Spain’s low cost airline Air Madrid will start flights to Buenos Aires from the 5th March. There will initially be 2 flights on the Airbus A330-200, with the cheapest tickets going for US$399 and Club Class costing US$1569.

I get quite a few emails from visitors to this site asking about travel wihtin Spain – the best, the quickest and the cheapest ways to get around. Most people think about using the bus or train but flight travel can also be cheap, too. A few days ago I was looking for flights to Tenerife from Madrid. Having loooked at Viajar.com and Iberia, I thought I’d check out Spanair and found that they offered the cheapest prices and best timetable. Though you wouldn’t go to Tenerife by bus or train, you will find that Spanair offer some competitive prices within mainland Spain (and no, I’m not getting any Euros for plugging them!).

From today, November 1st, a new travel pass will be issued in Madrid which will offer tourists the chance to sample some of the surrounding areas of Madrid. Tourists will have the option of buying 1, 2, 3, 5 or 7 day passes for travel within central Madrid and further afield. The towns of Aranjuez, El Escorial, Alcalá de Henares, and even the cities of Guadalajara and Toledo can be visited using this pass. The cost starts from 3.5 Euros for a central Madrid day pass to 36.70 Euros for a week pass. Tickets will only be available from these stations to begin: Barajas Airport, Méndez Álvaro, Chamartín and Atocha-Renfe, though it will be extended to include the whole network in the future. It will also be possible to purchase it at numerous tobacconists and news-stands; in tourist areas and through the Internet. More information can be found on Metro Madrid (English).

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easyJet will soon be operating flights between Bristol and Madrid, which is fantastic news for those living in the South West of England and Wales, and who usually have to travel to the London airports or Manchester to get to Madrid. The first flights will take off on the 31st October and it looks like you can book them online now. On the same day easyJet will also start fights from Berlin and Paris Orly to Madrid Barajas.

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One alternative way of seeing Madrid, is by taking the cable car. From Madrid’s Pintor Rosales, in the Parque del Oeste, you will be able to catch the cable car (teleférico in Spanish) out to Madrid’s huge Casa de Campo, a massive park which goes on for kilometres, stretching out towards the east of the city. From the cable car, you will be able to see the Royal Palace, the famous ‘Ermita de San Antonio de la Florida‘, which Goya painted the ceilings for, the Egyptian Temple of Debod, the Air Ministry, the Almudena Cathedral and the church of San Francisco el Grande. Prices are around 3-4 Euros for a round trip.

Good tip: use map on the Metro station to find out how to get to the Teleférico.

Metro: Moncloa or Argüelles
Address: Paseo de Pintor Rosales

Getting around many of the main attractions in Madrid can be done quite easily on foot; for longer distances, or in hot weather, there’s always the Metro. Metro Madrid has undergone extensive development over the last 10-15 years and is now one of the finest in Europe. It is also one of the cheapest – single journeys cost around 1 Euro and a 10-ticket pass costs 5.20 Euros. The latter offers great value and also lets you use the bus services, too. The Metro is open from 6 a.m until 2 a.m.

Tickets can be bought from the Metro stations or from Tobacconists. If you’re coming from the airport, then you can take the Metro to almost the centre of Madrid. The Metro Madrid web site offers metro maps, street maps and timetables, amonsgt other things.

TIP You will find that pickpockets (often operating in groups of 3) do operate on the Metro, especially in the Puerta del Sol and Atocha area. Always be wary of people who have a coat slung over their arms or who tuck newspapers up in such a way to conceal stolen wallets. My advice is to keep your bags and wallets safe and make sure you don’t get into situations where you’re being pushed.

The companies that fly to Madrid, from the UK, can be split into the standard larger carriers like British Airways and the ‘no frills’ airlines, like Easy Jet. Let’s take a look at them:
British Airways and Iberia are the ones I usually fly with; the latter you need to book well in advance to get reasonable prices.
British Midland – I flew with them this summer but bought the ticket through Opodo, which worked out cheaper. Opodo is actually owned by the big European airlines.

I often find that flight bookers like Travelocity or Expedia offer better prices than the airlines themselves.

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