I'm about to head to Spain on January 4 for about 3 months (into Madrid), and all of the internet fares I can find are rediculously expensive. Any ideas on how to find a cheaper flight? I already have a Eurail pass, so coming from somewhere such as Paris or another relatively close destination via train is an option. However, that's also very expensive. I assume this is because of high travel rates at the bigging of the year. Ideas???

You aren't going to get much help until you tell us where you are flying from and what price you find to be ridiculously expensive.

It depends on where you're flying from, but I've seen some amazing deals in recent days for flights to Europe, including Spain, from Expedia, Orbitz, Faredeal.com, JohnnyJet, and others - I mean around $230 RT from many big US hubs. I think flights in January are usually pretty cheap anyway, and there are good deals to be had. Maybe you're not checking all the right sites, like flights.com, bestfares.com, cheaptickets.com. You should be able to get a fairly good deal at that time of year if you're somewhat flexible about dates.

You could think about flying to London and then on to Madrid with Easyjet although it may require a change of airport unless you fly into Gatwick. From there you can hop and Easyjet flight to Madrid.

I'm actually travelling to Madrid as well, from DC for three and a half months. I'm leaving the middle of January...to be honest, you should have maybe considered booking sooner. I managed to get a flight from Orbitz, from Dulles National (Washington, D.C) for about $430 RT which is reasonable. Unfortunately, prices have really gone up since....and specials generally don't apply for such a long stay.

What I would suggest is searching online and seeing what you come up with. Orbitz is running a promotion to Europe right now, that you might want to check out: http://www.orbitz.com/App/GetDealsDe...=e7vb&r=dk

To be honest, I'd be surprised if you find anything less than $600. I also found that flying to a neighboring destination is generally neither cheaper or easier...unless its London, but Madrid's a long way to London.

Hope this helps...I hope that you have as much fun in Madrid as I will