Need an affordable trip to Spain?
Spain is Europe’s most visited country for good reason. It offers around 300 days of sunshine a year, more than 8,000km of coastline, and some of the most affordable resort hotels on the continent. Whether you want a sun-soaked week in Benidorm, a city break in Barcelona, or a winter escape to the Canary Islands, Spain has a version for most budgets.
Return flights from the UK start from around £30 each way with Ryanair and easyJet, though summer fares book up fast. Package holidays typically range from £200 to £600 per person for a week including flights and accommodation, depending on timing, resort, and board basis.
September is widely considered the sweet spot: temperatures on the coast stay around 25 to 30°C, school crowds have gone, and prices drop noticeably compared to peak summer. May and June offer similar value. January to March is cheapest of all, though mainly suited to the Canary Islands, which stay warm year-round while the mainland cools down considerably.
The main booking options for UK travellers are package deals from operators such as Jet2, TUI, and easyJet Holidays, or flight-only plus hotel booked separately. For families and those who prefer simplicity, packages often work out cheaper than booking separately, particularly for popular resorts like Tenerife South, Benidorm, and Majorca.
Latest Spain holiday deals
The biggest savings come from booking at the right time. Spain is hugely popular from June to August, so prices peak sharply during school holidays. Book summer breaks at least four to five months ahead, or hunt for late deals in the final two to three weeks before departure if you can be flexible on resort and hotel grade.
For shoulder season — May, June, September, and October — deals are considerably easier to find. Package holiday operators clear excess inventory during these months, and all-inclusive weeks to the Costa del Sol or Tenerife regularly appear for well under £400 per person.
Flying into alternative airports saves money. Instead of busy Palma or Alicante, try Murcia for the Costa Cálida, or Almería for the quieter southern coast. Ryanair connects several UK regional airports directly to smaller Spanish destinations that other carriers don’t serve at all.
The menú del día is one of Spain’s best-kept value secrets. Most Spanish restaurants outside tourist areas offer a fixed-price lunch — two or three courses with wine — for around €10 to €15. Making lunch your main meal out cuts your food bill significantly over a week.
All-inclusive packages are worth considering for the Canary Islands and Benidorm, where resort prices for drinks and food can be high. For city breaks to Madrid, Barcelona, or Seville, room-only tends to make more sense — you’ll want to eat out and explore rather than stay tied to a hotel buffet.
You have a good range of choices
Ryanair and easyJet between them cover most major Spanish airports from more than 20 UK departure points, making Spain one of the best-connected short-haul destinations from the UK. Ryanair typically wins on headline price for the busiest routes — Malaga, Alicante, Tenerife Sur, and the Balearics — while easyJet has stronger coverage from London Gatwick and Bristol.
Jet2 is a strong option for package holidays and flies to Spanish destinations from Leeds Bradford, Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle, Edinburgh, and Glasgow, among others. It consistently scores well for customer service and tends to include more baggage allowance than its budget rivals.
Vueling, Spain’s largest low-cost carrier, is worth checking for connections via Barcelona or Madrid if you’re heading somewhere less obvious. Wizz Air and Transavia cover additional routes from smaller UK airports and are worth including in a price search.
For direct charter flights to the Canary Islands, TUI Airways and Jet2 offer wide UK regional coverage that scheduled airlines don’t match — particularly useful if you live outside London and want to avoid a connecting journey.
Fares are lowest in January to March (outside Canary Islands peak) and again in October and November. Avoid booking peak July and August without planning well ahead — prices on popular routes can treble compared to the shoulder months.
Spain Travel guides
May, June, and September are the sweet spot. You get proper beach weather without the school holiday premium that drives up July and August prices. The Canary Islands are warm year-round, so Tenerife and Lanzarote are particularly good value from November to February when package prices drop sharply.
Tenerife’s southern resorts — particularly Los Cristianos and Playa de las Américas — consistently offer some of the lowest package prices, with year-round sun and high hotel capacity keeping rates competitive. On the mainland, Torremolinos on the Costa del Sol and Benidorm on the Costa Blanca both have strong budget reputations, with good all-inclusive options and direct flights from UK regional airports.
Timing is everything. Avoid school holidays and book midweek flights where possible. In resort, eat away from the beachfront tourist restaurants where the locals eat: a menú del día gets you three courses and a drink for around €10–€15. For popular Spanish beach destinations, a package holiday often works out better value than booking flights and hotels separately.
Spain has one of the largest all-inclusive markets in Europe, with options from budget to premium. They can represent excellent value if you plan to spend most of your time at the hotel. The key is checking what’s actually included — drinks policies, restaurant variety, and resort location vary considerably. For budget travellers heading to Tenerife or Mallorca, a well-chosen all-inclusive can cut your total spend significantly. Take a look at our holiday deals section for current offers.
Fancy booking an extended stay?
Take a look at our cheap hotels in Spain page, where we share the best deals on beautiful and affordable hotels across Spain.
Travelling outside of the designated Holiday package time?
Be sure to view our selection of cheap flights to Spain, which may get you from A to B at a greatly reduced cost.
At Flight Tribe, we’re dedicated to helping you find budget-friendly travel deals, from flights and hotels to last-minute getaways. We search for deals that cut costs—often up to or over £100 less than booking separately.
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