inexpensive intra european flights?

I usually will search for the Airport site, they often list the airlines serving them, another option is to look on www.whichbudget.com, you can see the cities in a country and input a destination as well. In your case, by going to WhichBudget, selecting Germany, then Karlsruhe, you can then select Spain as the destination, and see all of the spanish airports served. Going down the list, you will see Madrid Barajas Airport, and selecting, see that AirBerlin flies there. At that point, I usually head to the Airline site to verify schedules and prices. Keep in mind as well, that most budgets may only fly a route a couple days a week, so you may have to alter your itinerary, or if flying round trip, finding your stay there set to their schedule.

Thank you for your reply. I did check AirBerlin and it is an expensive flight. Hoping for a cheaper alternative?

Stuttgart isn't so far from Karlsruhe - you might have more options. Air Berlin and Condor fly to Madrid from Stuttgart. Would that work for you?

Thanks. I'll check out Condor..

Thanks fellow travellers! I think I will fly Ryanaire directly out of Baden Baden to Barcelona for about $100usd. I'll force myself to enjoy Barcelona for a few days :) before using AirEuropa to fly to Madrid for about $70usd. Yeah, I need to check on baggage fees. But what else is new these days!!

There's also a good rail option you should at least know about...high-speed AVE from Barcelona to Madrid in about 3 hours. Cost would be approx. $170 USD, so it's a little more than your $100 airfare. If you do fly, consider the newer Express Bus from Barajas airport...something like 2€ per person directly to Atocha station...by far the cheapest way to get to central Madrid from the airport. You can walk to Puerta del Sol from there in about 20-25 minutes.

Keep in mind as well that to compare prices, you need to look at the end cost, the advertised fare, fees, taxes, baggage fees, etc. Ryanair may advertise a fare for 20 euro (19.99 euro more likely) but by the time you purchase the ticket, have fees, you can add another 20 euro on, and I would not even think of flying Ryanair without taking the 15 euro baggage fee unless I had most things at a base house and just taking a light bag. Not sure what Air Berlin was offering, but if it was in the 60 to 80 euro range, it is a bargain, a train would be more and much longer.

Thanks for this on the rail and the Express Bus! Great info. Sounds like you know Madrid. Any hotel recommendation?

I've stayed at Hostal Acapulco (not a hostel but a small hotel) on Plaza del Carmen...very inexpensive and very clean with great balcony views overlooking the plaza. Just a couple of blocks up and over from Puerta del Sol. Others recommend Hotel Europa just off of Puerta del Sol. It's a little more expensive but a nice place with a great café, which I have enjoyed. Check out both on tripadivisor. BTW, before the Express Bus came online, I used Aerocity, which is a door-to-door shared or private van shuttle service. Very reasonable and on-time. It's a great way to get to Barajas for an early morning flight...pick you up right at your hotel straight to airport. They operate 24x7. You can get alot of good info on Madrid here: http://www.gomadrid.com/

Muchas Gracias! Tenga un buen dia!