SteemFest 2 Travel Research - Is it better to fly into Madrid? What's are the best options to get from Madrid to Lisbon?
We are researching some flight options to get from Arizona to SteemFest, and there aren't many good options for flying to Lisbon.
Some of the problems with flying to Lisbon:
- No Wifi on the long international flight
- More expensive than other options
- The requirement of switching airlines and getting screwed by delays. (Last year we booked on two different airlines. One of our flights was delayed by 24 hours, and we were forced into purchasing expensive last-minute tickets to get home.)
We have found much better options flying to Madrid instead of Lisbon. Do we have any good options for traveling from Madrid to Lisbon? We're thinking perhaps a train or a bus?
Good thinking about maybe finding another route. I hope you don't get stuck somewhere again this year! That was terrible but you know what. That situation where you got stuck in Iceland is when we saw the true power of the Steemit community! The second time is with the @darthnava situation
Isn't that the truth! Definitely not a tradition we want to continue. ;p
I actually used to live down in those parts of the world (southern Spain MANY years ago), and my parents lived in Mesa. There are some tricks you can use to make things easier... has to do with the way flight booking systems work. Direct flights to Lisbon from the US leave from New York JFK, Newark, Boston and Miami.
My GUESS is that you can book two separate round trip fares... one for Phoenix to your city of leaving the US, and then another for your US departure point to Lisbon; for no reason I could ever figure out two separate flights price out $200-300 less (sometimes more) than the same route as a "single flight" with a stop in the middle. And most carriers flying to Lisbon want to route your through Madrid or London.
Yes, you'll have to claim and recheck your luggage at your US point of entry/exit, UNLESS you're doing carry-on only. Give yourself plenty of time leeway on the return to the US flight (3-4hours) as US customs/immigration at can be a zoo.
This could be very useful for the Americans going to SteemFest. Thanks!
If doing this, I would be concerned about flight delays that cause me to miss my next flight, though. That happened to us last year on our way back from Amsterdam. We flew from Amsterdam to Iceland on WOW Air, from Iceland to San Francisco on WOW, then had a Southwest flight booked from SF to Arizona.
Well...that didn't go as planned...While in Iceland, WOW informed us that our flight to SF was delayed 24 hours, which made us miss our Southwest Flight from SF to Arizona. We had to book a new Southwest flight at the last minute which cost almost $800 for the two of us.
Yeah, that would be annoying... AND expensive.
You mentioned that you were going from Arizona, which is why I jumped on this... Phoenix to JFK is a busy route with non-stops and there are some decent fare sales on that stretch. JFK to Lisbon has several options too... if it were me, I'd try to keep my connecting flights inside the US only, leaves more options open.
Another worthy possibility (if you're a little more adventurous, and more than one person going together) would be to fly from Phoenix to Seville, Spain and renting a car and driving to Lisbon... about 4- 4 1/2 hours. Seville is a tourist destination, so there are flights... but late October/November is "off season" so there are often some great fare sales. Unfortunately, Seville is off the main train routes so that's not an option.
Best of luck to you!
Train or Bus will be time effective, however it will be perfect if group of steemit people travels together. It will be a ride to remember :) Upvoted!
Getting a group of Steemians to make the trip would be awesome!
Indeed, just imagine group of people with same thinking, going to same place as well their purpose also same. Yay! i wish i could join.
The train seems like a long trip! 9.5 hours according to Google! Looks to be affordable and I am sure the scenery is beautiful!
Thanks @shenanigator for sharing. Booking a flight can be one of the most stressful parts about travel!
Cool info, I'm still considering going just have to figure out all the costs for the whole trip.
Awesome, hope to see you there. We just booked our flights. We're flying into Madrid because Delta had really good prices.
Train seems a good option. You could do a little tour even if you take a flight to make the most of the travels. Leave earlier a day or two earlier and get ready for the buzz.