Planning a family trip to Madrid is an exciting prospect. The Spanish capital is full of all kinds of things that a family would love to experience. Before you get to Madrid, though, you need to book the flights. And that’s where it can get a bit difficult. With so many options for airlines, routes, and more, what do you choose? Our guide for the best tips for booking flights to Madrid for a family provides you with the info and tips to make purchasing your flight easy while saving you time and money in the process.
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MAKE SURE TO BOOK WAY IN ADVANCE
Getting a good jump on purchasing your tickets is a good way to secure an amazing deal. If you’re planning on visiting Madrid, start looking for flights up to 10 months in advance. This way you can track prices, see what looks reasonable, and be able to spot a deal when it shows up.
Also, some airlines will offer discounts right when the flight is released. Though it may be tempting to wait it out and see if you can get a last-minute deal, it’s usually better to be early. So when you see a deal that you like, make sure that you book it right away!
SEARCH WITH COMPARISON SITES
When you are looking for a deal on your flight to Madrid, use comparison sites to find the best fit for your family. Booking.com is a great place to start. You’ll be able to compare the prices of multiple sites at once. This allows you to find the best price and itinerary for your trip. You can also sort by the arrival and departure time and of course by price.
BE FLEXIBLE WITH YOUR TRAVEL DATES
When you’re traveling with a family with kids, you can be a bit limited with the dates that are available for you to travel. Most look for breaks from school to take advantage of. This is why summer is one of the most popular times for families to travel. Of course with a larger demand comes larger prices. But there is a way to avoid that.
Our family booked our trip to Madrid for June. This meant that we could enjoy the benefits of traveling in the summer without a lot of the negatives. We were able to enjoy Madrid without overwhelming crowds, extreme heat, or excessive prices.
Besides traveling in June, when searching for your flight change your travel dates by a couple of days. Leaving just a few days earlier or later can save you a lot of money. Having an itinerary in place can help you with scheduling dates and days.
TRACK PRICES WITH PRICE ALERTS
Even though Madrid is a popular European destination, there will be deals to be had. You don’t want to miss out on them.
A good way to make sure that this doesn’t happen is by using Google Flights during your search. As you put in your destination information select the option to track the flight and then have the alert sent to you via email. This way, when the price changes you’ll get an email. You can track several destinations and dates at the same time.
While you have the alert set up, you can also go in and check flights periodically because sometimes the best deals come and go before you even see your alert.
INCLUDE MORE AIRPORTS IN YOUR SEARCH
Don’t confine your search to just your home airport. When searching for flights, include other airports that may be a couple of hours away. Unless you live in or near a major city you may not be getting the best price at your default option.
Our family lives in Cleveland, but we fly out of Toronto when we go to Europe. On our trip to Madrid, we saved over $3,000 by flying out of Toronto. You may find that even if you have to travel a bit of a distance and stay the night, you will still come out ahead.
FLY INTO LONDON OR LISBON
Yes, your ultimate destination is Madrid, but you have several ways to get there. London is a major flight hub with lots of flight options. With more options, there are more deals to be had.
If, for instance, you find an amazing deal on a flight to London, you can book that and then worry about getting to Madrid later. There are plenty of budget carriers that will provide a cheap flight from London to Madrid.
Lisbon is another great option for the same reason. Flights into Lisbon are often cheap because of the shorter distance across the Atlantic Ocean. From Lisbon, you then book a budget carrier to get you to Madrid.
This worked perfectly for us on our last trip to Portugal and Spain. We flew into Lisbon with Air Transat, then booked a one-way flight with Air Europa to get to Madrid.
CHECK THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE AIRLINE
Comparison sites are excellent for finding a great deal, but they don’t always have the best deal available. That’s often because the airline is offering the best deal.
To find that, you’ll have to go to the airline directly and check for discounts and sales. You may be surprised to find a deal that wasn’t available elsewhere
USE LOYALTY PROGRAMS
Once you have found an airline that you like either by use or research, why not sign up for their loyalty or rewards program? You can then receive points or other benefits from flying with the airline resulting in great discounts or eventually maybe even a free flight!
Credit card companies also offer great programs for travelers. American Express, Chase, and Capital One are some of the more prominent ones that have cards that offer amazing benefits to travelers.
VERIFY THE PASSPORT AND VISA REQUIREMENTS
One of the most important things to check as you’re making your flight arrangements is the passport and visa requirements. United States citizens can visit Spain for up to 90 days without a visa and with a passport that is valid for up to three months past their planned departure. If you are from another country, you can easily check the requirements here.
ENJOY YOUR FLIGHT TO MADRID
Planning a trip to Madrid doesn’t need to be a complex process. Just follow the tips in our guide and you can plan your flight to Madrid stress-free. Once you have the flight booked, you’ll then have to decide what to do and what to bring. Check out this practical family itinerary for a trip to Madrid, this excellent travel checklist for your family as well as this essential guide on the best areas to stay in Madrid. Safe travels!
