Cheap flights to
Spain

As is the case with much of the rest of Western Europe, the main high season for tourism in Spain is the summer (June through August), especially in any city near the beaches. The southern and central parts of the country may be a little less crowded in July and August, but that’s partly due to the fact that it can get extremely hot—so keep that in mind if you’re planning a trip with lots of outdoor activities.

There are a few summer events in Spain that draw big crowds, including the city-wide food fight known as “La Tomatina” in August (Buñol) and the Running of the Bulls in July (Pamplona).

Spain is predominantly Catholic, so major Catholic holidays can also mean celebrations (as well as some businesses being closed). In the summer, Assumption Day is on August 15 every year. Other big religious holidays that create mini-high seasons outside the summer months are Christmas, Carnival (just before Lent), Semana Santa (Holy Week), and Easter.

Spain’s shoulder seasons (spring and fall) are arguably the best times to visit since you’ll most likely still have pleasant weather, crowds won’t be as big, and prices will be lower than in the summer high season. Spring in Spain, roughly March-May, does contain the moving targets that are Lent, Holy Week, and Easter, so there may be a little spike of high season around those holidays. In the fall, roughly September-October, you may still find summer temperatures (particularly in southern Spain), but most of the crowds will have died down.

Spain has more than 40 passenger airports, six of which serve more than five million passengers annually. The biggest airport in terms of passenger traffic is in Madrid (MAD), followed by Barcelona (BCN), Palma De Mallorca (PMI), Málaga (AGP), Gran Canaria (LPA), and Alicante (ALC).

There are some airports in Spain that fall below the five million passenger mark for which we regularly find cheap fares, however, including Valencia (VLC) and Sevilla (SVQ), so it never hurts to check out fares to smaller airports around the country if your vacation plans don’t include the cities with the biggest and busiest airports. Just note that some of those fare deals will be on connecting flights rather than nonstop.

From the United States, the easiest cities to get to are Madrid and Barcelona, simply because they’re the busiest international gateways to Spain. There are dozens more airports around the country that can be easily reached from the US, and several of those are airports for which we routinely find good deals on airfare—although most itineraries will require a layover along the way.

• Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas (MAD) is the busiest airport in Spain, as well as one of the biggest in Europe by sheer size. It’s a hub for Iberia, Air Europa, Plus Ultra Líneas Aéreas, Wamos Air, and World2Fly, as well as a focus city for Ryanair and Iberojet. In total, there are 77 airlines serving Madrid-Barajas and 12 US airports with nonstop flights into the Spanish capital.
• Barcelona-El Prat Josep Tarradellas (BCN) is Spain’s second-busiest airport and a hub for Iberia, Vueling (which operates the majority of the flights in and out of Barcelona), Level, and Air Nostrum. It’s a focus city for easyJet and Ryanair, with 69 other airlines also serving Barcelona-El Prat. There are 11 US airports with direct flights to Barcelona.
• Málaga-Costa Del Sol (AGP) is a focus city for easyJet, Ryanair, Vueling, and Norwegian Air Shuttle, with an additional 43 airlines serving the city. Ryanair has the lion’s share of flights. There is only one US airport with nonstop flights to Málaga, and these are only seasonal (May-September): Newark Liberty (EWR).
• Palma De Mallorca (PMI) on the island of Mallorca is a focus city for several European low-cost carriers: easyJet Europe, Ryanair, Vueling, Jet2.com, Air Europa, and Eurowings Europe. In addition, there are 40 other airlines serving the island. Like Málaga, the only direct flights from the US depart from Newark (EWR) and are only available from May to September.

Spain’s rules for bringing a pet into the country vary based on the kind of animal it is. Dogs, cats, and ferrets coming from the United States, for example, must be microchipped and up to date on their rabies vaccinations. You must also get a “non-commercial” health certificate (translated into Spanish if necessary) from an accredited veterinarian and get that certificate endorsed by a USDA Endorsement Office. There’s also a specific list of airports in Spain where you can arrive in order to have your pet’s paperwork processed.

You can get more information about bringing a pet into Spain on the USDA website or the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture’s website—and be sure to check with your airline, too, because they’ll have their own rules about flying with pets.

Spain certainly isn’t as big as the United States, but flight times from the US to Spain can be very different depending not just on where you’re flying from but also on where you’re flying to. Madrid is almost in the center of the country (not to mention the biggest and busiest Spanish airport), so we’ll use that as the destination. Nonstop flights from the East Coast range from 7-9 hours. From the midwest and south, it’s about 8-10 hours. And from the West Coast, it’s about 11-12 hours.