Some links to products and partners on this website will earn an affiliate commission.

Before I even begin this post, I want to make the clear point that it is intended to be speculative but optimistic. The UK currently has an efficient and well-organised vaccine rollout and there are reasons to be cautiously cheerful. However, regardless of the UK’s position, foreign travel obviously involves going somewhere else, and there’s no guarantee of what the situation there might be.

In addition, whatever the actual opportunities, it is important to remain responsible and follow all local guidelines and advice.

However, with the above headmasterly advice ringing in your ears, I thought now a good time to have a bit of a scrape of the internet to see where the July and August bargains are for a short haul summer escape. Beware that this post may makes various references to Ryanair and Stansted airport.

I also apologise for making this London-centric, but given the vast number of available flights, it seemed like the most appropriate UK reference point. A pedant might also counter that none of Gatwick, Luton, Stansted or Southend are actually in London, but obviously I’m not a pedant, so I won’t.

Are the prices any good?

In short, there are some serious bargains to be had. London to Malaga or Lisbon for £32 in July is phenomenal, while I really don’t need to point out the value in a £30 return to Palermo or £15 return to Milan.

Anyway, here’s the list of return flights found. To book them simply enter the dates on the website of the airline in question (subject, of course, to continued availability).

July Flights

• Milan (1-7 July) £15 (Ryanair from Stansted)
• Madrid (1-8 July) £30 (Ryanair from Stansted)
• Palermo (8-14 July) £30 (Ryanair from Stansted)
• Rome (8-14 July) £36 (Ryanair from Stansted)
• Lisbon (15-22 July) £32 (Ryanair from Luton)
• Malaga (8-15 July) £32 (Ryanair from Southend) (Easyjet from Luton for the same dates is £45)
• Venice (1-7 July) £32 (Ryanair from Stansted)
• Warsaw (1-8 July) £35 (Ryanair from Stansted)
• Bucharest (1- 7 July) £38 (Ryanair from Stansted)
• Athens (1-8 July) £40 (Ryanair from Stansted)
• Barcelona (1-8 July) £41 (Ryanair from Stansted)
• Porto (1-8 July) £41 (Wizz Air from Luton)
• Stockholm (8-15 July) £42 (Ryanair from Stansted)
• Marrakech (3-9 July) £54 (Easyjet from Gatwick)
• Lanzarote (12-21 July) £55 (Easyjet from Gatwick)
• Catania (5-12 July) £59 (Easyjet from Gatwick)

While the Milan £15 flight captures the headlines here, the £30 return to Palermo is worth noting. Sicily is an absolute gem, indeed we’ve even dedicated not just one but two articles to it.

August Flights

• Madrid (5-12 August) £32 (Ryanair from Stansted)
• Lisbon (30 August to 8 September) £35 (Ryanair from Stansted)
• Rome (12-18 August) £40 (Ryanair from Stansted)
• Malaga (26 August to 2 September) £41 (Ryanair from Southend)
• Barcelona (5-11 August) £42 (Ryanair from Stansted)
• Prague (26 August to 1 September) £42 (Ryanair from Stansted)
• Seville (9-15 August) £46 (Easyjet from Gatwick)
• Naples (30 August to 8 September) £47 (Ryanair from Stansted)
• Nice (26 August to 2 September) £52 (Easyjet from Gatwick)
• Palma (30 August to 8 September) £52 (Ryanair from southend)
• Gibraltar (30 August to 7 September) £53 (Easyjet from Gatwick)
• Florence (2-10 August) £65 (Vueling from Gatwick)

Take your pick from that lot, but a £41 return to Malaga at absolute peak summer holiday is incredible.

Tailor to your requirements…

This really is just a suggested selection on fairly random dates. The bottom line, however, is there is value out there. If you want to look at prices for your specific requirements, the Ryanair fare finder, Easyjet low fare finder and Google Flights are all exceptionally useful and flexible tools.

Finally, in addition to our “act responsibly” plea above, note that you will have to comply with all UK and local requirements for these flights. Make sure you check them out as they develop and certainly before you travel to the airport. Buying your kids overpriced cones with flakes on a rainy Brighton beach is all very nice, but it’s unlikely to fully compensate for the week on the Costa Del Sol you missed out on because you overlooked the paperwork.

(Cover image courtesy of Snappy Goat/Pixabay.com)