As air fares soar ahead of Christmas and the New Year holiday, The Independent has identified pockets of good value for travellers seeking a European break in the last week of the year.
Flying from Gatwick to Malaga on Saturday 21 December, the cheapest fare on easyJet is £217 one way, with the lowest inbound trip on the route in the first weekend of 2020 costing £175.
The journey of only 165 miles across the Irish Sea from Manchester to Dublin on Ryanair, involving little more than half-an-hour in the air, has only one seat left as low as £115 on 19 December, and a maximum of three seats at the same fare a week later.
But travellers who can travel outbound from the UK on Boxing Day will find some excellent deals.
The best prize is probably on Ryanair: a fare of just £75 return from Stansted to Faro on the Portuguese Algarve, going out on the evening of 26 December and returning mid-afternoon on 30 December.
Ryanair from Bristol to Venice at dawn (7.05am) on Boxing Day, also returning on 30 December at 10.10am, is another appealing deal. The fare is just £62 return.
On the same dates, Eurowings from Manchester has a deal to Dusseldorf for £98 return, if you return on 29 December. The Rhine city is a rewarding destination in its own right, and Cologne is just 20 minutes away by fast, frequent and cheap train, giving two city breaks for the price of one.
A different tale of two cities is on offer from Birmingham with Ryanair: a return flight to Bratislava, for £85. The Slovakian capital is only 40 miles from Vienna.
British Airways, which has a very generous cabin baggage allowance, is selling many flights from Gatwick and Heathrow to Madrid for £121 return between Christmas and New Year.
To Barcelona, easyJet has a combination of flights connecting Luton, Southend or Gatwick with the Catalan capital for £128 return.
All prices researched on the morning of 11 December direct with the airlines’ websites
