Spanish Travel News - May 2009 Edition

Dear {!firstname_fix},

This month we have checked which questions we are asked most frequently by travellers to Spanish Airports, and with the busy summer season approaching have written guides to booking airport transfers, reserving flights and provided an update on the car hire situation - all done with cost savings very much in mind. This is in addition to our normal airport news which this month covers Palma Airport in Mallorca, Madrid Barajas, Barcelona and Valencia.

We also get asked a lot of questions about how to get from various airports to the Benicassim Festival in July, so have asked Michelle who writes our travel articles to put together a guide to all the transport options, costs, etc, involved in getting there.

If you have mobility problems, then remember that all the Spanish Airports now provide facilities to help make your journey as easy as possible. You can find out more about what they offer and how to obtain help by reading our Guide to Passenger Assistance at Spanish Airports.

Finally I can happily report that summer has arrived in southern Spain with hot, sunny days and the evenings now warm enough to sit outside and enjoy the al fresco lifestyle, so if you are thinking about coming over hopefully this newsletter will help you plan your trip in the most cost effective way.

Gary Ingram

Boarding Module B has reopened at PALMA AIRPORT following the completion of building works on the construction of a 38,000 metre square apron which allows aircraft to park next to the boarding module and for passengers to board some aircraft on foot.

We have just updated our Guide to Palma Airport and if you are travelling through this airport over the summer months it is well worth looking at the layout of this very large and busy airport so that you can familiarise yourself with where the car hire desks, buses, taxis and car parks are all located.

With effect from 17th June the airline Jet4you will be connecting BARCELONA AIRPORT to the Moroccan cities of Casablanca (five flights per week), Tangiers (three flights per week) and Nador (two flights per week). You can buy tickets for these flights through the airline website www.jet4you.com

MADRID-BARAJAS AIRPORT has just restarted operating a route to Gibraltar. Flights are operated by the airline Ándalus Líneas Aéreas which will offer two flights a day (morning and afternoon) on Monday to Friday, one on Saturday morning and one on Sunday afternoon. Andalus operates in T1 at Madrid Airport - check in desks 137 to 151 and you can find out more by visiting their website

VALENCIA AIRPORT and the Valencia Tourist Board have set up the Tourist Móvil service, which enables passengers to download interactive guides to their mobile phones using blue tooth technology, free of charge.

Passengers can get an introductory guide to the region of Valencia in five languages and this service can be accessed in the three baggage reclaim halls where you can use the time spent waiting for your luggage to download the guides. The download points are indicated by lighted panels.

With effect from 5th June Delta Air Lines will operate a non-stop service from Valencia to JFK Airport in New York. They will offer four flights a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays and flights from JFK depart on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Delta may increase the service to five flights a week later in the summer.

I noticed during a recent trip to England that you could barely travel a mile down the road without the intrusion of a speed camera. Speed cameras are relatively unused in Spain, although 2 were recently installed on the main coastal highway A7 on the Costa del Sol . For those planning a holiday on the Costa del Sol this summer, it may be handy for you to know that the first is located on the eastbound carriageway between the turnings for Puerto Banus and Nagueles (just before the tunnel), and the other is positioned on the eastbound carriageway just before the exit for La Cala de Mijas . What struck me most about the location of these speed cameras is that they are both on stretches of road on which it really takes some effort (or a VERY fast car) to actually reach the speed limit of 120kmh. In addition, there is also a warning sign about 500 metres before the camera, giving you at least an opportunity to slow down. I think these points highlight the key difference in how these cameras are used in Spain and in the UK. In Spain, they are clearly meant as a deterrent, whereas in the UK, their proliferation smacks of a money-making exercise. In fact, I am convinced that many accidents must be caused by anxious drivers looking out for speed cameras in the UK, and braking violently to avoid being zapped. Related Posts Speed Cameras in Spain England - the place gets worse! Travelling by Train in Spain

To help you find the best deal possible when booking flights to a Spanish Airport we recommend you use Skyscanner. They are a search engine technology company whose aim is to show you as many commission free prices as possible and then link you to the airline site to make the booking.

Skyscanner now covers over 600 airlines and around 600,000 routes, and to prove the effectiveness of this system have just announced a 54% year on year increase in site traffic for the first quarter of 2009. More than 50 million flight searches take place each month on the Skyscanner site, with 65% of these from outside the UK. And as even more proof, visitors to the the Spanish Airport Guide have purchased more than 10,000 flights during April!

This is particularly remarkable as 2009 is proving a tough year for the online travel industry, but it seems that people are very reluctant to sacrifice their holidays - perhaps because they feel the need to escape the gloomy recession.

Value is now more important than ever with passengers determined to find the very best deals possible and avoid sites that charge commission, or expect them to trawl through different dates and destinations one by one to find the best offers.

If any of you left it to the last minute to book a hire car over the recent Easter holidays you may well have found that there was a distinct shortage of vehicles available with nothing to be had at the airport or in the nearby towns.

Booking very late is a practice that is becoming more and more common, but remember that you will almost certainly get the best deals by reserving your hire car as much in advance as you possibly can.

The reason for the lack of rent a cars is that most of the hire car companies have decided to cut their costs which means buying fewer replacement cars and running much smaller fleets – typically 30% smaller than last year.

The shortage of vehicles does not yet seem to have forced up prices significantly with current rates being quoted about the same as this time last year - despite the sharp in the value of the pound. But how long this costing can be maintained is in debate as many of the current prices were agreed in pounds last November, before the rise in the value of the euro.

You can get a quote for car hire in Spain by clicking on this link.

If you are looking for ways to keep your car hire costs to a minimum:

1. Use a price comparison website which allows you to see what prices are on offer from dozens of different car hire companies. We recommend a company called Cartrawler who we believe offer a very straightforward booking system with a wide choice of vehicles offered a very competitive prices.

2. Book several weeks ahead because if you leave it until the last minute you may well find that prices suddenly rise or you may not be able to find a car at all.

3. Check what is included in the price as collision-damage waiver and theft protection insurance is normally included in quotes, but the "excess" amount you pay can vary widely and you could find yourself liable for the first €500 of repair costs for any damage caused while you are in possession of the car.

4. Fill up the car before you return it or you may incur a refuelling charge and have to pay a premium price for the petrol or diesel needed to refill the tank.

We now have a HUGE 2 bedroom 2 bathroom duplex apartment that is perfect for families. It is in the same complex as our 1 bedroom apartment and as this is the first year we have let it we are offering some great deals.

The first people to know about this apartment being available is you - our newsletter readers - so call Jo now and find out what great deals she is offering. The apartment is ready - the decorator finished last Saturday!

Call Now 0034 618 546 069

If there are only two of you then of course we still have the one bedroom apartment but the summer calendar is starting to get full!

Special Occasion? We can get what you need, flowers, champagne, chocolates etc.

If you would like more information and photographs on the apartment then please click here!

www.lamaestranza.eu