We're hoping to join friends in Seville for Thanksgiving, but getting there is daunting! I haven't found a single flight that doesn't require two stop-overs. We're traveling with a toddler, so that may be a deal breaker. Am I just looking at the wrong travel sites or days of the week? Should we fly somewhere else and take a train? ANY advice would be much appreciated - I'd really like to make this trip work!

Where do you live? What are the closest home airports?

Of course - how did I forget? Thanks!

We live in DC and could fly out of National, Dulles, or BWI quite easily.

Fly into Madrid and take the AVE to Seville.

Thanks! Can I assume the AVE is a train? Do you know how I can get more information about it?

AVE is a fast train , you can also fly from Madrid to Seville. The trick is to get a direct flight TO Madrid.

http://www.iberia.com



http://horarios.renfe.es/hir/ingles.html

I WOULD NOT fly into Madrid and then take the AVE train to Seville, UNLESS you're stopping in Madrid for a day or 2.

If you do the flight/train combo, you have to consider getting yourselves from the Madrid airport into the city and take the AVE train from the Atocha station. Not a fun transfer w/a toddler unless you take a cab.

Does Iberia fly from any of the DC airports?

There are nonstop flights from several European capital cities to Seville, so then you just need to find a nonstop flight from DC to one of those capitals. I live in DC and have flown to Seville and found flights with one stopover (London or Paris were the best prices). You are never going to find a nonstop from DC to Seville, though.

BA has nonstops from London (I think that is really an Iberia codeshare) and there are plenty of nonstop flights from DC to London, and Air France has nonstops to Seville from Paris and, of course, nonstops from IAD to CDG. American/Iberia has nonstops from DC to Madrid and then Madrid to SVQ (although you could take the train, as noted, but flying might be easier if you are already at the airport).

There aren't as many choices in winter, and that's a popular holiday for flying and it's already mid-October, so maybe the dates you selected are booked up, or there aren't as many flights in November.

I just checked some websites and there are nonstops on American/Iberia from DC to Madrid on 11/24 and a few other days around there but not 11/25. The problem with AF is that you fly into CDG and the Iberia flight leaves from Orly to SVQ. So you do have to transfer from CDG to ORY airports, so you may not want to do that. You can do it by bus (Air France shuttle) or taxi, but if you flew AF, they might be transferring your luggage, not sure how that works.

When I went, there were no nonstops from DC to Madrid, but there may be now, that would be an obvious choice, also.

You can also look at flying out of PHL (Phialdelphia). They non-stops to Madrid and Barcelona. Connect in Madrid and then into Seville.

We did this last year (we are in DC too) and it worked out OK. Try to leave enough time to transfer (and get Euros) - we almost didn't make it.

BTW, the Seville airport is tiny and has only one ATM. The ATM was out of order when we arrived. If you'll need cash right away (taxi/bus/etc), get it before you land in Seville.

I would still fly to Madrid, cab to the AVE station and ride the business class to Sevilla. Two hours from Madrid to Sevilla.

I travelled between Madrid/Sevilla for work and I always decided to take the AVE instead of the flight. The price was similar but the comfort is better, especially with the business class. Plus, there's a lot more legroom.

The Santa Justa station in Sevilla is where the AVE arrives. You will be near to everything

Blackduff

I realized my post was a little confused as I had found some nonstop flights on American/Iberia to Madrid, so they do fly that route. I had written the other sentence before I found that out.

I would not take AVE just because you would have to get from the airport to the train station, so I think it would be easier just to stay at the airport for the flight to SVQ. Also, they might transfer your luggage for you for that flight, so that would make it easy. If you have to retrieve your luggage at MAD and then recheck and go through security again for the flight to SVQ, that might make it less appealing to just fly the whole way.

I don't think what one does to get from MAD to SVQ as the only trip is comparable to what one would do when you are already at the airport because you are flying into MAD to begin with.

Wow - thanks for all of this. I think I'm beginning to get it!

As much as I think our toddler would LOVE the train, I think we'd better avoid adding a cab and a train station to the production, especially since some checking reveals the train to be just as expensive as the plane.

If I can do this in only two legs each way I think it can happen. I'm finding some amazing deals on RyanAir, so I think I'll find a European city I can get to directly from DC (and pick up some Euros) and then into Seville.

Ryan Air seems ridiculously cheap - is there something wrong with them that I should avoid them?

<i>Ryan Air seems ridiculously cheap - is there something wrong with them that I should avoid them?</i>

1) Check which airports Ryanair flies into and out of. It may be flying out of a London airport <i>different</i> than the one you're flying INTO from DC. You want to avoid airport transfers in London.

And do they really fly into Seville airport? Or do they fly into another town that's 50 miles away from Seville?

2) If your incoming flight from DC is delayed and you miss your Ryanair flight, you're SOL and will have to buy brand new tickets (at the walk-up price). Whereas if you buy your whole trip (however many connections) from one airline, the airline will have to deal with any delays and rebook you on new flights at their expense.

3) Read the FAQ on RyanAir carefully. I don't know what their current fees and extra charges are. The flight itself may be advertised as just &pound;10, but by the time you get through all the extra add-on fees windows, you may find your final total to be several times that.

Vueling.com has 5 flights a day from Barcelona to Seville and is about 35 euros each way. Similar to ryan air a no frill.

RE: Ryan Air

We found Ryan Air to be completely reliable. The fares were precisely what they advertised and there was a reasonable nominal amount for taxes. We flew Ryan Air from Beauvais (north of Paris) to Venice and then from Rome to Stansted. Depending on your destination, Ryan Air flies in and out of both London City Airport and Stansted.

We flew FIVE of us from Beauvais to Venice for 68 Euros. Rome to Stanstead was a bit more, 149 Euros. What a deal!

Ryanair fly from stanstead a long and expensive transfer from any london airport especially with child. BA does not fly from gatwick the only flights to seville from london are clickair (part of iberia) from gatwick. They have just pulled their midweek flights somewhat of a inconvenience as i travel 3-4 times a year to seville. It would be worth looking at clicks web site as they have many internal european flights. You will find the same flight on Iberias site but much more expensive

If you decide not to use AVE (my best way between Madrid to Sevilla), get your first ticket to fly from DC to Sevilla. The price is not much more than the ticket direct to Madrid. Have you carrier to continue your trip as part of a larger price. Check the price for Sevilla.

Remember, if you're going to fly to Sevilla, you certainly have to get into a cab, since you still have to drive into Sevilla. The AVE trip brings you to the central part of the town.

Using Ryanair or other carriers would not be great for a long flight. If you're going to fly, do it between Madrid and Sevilla.

In any case, enjoy Sevilla. It's a beautiful city.

Blackduff