the major travel sites to find the lowest prices. Below you will find the cheapest travel options (all prices include taxes).

SFO to BCN (March 13-March 23) $680.50

However, if you travel on a Tuesday or Thursday, the prices go down considerable.
Below you will find some alternate dates that will save you more money if you are flexible.

SFO to BCN (March 12-March 21) $561.42

Keep reading, because I found an even better deal for you through BestFares.com (again, they have come through!) However, I couldn't find a flight to Barcelona, only to Madrid, but the price is so good, I figured I should mention it

Here's the deal: if you complete your travel by March 20, 2002, you can get a roundtrip fare from San Francisco to Madrid, you must fly in and out on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, and you must stay over a Saturday night. There is also a processing fee and fuel surcharge not included in the price.
The fare is only $388 per ticket!

And as an added bonus, they give you enough extra airmiles for a free ticket when you return.

You have to join BestFares.com before you can purchase these fares. The price is only $60, so you can see it is well worth the cost. If you do join, please tell us if you like the service.

Hope this helps.

Ben
pbchamp@intercom.net

To everyone else: That offer is good out of 55 US cities to Madrid, if you complete travel before March $20. Below are the roundtrip prices to Madrid for the listed cities.

$308rt or less-- Boston, Washington (DC), Hartford, Providence, New York City, Newark, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Bangor (ME), Portland (ME), Burlington (VT), Manchester (NH), Albany, Buffalo, Rochester (NY), Syracuse, Erie, Harrisburg, State College, Allentown, Newburgh, White Plains, Wilkes Barre/Scranton, Atlantic City, Charleston (WV)

$368rt or less-- Charlotte, Cleveland, Columbus (OH), Cincinnati, Dallas, Houston, Fort Lauderdale, New Orleans, Memphis, Orlando, Tampa, Raleigh, Atlanta, Greensboro, Norfolk, Richmond, Charleston (SC), Columbia (SC), Myrtle Beach, Savannah, Jacksonville, Fort Myers, West Palm Beach, Miami, Key West, Pensacola, Tallahassee, Panama City, Fort Walton Beach, Mobile, Montgomery, Nashville, Birmingham, Knoxville, Greenville/Spartanburg, Shreveport, Little Rock, Akron, Toledo, Dayton, Saginaw, Lansing, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Louisville, Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, South Bend, Madison and Cedar Rapids

$388rt or less-- Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County, San Francosco, Phoenix and Las Vegas

[ 01-22-2002: Message edited by: zero262quick ]

zereo262quick, You're killin' me, man! :o I can't leave UNTIL March 22nd! ARGH! (you won't believe my route in order to use my #$%&@ frequent flier miles: Columbus (OH), Cincinnati, San Francisco, Paris, Madrid)

Those ARE GREAT FARES you've quoted above. I signed up for the www.Orbitz.com newsletter (It's GREAT-just got one) and they list some GREAT fares from US cities to Madrid and BCN, but all travel must be completed by that dreaded date of March 20th.

Saludos, MadridMan

MM,

You are in quite some situation. On the BestFares website, they have specials until March 20, then again from April on. I guess you're stuck in "no mans land" there. The April to August special out of Columbus is $599 roundtrip.

Well, I guess that's the price you pay for going to Spain in the summer and not winter

Ben
pbchamp@intercom.net

Thanks JJP and zero262quick for all the helpful information!! I'm going to forward this information on to my friends and see what they think. The 3/20 deadline is a problem for our travel plans but maybe something will come up that will allow for low fares after March 20th. My girlfriend and I are already booked for 3/9 to 3/24, so we're trying to find a flight that will give all four of us the most overlapping time in Spain.

MM - I followed the link from your site to the Hotel Lopez site. It looks like a nice and affordable place to stay in Madrid!! The location sounds great too!

Thanks again you all for all of your help!