celeste

I just started planning for a Spain spring vacation and was horrified with airfare. I checked with travelocity, expedia, consolidators and the best quote I got was from Spain Heritage Tour. The problem is the company requires you to pay within 3 days in either cash or check. Did anyone deal with the company already? Or does anyone hear about this company? They also have a very reasonable tour package (hotel + air) but we are concerned of the terms of payment. Please, Maribel,Paulo, Pedro, Maira, fellow fodorites I need your help. Thanks.

Maribel

Hi Celeste, <BR>I haven't priced airfare to Spain for the spring (headed to Paris instead on ff miles), but I did have "sticker shock" as well when I bought our summer tickets to Madrid (even through a consolidator)! <BR>Yes, I've heard of Spanish Heritage. I get their brochures all the time because I teach Sp. lang and lit, and they're in the h.school/college tour business, too. I've talked to the director but have never taken one of their tours or sent my students with them (too fast-paced for me-I send my kids on longer homestay/study programs), but my colleagues have used them. They're a legitimate business, on the up-and-up, have been around for quite a while, and I'm not too surprised they required an immediate payment If the price is right, I think you'll be O.K., but maybe others have a different opinion about them based on their experience. Hope you get more feedback. <BR>Sorry I can't be of more help to you.

wendy

try www.counciltravel.com <BR>they now offer discounted tickets even if you're not a student.

Donella

Celeste, <BR>I have also been looking for fares for spring travel. Right now the cheap fares are out for March and April but not May yet. If you can give it another month the May fares will come down. I've found if I book too early I'm always sorry. Also I always travel on week days instead of flying on Fri., <BR>Sat. Or Sun. If you can fly in on a Thurs. and out on Tues. you will usually get much better fares. If you booked a ticket with an airline now they would also make you pay right away so the tour co. certainly isn't asking anything out of the ordinary. Tour packages are great for some people. I personally find them too confining. It's much more fun, for some, to plan their own itenerary. Perhaps they don't take credit cards because its to easy for people to cancel at the last minute and their credit card co will allow them to get a refund. Also it is more expensive when a company uses a credit card co. as they are charged a commission. What airline does Spain Heritage tour use? Make sure you check out their reputation. I would hate to fly to Europe (long flight from the US) <BR>on a airline thats less than attentive to your comfort. <BR>P.S <BR>Flew Air Canada to Switzerland and they were incredible. (Filet Mignon in the cheap seats)

celeste

Thanks Maribel, Wendy and Donella for the responses. Donella, we're traveling in April on a Thursday. The airline is either Air Europa or Air Plus. Anyone heard about them? I thought Frommer's once wrote about AIr Europa as an ok alternative to fly to Spain (vs. Iberia). Hello Paulo, Pedro and Art? May I hear from you guys? Thanks.

celeste

Will it be better, timewise/pricewise, to train or fly in between cities (i.e., Madrid-Seville, Valencia-Barcelona & Barcelona-Madrid)? Thanks.

Maribel

Celeste, <BR>Air Europe is one of 2 Spanish "low cost" carriers and has been around for several yrs. It usually has lower fares than its competitors from JFK to Madrid. I've never flown transatlantic with them but have taken their internal flights as an alternative to Iberia. Although a bit disorganized, they've been o.k. for short hops. If you do a text search you should find a few reports on the Forum about them. I'm not familiar with Air Plus. <BR> <BR>I saved $300 per person by purchasing consolidator tickets to Madrid (on a non-stop US Air flight) for early June. As an educator, I can purchase through Council Travel, but I preferred to work with our regular travel agency. Our tickets are for Tues.-Tues., which were cheaper, and I did need to pay immediately by check, as there was an extra charge for a credit card purchase. Some consolidators don't accept c.c.-it's a common practice, but you may not feel comfortable with this. I would think you would be alright with a simple airfare/hotel package from Spanish Heritage, if the price is right, but check carefully the Madrid hotels they use-they're often very basic (but clean), no frills 2 star lodgings used by their student tours (noisy!) and usually in the hectic Gran Via/Puerta del Sol area. <BR> <BR>As Michele says on the "AVE" thread, you'll find it cheaper to fly the Madrid-Seville route than take the Ave (a 45 min flight), but it may (?) be bothersome to you to deal with the taxi run to busy Barajas, the baggage check line and the wait at the airport (unless you're going straight to Seville upon arriving in Madrid). I take the Ave, but time isn't a factor for me. <BR> <BR>For Barcelona-Madrid, I've done both. The Talgo is a very, very long (7 hr.), mostly dull ride (only a bit of the route goes along the coast). If you can snag a decent airfare on lowcost Spanair or Air Europe or even on the hourly Iberia shuttle (Iberia often matches their fares), I suggest you take it. The metro runs from downtown Barcelona to the airport, but it's also a fairly short, easy taxi ride. <BR> <BR>For Valencia-Barcelona, I would check www.renfe.es to compare the train fare vs. air. The trip on the Euromed takes 3 hrs.-much quicker to fly. <BR> <BR>Good luck!

Maira

Hi Celeste (love your name!) <BR> <BR>You are getting wise advice, some of which I would like to emphasize. Wait a bit more, February just started and this month is always good for airfare sales. Be ALERT. <BR> <BR>I have found a very good article written by a NY Times travel writer, which compiles very good hints on "sleuthing fares". Read it carefully and be ready to do some "surfing". These days I favored cheaptickets.com (1-800-755-4333) and QIXO.com. <BR> <BR>http://www.time.com/time/personal/ar...,90612,00.html <BR> <BR>About Spanish Heritage Tours, I actually bought a package from them back in 1993 (fly-drive deal). They were good, but as I recalled they had a $150 deposit per person requirement and the package was payable in full 45 days prior to departure date. I could see them asking for cash if you were leaving next week, but can't figure out the urgency otherwise.... If you don't feel comfortable about the payment terms, I don't blame you. There are other reputable companies as well (again, I have used them and have no complaints, but understand your aprehension). Hope this helps. Don't give up, Spain is worth the persistence! Best of luck!

celeste

Thanks very much for the info Maribel and Maira, they're priceless especially about students using Spanish Heritage Tours. We had a bad experience with hotels being used mostly by students (in Siena, France), they were 3 sleepless nights! Right now I am not really comfortable flying with Air Europa or Air Plus so thanks for the advice I'll just wait for more Feb. sales. Thanks for the encouragement also Maira to hang on for Spain. Actually my family is considering: Prague/Budapest/Vienna or London/Brugge/Amsterdam or Spain. Spain won so here I am doing the planning and of course relying to my fellow Fodorites (inspite numeruous books, websites, etc.), they are the best!