Sunny island with 21C weather is cheapest February holiday for Brits | Europe | Travel

A new tool from flight comparison site Skyscanner shows the cheapest destinations Brits can jet to each month, and for February, there’s a winter sun bargain to look out for.

Skyscanner’s new Cheapest Destination Planner is a simple tool where you select the month you want to travel, and the site will give you the 10 cheapest destinations based on data from more than 1,200 airlines and travel providers. It’ll show you the average cost of a return flight in the selected month, as well as the cheapest day to depart. 

With the freezing weather and grey skies set to continue for the foreseeable future, many Brits will no doubt be looking to get away in February, and the good news is, there are some great winter sun spots that make the top 10 list for the month.

According to the results when using the tool, there are bargains to be found to sunny destinations such as Agadir, for which the average cost of a return flight is £119, with the cheapest options departing from Edinburgh. Brit favourite Alicante also makes the list of cheapest destinations, coming in at £94 return on average, with bargains to be found from Bristol and Manchester in particular.

However, the destination likely to give you the most sun and warmest temperatures at the lowest price is Lanzarote. On average, a return is £121 in February, but if you can be flexible with your dates and departure airport, you could pay less.

Skyscanner’s tool reveals that the cheapest day to fly from the UK to Lanzarote is Wednesday, and lowest one-way fares for February include £33 deals from Bristol and Nottingham, £36 London Gatwick flights, and £38 from Birmingham. 

Visitors to this volcanic Canary Island can enjoy daytime highs of up to 21C in February, and if you feel like you’re lacking in vitamin D, there’s seven to eight hours of sun a day. It usually doesn’t get dark until 6.30 to 7PM, so you can escape the miserable dark evenings in the UK. While there can be a few rainy days, showers are usually short, so won’t interrupt your fun for too long.

Once you arrive on the island there are lots of options for places to stay. One resort that’s popular with Brits is Puerto del Carmen, just a 30-minute bus ride from the airport. One of Lanzarote’s largest resort towns, it tends to be lively and popular year-round, so you won’t feel like you’ve ended up in a ghost town if you visit in February. 

The main strip, Avenida de las Playas, stretches nearly five miles along the beach. On one side you’ve got long stretches of sandy coast, occasionally broken up by rugged volcanic areas, while on the other side there are hotels and resorts, a huge variety of bars and restaurants, and shops just steps from the sand. 

There are endless accommodation options in the area, and some well-reviewed properties include Bungalows Velázquez, a set of two-bedroom bungalows right on the seafront that has a private pool. For an all-inclusive option, look at Seaside Los Jameos which also has a beachfront location and pools surrounded by palm trees.

Playa Blanca is another option which sits on the island’s south coast which is just over half an hour from the airport. It’s famous for Playa Flamingo, a beach where the sand is almost white and the sea is shallow and usually calm enough for swimming.

Playa Blanca has a lively centre with a variety of authentic Spanish restaurants, and the marina area is also popular in the evenings. It has upmarket shops, stylish bars, and restaurants that overlook the water, making it the perfect place to watch the sun go down.

If you prefer a city break to the beach, then you can also find deals on Skyscanner for historic and cultural spots. In February, the cheapest city break is Tirana, capital of Albania, with the average flight costing £73, while flights to Dublin come in at £80 return on average. 

Skyscanner’s tool uses live data meaning prices and availability can change over time and may be different when you search.

Have a story you want to share? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com