Top Deals

Our short-haul sun deals keep time in the air to roughly three to three and a half hours, which leaves more of your budget and your first afternoon for the resort.

• Coves and cliffs: The Algarve puts sheltered, rock-backed coves around Lagos and long flat sand at Quarteira within about an hour's drive of each other, so one base gives you several different beach days. Sea temperatures hold near 20°C into October. We look here first for cheap holiday deals once school holidays end, when hotel rates ease and the weather stays settled.
• Resort choice: The Costa del Sol stretches for roughly 150 km, from the busy beaches of Torremolinos to the marina-led calm of Estepona, so the resort you pick matters more than the coastline itself. Golf, tapas bars and evening promenades are close at hand almost everywhere. We suggest Estepona for couples and Torremolinos for lively family stays.
• All-round reliability: The Costa Blanca centres on Benidorm, where the Levante and Poniente beaches together run for about 5 km, backed by large hotels with big pools that keep prices competitive. Calpe and Jávea, further up the coast, suit quieter stays. We recommend this coast to travellers who want a dependable, well-equipped resort rather than a hidden corner.
• Theme park stays: On the Costa Dorada, Salou's wide, shallow beaches face a sheltered bay, and the resort sits about 10 minutes by road from PortAventura World, one of the largest theme park resorts in the region. The gentle water suits younger children. We suggest booking park tickets early, since queues grow through July and August.
• Compact variety: Majorca is about 100 km across, so you can pair the sheltered sand at Alcudia in the north with the limestone coves near Cala d'Or in the east inside a single week. Flights take around three hours, and the old town of Palma adds a city day. We find a hire car pays for itself here more than at most resorts.