Last minute flight from Santiago to Madrid

[pjacobi]

I plan to arrive in Santiago sometime mid-September, but don't know the exact date. I need to get back to Madrid for my return flight to the US. If I have extra days available, I'd like to spend them in Madrid.

Has anybody purchased a last minute flight from Santiago to Madrid, perhaps with only 1 or 2 day advance? How much did you pay for the ticket? I'm willing to pay up to $200 for the flight. What is the availability for a flight in September?

I would prefer the 1 hour flight, with the 5 hour train ride as the backup plan.

-Paul

 

[mark connolly]

I did not want to take the bus either, so I booked a flight on Ryan Air from Santiago to Madrid when I returned to the US 2 weeks prior arriving in Santiago. At that point on the camino, I knew when my arrival date would be in Santiago. At that point on the camino, you can somewhat guess when you will arrive in Santiago. I booked it via their website; it cost approx. 70 USD. Just remember to be in Madrid (at least) 2 days before your flight back to the US. If you book your flight to Madrid the day before you leave for the US, and it is cancelled, you could be out of luck. The Ryan Air flights from Santiago to Madrid are either very early (7am approx) or very late (10pm) I booked the 10pm flight and arrive approx. 11:30pm. I stayed at a hotel near the airport (Tryp by Wyndham I believe) and they have a shuttle to pick me up. As far as a day or two in advance, I don't know. Again when you are about 150 to 200 miles from Santiago you can plan/estimate you arrival in Santiago and work from there. Good luck

Buen Camino

Mark

 

[SYates]

To get an idea about how prices develop you can use https://www.skyscanner.net/ and set it to 'whole month', that gives you an idea how prices are the next few days/weeks and how prices might be in September.

Buen Camino, SY

 

[Lisa B Cook]

I was able to get Santiago to Madrid on Ryanair for $20 wothout any extras such as choosing my seat. As a back up, see if you can get a super cheap fare like this the night before your international flight, assuming you know when that will be. Even if it is just a guess, $20 isn't much of a gamble.
Buen Camino!

 

[whariwharangi]

I plan to arrive in Santiago sometime mid-September, but don't know the exact date. I need to get back to Madrid for my return flight to the US. If I have extra days available, I'd like to spend them in Madrid.

Has anybody purchased a last minute flight from Santiago to Madrid, perhaps with only 1 or 2 day advance? How much did you pay for the ticket? I'm willing to pay up to $200 for the flight. What is the availability for a flight in September?

I would prefer the 1 hour flight, with the 5 hour train ride as the backup plan.

-Paul

I went to the Santiago train station and bought a ticket to Madrid for a train that left a couple of hours later. There was a (short) lineup so this is not a good last second plan but it is okay for last hours plan. The restaurant in the train station was reasonably good.

I had a ticket with Easy Jet from Madrid to London. I went home earlier as planned on a quick decision. I was able to phone Easy Jet and have the ticket changed to a flight later the same day. There was a fee involved but not an excessive fee.

There is no way for anyone on this forum to predict availability in September. You might get some idea of the price by watching the Ryan Air website to see how prices fluctuate as any particular day of travel arrives.

Travel from Santiago to Madrid on same day as flight from Madrid to USA is not considered wise practice, particularly if it involves airlines instead of trains.

 

[Sunbun]

I was able to get Santiago to Madrid on Ryanair for $20 wothout any extras such as choosing my seat. As a back up, see if you can get a super cheap fare like this the night before your international flight, assuming you know when that will be. Even if it is just a guess, $20 isn't much of a gamble.
Buen Camino!

Sitting in the comfort of my US home, I'm estimating the date I'll fly from Santiago to Madrid on Ryan Air and it's $23 US. I think I'll just buy it and hope I nail the date. Wondering if I can wait to book until I get close to Santiago, I noticed that flights closer to today's date, particularly on weekends, seem to be running over $250.