Cheap flights to
Barcelona (BCN)

There’s no specific day of the week when airline tickets magically drop, but there is a time period when flights are usually cheaper. We call it the Goldilocks Window. It’s not too last-minute, yet not too far in advance either. This just-right time period is about 1–3 months before a domestic flight and 2–8 months before an international trip.

That said, if you plan to travel during peak season, like summer in Barcelona, we recommend looking on the earlier end. So if you hope to visit Barcelona in July, you’d be wise to start looking at fares in October. Last-minute deals are few and far between during busy travel periods. Prices typically rise at the 21-, 14-, and 7-day points ahead of departure dates, so don’t hold out thinking a deal might come up. Book before those dates if possible.

Sometimes, especially during peak travel seasons, flight prices just don’t drop. But before you give up and pick a different destination, try our beloved Greek Islands Trick. It works well for the notoriously expensive Greek islands, but it can be used for all of Europe in the summer or whenever prices are high.

If you really want to fly from Atlanta to Barcelona for a summer holiday, you may be looking at a price tag of $1,200 or more. Instead, check out fares to London, which can be found for under $700. Pair that with a low-cost airline ticket (sometimes under $150) from London to Barcelona, and you’ve saved yourself a bunch of money you can put toward extra days in a hotel or a trip to the Sagrada Familia.

And don’t limit yourself to London. The point is just to get as close to Barcelona as possible for the cheapest price, then get creative with the last leg. You could fly a budget airline, take the train, the bus, or rent a car.

This is like the Greek Islands Trick but on your departure side. If you live in Chicago, you probably search flights from O’Hare and Midway and stop there. Why wouldn’t you when you have two major airports right there? But we see flights from airports big and small all the time. You might be surprised by a great deal out of Milwaukee or Madison, for example, and you could make a quick trip (by car, train, or even a short flight) to one of those airports for your departure.

Sometimes, especially for long-haul flights, it can even make sense to look farther afield. If you see a $350 deal from New York to Barcelona, it could be worth looking for a $170 flight from Chicago to New York. Yes, it’s more work, but you can sometimes game the system and save a lot of money.

Summer is one of the busiest travel seasons in Barcelona and all over Europe, and it’s for good reason. Kids are on summer break and people like traveling in warm, sunny weather, especially if there’s a beach involved.

The more flexible you can be with your travel dates, the better your chances are of finding cheaper flights. We like traveling during shoulder seasons, the months tucked on either side of a destination’s high and low seasons. Think late spring and early fall in Barcelona. The weather is still great (maybe even better), and there are fewer crowds and lower prices. If chilly weather doesn’t bother you, you can save even more by traveling in the off-season (Barcelona never really gets that cold, anyway). If you’re visiting from the US and don’t have Thanksgiving plans, this can be a great time to save money by traveling internationally, as most American travelers are flying domestically during that time so domestic flights will be higher.

If you’re set on a summer vacation, try to look for fares on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. Those are generally the cheapest days to fly, while Fridays and Sundays are the most expensive.

Set alerts for specific trips Keeping track of airfare as it fluctuates can be frustrating. Luckily, technology exists that can do the work for you. Set up fare alerts for your itinerary, keeping in mind that you should set up more fare alerts if you have any flexibility in your dates or airports. Then, you’ll get an email when fares drop into your target price range or by a significant amount. We recommend doing this before the Goldilocks Window we talked about above so you can see prices fall during that time.

The Barcelona airport receives about 30 million visitors per year, with direct flights from nearly 200 airports around the world. From Europe, the East Coast of the US, plus Chicago, Atlanta, or LA, you can reach Barcelona on a nonstop flight. From elsewhere, you might have to make a connection, but there are no shortage of flights to the city.