Amsterdam to Madrid (or elsewhere in Spain) - what are my (cheap) options?

[DoughnutANZ]

I swore that I wouldn't fly China Eastern Airlines again but I have just spotted an unbelievably cheap price for a return flight from Auckland to Amsterdam of NZ$1,400!

However when I look for cheap transport from Amsterdam to Madrid or elsewhere in mainland Spain departing beginning of June and returning end of August I either find flights that wander around Europe for 19+ hours or prices well over NZ$400 return.

For NZ$1,800 return I can fly Auckland to Madrid via Shanghai , which is similar to my flight last year but that one was Auckland to London via Shanghai. This year the London flight is around NZ$2,300 return.

Anyway, am I missing something obvious? Is there cheapish transport from Amsterdam to Madrid or elsewhere in mainland Spain that doesn't take 19+ hours?

PS. I know that Rome2Rio shows cheaper airfares but when I check for the dates that I am travelling then they magically increase in price.

 

[David]

You will be in the EU so there are plenty of train and long distance bus options.
check Rome 2 Rio - https://www.rome2rio.com/

 

[SabsP]

I swore that I wouldn't fly China Eastern Airlines again but I have just spotted an unbelievably cheap price for a return flight from Auckland to Amsterdam of NZ$1,400!

However when I look for cheap transport from Amsterdam to Madrid or elsewhere in mainland Spain departing beginning of June and returning end of August I either find flights that wander around Europe for 19+ hours or prices well over NZ$400 return.

For NZ$1,800 return I can fly Auckland to Madrid via Shanghai , which is similar to my flight last year but that one was Auckland to London via Shanghai. This year the London flight is around NZ$2,300 return.

Anyway, am I missing something obvious? Is there cheapish transport from Amsterdam to Madrid or elsewhere in mainland Spain that doesn't take 19+ hours?

PS. I know that Rome2Rio shows cheaper airfares but when I check for the dates that I am travelling then they magically increase in price.

Train from Amsterdam to Brussels airport via Eurostar or IC train ( around 60 € ) Then via Brussels Airlines direct to Madrid. Prices for flight start at 58 euros. Believe they cooperate with Iberia for this flight.

 

[Bradypus]

Ryanair fly from Amsterdam to Malaga. Fares vary but seem to be starting at about 55 euros. More options from Eindhoven where they fly to Alicante, Barcelona, Madrid, Malaga, Seville and Valencia.

 

[TravellingMan22]

Ryanair fly from Amsterdam to Malaga. Fares vary but seem to be starting at about 55 euros. More options from Eindhoven where they fly to Alicante, Barcelona, Madrid, Malaga, Seville and Valencia.

Yes indeed! Just do a ‘Netherlands to Spain’ search on skyscanner. Will cover AMS, Eindhoven and Rotterdam. As above Amsterdam to Malaga seems ok and there is some value to Valencia too. Eindhoven to Bilbao seems to crop up alot too!

 

[TravellingMan22]

Train from Amsterdam to Brussels airport via Eurostar or IC train ( around 60 € ) Then via Brussels Airlines direct to Madrid. Prices for flight start at 58 euros. Believe they cooperate with Iberia for this flight.

Good options - probably some options via western Germany too.

 

[Anhalter]

For flights i use 2 tools:
www.skyscanner.com --> you can enter your date, set Amsterdam as start location, set Spain as destination, search and filter for direct flights only.
https://www.flightconnections.com/ --> click on Amsterdam airport and see to which locations there are direct connections. Helps to find other options, like for example an airline that is not listed on skyscanner or a connection a day earlier or later.

Its a bit of wiggling and trying, but the combination of the two delivers pretty good results.

 

[Kiwi-family]

@DoughnutANZ That's certainly a cheap flight (more than $1000 less than I've paid for April).....but have you see China Eastern's airline safety rating? You can't go much lower. China Southern is fine, but I would steer clear of this deal (along with the similarly priced LATAM flights)

 

[LTfit]

Vueling usually has great prices from Amsterdam to Spain.

 

[Burton Axxe]

Wondering what the issue with the Chinese airline was for you. I was thinking of using them on my next Japan- Europe jaunt.

 

[trecile]

I'm not sure if it's helpful, but I flew non-stop from Santiago to Amsterdam on Vueling last year.

If you use Google Flights you can put Amsterdam as your starting point, and "Spain" as your destination. Choose your date, then filter by "non-stop" only. I found quite a few options for a random day in May.

 

[DoughnutANZ]

Wondering what the issue with the Chinese airline was for you. I was thinking of using them on my next Japan- Europe jaunt.

Actually, most of my issues were with the Chinese visa process or more correctly the visa free application process.

Anyone flying via China has to either get a visa for China or apply for a visa free waiver for transit.

Last time that I flew with them I forgot because I am so used to transiting via Doha or Dubai where they just issue me with a transit visa when I arrive.

I got to Auckland airport (departure point) went to check in and they refused to check me in without seeing my visa waiver. Of course this is standard practice and I can't really fault the airline for this although it would have been useful to be advised of it when I purchased my ticket from them (not an intermediary).

I went to the website using my phone which was the only internet capable device available to me and discovered a site that was mostly in Chinese script despite it being the English language version. The site was obviously designed for a PC screen and so was almost impossible to navigate using a phone (as background I have a PhD in Computing and I have worked with computing technology for over 50 years and I keep up-to-date with current technology).

Then the form asked me questions that were simply irrelevant such as my address while in China. I had to guess that I could put invalid information into these fields because I couldn't proceed without filling in the fields and the airline staff refused to help (most airlines have a policy of not helping passengers with immigration information).

As a general rule I don't enter invalid information or information that I know is untrue in official forms and so I had to step outside my usual way of being to put the invalid information into the form.

After about 45 panicked minutes I finally had the form completed and when I went to submit the form the website crashed and refused to allow me to reconnect.

By then the flight was boarding and so I re-approached the gate staff and showed them that the website was refusing to let me connect. The lady shrugged her shoulders and turned away.

Fortunately there was a young 20 something guy next in line and he offered to help. For me this was the ultimate insult but I saw no other option and so I handed over my phone. He had obviously done it many times before because he went to a new URL from memory, punched a few details in , handed it back to me to enter my information, then back to him for a couple more fields and then Hey Presto I had my visa waiver and was allowed to board the aircraft.

When we landed in Shanghai I found that there was a separate queue for people without a visa waiver and they were simply pointed to a nearby computer terminal where they entered their information and a visa waiver was printed out, simple!

The flight itself wasn't too bad considering the cost but certainly not comfortable but value for money.

On my next leg to London I flew with Virgin Atlantic and they were absolutely miles better in every way.

Lastly, I didn't find that Shanghai airport was particularly welcoming for transit passengers.

 

[TravellingMan22]

Wondering what the issue with the Chinese airline was for you. I was thinking of using them on my next Japan- Europe jaunt.

I have found them to be fine though only flown them a couple times. They are a part of Skyteam I think which means there is quite a ‘high bar’ to be able to be part of that group.

 

[BarbaraW]

If you have time you can get from Amsterdam to Barcelona in a day by comfortable train. Fares from 74 euros if you book early enough. Details at https://www.seat61.com/international-trains/trains-from-Amsterdam.htm#Amsterdam-Spain.

 

[DoughnutANZ]

If you have time you can get from Amsterdam to Barcelona in a day by comfortable train. Fares from 74 euros if you book early enough. Details at https://www.seat61.com/international-trains/trains-from-Amsterdam.htm#Amsterdam-Spain.

Fabulous , thank you very much!

 

[Sheesh]

Looks like Iberia Express flies direct Amsterdam to Madrid. Maybe check them out. They're fairly reasonably priced and currently have 20% off on some flights.

 

[Sheesh]

KLM flies direct too at reasonable cost for a bare bones flight. Of course once you start adding things on they, like all airlines, start to add up and quickly go from reasonable to cha-ching.