Carter2010

Hi! My husband and I will arrive at Barcelona from Australia on a Singapore Airlines flight at 9:05 on a Wednesday . We need to travel to Madrid, so thought it would be better to go by plane since we are already at the airport. My question is how much time should we allow at the airport. There are Iberia flights at 11:05 , 11:40, 12:20 or Air Europa at 12:20, then not till 14:45. We rang Iberia airlines and they said our bags can be booked through to Madrid from Sydney.
Any help with this would we much appreciated.

lincasanova

if all is on the same ticket, then you will be protected should your fight arrive late in Barcelona. However, if they are two separate tickets, it is impossible to say how much time .. all going well I would leave three to four hours.

So, going with Iberia to have the opportunity to check luggage all the way through, the 12.20 seems all right, all going well as planned, of course.

Carter2010

Unfortunately we have already bought the Singapore airlines ticket to Barcelona and need to purchase a separate ticket for the trip to Madrid. Thanks for your advise.

lincasanova

I would check with Singapore airlines and ask them what their policy is. Perhaps since it is a partner airline they do have some late arrival/missed flight agreement and you would be reimbursed. I have no idea. I have always understood it is NOT to be assumed any airline will reimburse you for a missed flight unless on the same ticket, in which case you are put on the next available flight.

However, your trip insurance may cover this type of late arrival/additional expense. Look into it.

All said, a friend of mine flies Singapore airlines frequently and their customer service has always seemed excellent and telephone queries have been attended to and changes made in a reasonable manner. Maybe S. A. can help you out here and do an add-on to your present route for a small change fee?

Carter2010

Thanks again lincasanova. Booking through Singapore airlines all the way through to Madrid is too expensive. (Their least expensive option has arrival at Barcelona at 9:05 and then catching a plane to Madrid at 16:00 - what a waste of a day sitting at the airport after a long flight already)
...So we are rethinking our plans as we have a couple of spare days before our tour starts from Madrid. It might be best if we have an overnight in Barcelona somewhere near the train station and catch the train to Madrid the next day.
Any suggestions ??

lincasanova

Anywhere in Barcelona is fine. I like the Eixample area. Check out other posts here for accommodations. I tend to go budget and know the city well when I can't stay with my good friends there. The train station is very accessible by bus and metro from anywhere. I do not like the Ramblas area, though.

try www.trivago.com or any other search site. Sometimes residential areas north of plaza cataluña can be as pleasant and more relaxed than the ones closer to all the action. But Sarriá would be too far for a few days.For just a one nighter I would stay close to Plaza cataluña/Example or Barrio Gótico/Born.

You may be able to get a good webfare booking your tickets early through www.renfe.es

All said, there are a few 4* hotels within walking distance of the station if you prefer that. To get into Barcelona I prefer the bus that leaves from out front of the terminals since you don't have to walk all the way to the metro station and end up at Sants. With the bus you can get off at Plaza Cataluña and then taxi from there.

The top floor café in Corte Inglés at Plaza Cataluña has a great view if you are shopping there. Their basement supermarket is well stocked, and this is true across the country.

danon

Buy the train tickets as soon as possible to get a lower ( web) fare..they are costly.
as lin said, the train station is a short metro (taxi) ride from many parts of Eixample .

bardo1

An overnight or two in Barcelona is a good change of plan.

I agree w/ above - stay where YOU want to be in Barcelona. Getting to the train station will be simple and quick from many parts of the city. There is no compelling reason to stay near the train station, pick your ideal location.

cruiseluv

Agree that an overnight in Barcelona sounds like a good plan. The airport is close to the city. I recommend staying in teh Eixample area. Check hotel Atrium Palace there, located a couple of blocks from Plaza Catalunya. Many times they have very good rates on their website.

You don't say when is your trip. As mentioned above, if you don't but the train ticket ahead of time it can be very costly. In that case you could always check plane fares to Madrid. There are many airlines that do that route.

Dukey

For wwhat it is worth there used to be almost hourly flights between these two cities run by both Iberia AND Spanair and because there was so much competition the one-way prices were often quite reasonable.

Despite my usual advocacy of rail travel in Europe since you are already at the airport I would try to stay there and fly on even if you have to retrieve and re-check luggage.

tom42

I just returned from a 5 night stay in Barcelona and stayed in Eixample at the Sixty Two Hotel (it is on Passeig De Gracia). I was very happy with the hotel and its location.

tom42

Oh forgot to add, there is a taxi stand right in front of the hotel and a metro station also.

bardo1

<i>...there used to be almost hourly flights between these two cities...</i>

With the emphasis on USED to be.

Air traffic between the two cities is down 80% since the AVE option began.

TrvlMaven

I just flew between Madrid and Barcelona on Spanair, then Barcelona to Malaga on Vueling. Spainair planes are very cramped--I'm 5'9 and couldn't keep my legs in front of me. Thank goodness the seat next to me was empty as both the window seat and I were sharing the middle seat's leg space. Vueling, on the other hand, was very comfortable with plenty of room. BUT--they charge for everything, including water. My bags were checked through from US to Barcelona, but I did have to clear immigration (very fast) and then walk to another terminal (about 10-12 minutes. Nothing is clearly marked but pay attention to the departure signs as gates change without notice.

Cowboy1968

If you want to go straight on to Madrid, you have to decide for yourself how much time you want to allow for passport control and security. IF you don't need to pick up and re-check luggage, I'd probably get the 11am flight with Iberia to Madrid if I arrived at 9am.

You will stay within the (still almost brand new) Terminal 1, which is very nice, easy to navigate, with many cafes, restaurants, and shops to kill time. You also have two big outdoor patios with one outdoor Häagen-Dasz cafe if you want to sit outside and get some fresh air.

Carter2010

Thanks for all the suggestions.Trip is not till October.
Believe it or not - we checked the airfares again as we wanted to fly into Madrid (our bus tour starts and ends there) but out of Barcelona( for a cruise). Up until now all split fares for this were too expensive so that's why we settled for Singapore airlines Barcelona return.
Qantas now have a great price for into Madrid and out of Barcelona and it is cheaper for us to cancel Singapore airlines (and pay $120 cancellation fees ) and rebook with Qantas.
We are staying several days in both Madrid and Barcelona so the accommodation advise is welcome.
My husband wants to know if anyone has tried the following:
Lusso Infantas (Madrid)
Tryp Apollo (Barcelona)
Thanks again.

cruiseluv

That's great you got much better fares !

I haven't stayed at those hotels but went and looked at their locations . The hotel in Madrid has a good location, although Imuch prefer the area closer to Plaza Santa Ana/ museum triangle. The hotel gets very good reviews on Tripadvisor.

I am not crazy about the location of the hotel in Barcelona. Seems a bit outside of the main area. I prefer to stay in the Eixample area. Recently I have stayed at the Atrium Palace, near Plaza Catalunya.