The cheapest way to fly from the UK to Spain is usually a small-bag-only fare with Ryanair, easyJet, Wizz Air or Vueling, booked one to three months ahead, for travel outside school holidays. January is the cheapest month on most routes. But the headline fare is the wrong number to compare. Add a suitcase and the cheapest airline often changes, so price the whole trip, bags included, before you choose.
All prices below were checked in November 2026 unless another date is given. Fares move constantly, so treat them as a guide to how the pricing works rather than a quote.
Which airlines fly where
No single airline is cheapest across Spain. Your departure airport narrows the choice more than anything else, so start there.
| Airline | Where it is useful | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Ryanair | Costas, islands and city routes from many UK airports, including Aberdeen to Alicante and Malaga | Often the lowest starting fare; extras add up quickly |
| easyJet | Broad UK coverage to the Costas, islands and big cities | Adding Girona–Liverpool, Girona–Gatwick, Murcia–Liverpool, Bilbao–Edinburgh, Barcelona–Aberdeen and Mallorca–Aberdeen in 2027 |
| Jet2 | Holiday routes from 14 UK airports, with 11 Spanish routes from Gatwick announced from March 2026 | 10kg hand luggage included, which changes the sums |
| Wizz Air | Luton to Spanish cities, including Madrid and Barcelona | Madrid and Valencia bases were due to open in November 2026, according to Euro Weekly News |
| Vueling | Spanish cities, including northern routes such as Bilbao–Edinburgh | Useful for less obvious destinations |
| British Airways | London to major Spanish cities | Cabin bag included, so do not rule it out on price alone |
If you are flying to a smaller regional airport, check that the route still runs before planning around it. Ryanair cut about a million seats in Spain for winter 2025–26 in a dispute with airport operator Aena over fees, hitting regional airports hardest and closing its Santiago base. Schedules at those airports have been less predictable than at Malaga, Alicante or Barcelona.
Compare the total, not the fare
A Which? analysis found that adding cabin luggage and seat selection doubled some easyJet and Ryanair fares and quadrupled the lowest Wizz Air fares it checked. This is where most people get their comparison wrong.
Hand luggage
| Airline | Free bag | Overhead cabin bag |
|---|---|---|
| Ryanair | 40 x 30 x 20cm | Priority & 2 Cabin Bags: £12.49–£36 at booking, £19.99–£45.50 later |
| easyJet | 45 x 36 x 20cm, up to 15kg | 56 x 45 x 25cm; online price varies, £60 at the gate |
| Jet2 | 56 x 45 x 25cm, 10kg, plus 40 x 30 x 20cm under-seat bag | Included, though it may go in the hold on busy flights unless you pay for Guaranteed Cabin Luggage (£6.50 per leg, per Which?) |
| Wizz Air | 40 x 30 x 20cm, 10kg | Via Wizz Priority; advertised from €10, but Which? found none under €15 |
| Vueling | 40 x 30 x 20cm | 55 x 40 x 20cm, 10kg; included on some bundles, otherwise paid |
| British Airways | Handbag or laptop bag, 40 x 30 x 15cm | 56 x 45 x 25cm, 23kg, included in the fare |
easyJet's free bag is noticeably roomier than Ryanair's, and its 15kg limit is generous. For a long weekend, that bag alone is enough for most people. Pay for the overhead case only if you actually need it.
Hold bags
Ryanair publishes its range: a 20kg bag costs £21.49–£59.99 per flight at booking and £39.99–£75 if added later or at the airport. easyJet says its online hold prices vary by demand and route, and charges £60 for a bag brought to the bag drop unbooked. CompareFlights, in a guide updated in April 2026, put typical starting prices at £7.99 for easyJet, £11 for Wizz Air, £27 for Jet2 and £30 on a BA Basic fare. Those are floors rather than typical prices, and I could not confirm a current Vueling figure. Get the real number by running your own dates through to the payment page.
Book bags when you book the flight. Once you are at the airport, the cost of a bag can exceed the fare several times over.
A worked example
Here is how a £20-each-way Ryanair fare (an illustrative figure, using Ryanair's published add-on ranges) grows for one person on a return trip:
| What you take | Add-ons, return | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Small bag only | £0 | £40 |
| Priority & 2 Cabin Bags, bought at booking | £24.98–£72 | £64.98–£112 |
| 20kg hold bag, bought at booking | £42.98–£119.98 | £82.98–£159.98 |
Do not assume budget means cheapest
When Which? priced a July London to Malaga return with cabin bags in March 2025, British Airways came in at £146.28, Wizz Air at £222.98 and Ryanair at £243.59. That is one route at one moment, not a rule, but it is a good reason to check BA and Jet2 whenever you need a proper bag. It is also worth pricing the basic fare plus add-ons against the airline's own bundle: Which? saved £39.48 on an easyJet London to Faro return that way, though only £4 on a Ryanair London to Alicante return.
When fares actually drop
How far ahead to book
Sources disagree, partly because they measure different things. Cheapflights, updated in May 2026, says about 29 days ahead is best on average for Spain. Which?, using Skyscanner data from 2024 and 2025, found that the best window varies widely by route and season:
| Destination | April flight | August flight | December flight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alicante | 9 weeks | 6 weeks | 11 weeks |
| Barcelona | 13 weeks | 10 weeks | 16 weeks |
| Malaga | 10 weeks | 5 weeks | 8 weeks |
| Seville | 9 weeks | 18 weeks | 13 weeks |
| Tenerife | 11 weeks | 3 weeks | 8 weeks |
| Lanzarote | 11 weeks | 6 weeks | 4 weeks |
Those are past patterns, not promises. I would not gamble on a late fare for school holidays when you have fixed dates and several people to seat. For a flexible city break, waiting until a month or two before departure is reasonable. Start watching earlier: Which? suggests beginning about six months out and setting price alerts on Google Flights or Skyscanner.
Which months are cheapest
January was the cheapest month to fly on 17 of the 18 short-haul routes Which? had enough data for, using 2024 prices, and that included Alicante, Barcelona, Seville and Tenerife. The January trade-off is less severe than it sounds: Which? puts Seville at around 16°C.
Autumn sales are worth watching too. In September 2026, Euro Weekly News reported Ryanair one-ways from about £14.99 on selected September and October dates, and easyJet from £18.99 on routes such as Gatwick to Alicante and Luton to Barcelona. Those particular offers have passed, so the lesson is to look in late summer for autumn and winter trips. Headline fares like these only ever exist on selected dates and include little more than a small bag.
Choosing the right airport
Changing where you fly from can matter as much as when you book. TravelSupermarket research, reported in April 2026, found families could pay up to £178 more per person by not comparing departure airports. That figure covers summer family holidays rather than flights alone, so expect smaller gaps on a simple return. Its broad pattern is still useful: airports with strong Ryanair and easyJet competition tend to come out cheaper, and fewer direct routes from airports such as Newcastle and Edinburgh can push prices up.
Count the cost of getting to the airport before you celebrate. A fare saving of £30 disappears quickly with an early-morning train, a night's parking or a long drive. The same goes at the Spanish end. A cheap flight to Barcelona may beat a dearer one to Girona, or the reverse, once the onward transfer is included.
Spain's rail network makes this easier than in most countries. Flying into Madrid or Malaga and continuing by train can beat waiting for a direct flight to a smaller city, and our guide to booking Spanish high-speed trains explains how to get the cheaper fares. If you are torn between the two, our comparison of getting around Spain by train or by car has the sums. If you will be collecting a car on arrival, read about the insurance excess and fuel traps for UK drivers first, because a bad hire deal can cancel out a good flight deal.
The fees that wipe out a cheap fare
- Airport check-in. Ryanair charges £55 (€30 or £30 for flights from Spain) if you have not checked in online. Do it before you leave home, including for the flight back.
- An earlier bag drop deadline. From 10 November 2026, Ryanair closes check-in and bag drop 60 minutes before departure, up from 40. If you have a hold bag, allow for this. Passengers without bags who have checked in online are unaffected.
- Oversized cabin bags. easyJet charges £60 at the gate for a bag larger than its free allowance. Measure your bag at home, including wheels and handles.
- Excess weight. Ryanair charges £13 per kilo and easyJet £12. Weigh your case before leaving, and wear the heavy shoes.
- Missing the flight. Ryanair lists a £100 missed departure fee and easyJet a £110 rescue fee.
Skip paid seats on short hops
Which? found that almost 90% of passengers who did not pay for a seat still sat next to their travel companion, although Ryanair and Wizz Air passengers were more likely to be split. For a flight of two or three hours, I would not pay. The exception is travelling with young children, when you should check the airline's current family seating rules before you book.
How I would book it
- Search your nearest two or three airports on Google Flights or Skyscanner with flexible dates, and set an alert.
- Decide honestly what you are taking. Small bag, overhead case or hold bag decides the comparison.
- Take the two or three cheapest options through each airline's own site to the payment page with those bags added.
- Include the transfers at both ends in your total.
- Book when the total looks fair for the season, rather than holding out for a price you saw in a sale.
- Check in online, save your boarding passes and weigh your bags.
Flights are only part of the bill. For the rest, see our worked budget for a week in Spain under £500. If the fare alerts turn up something cheap to Palma, our guide to Mallorca away from the resorts is a good place to start planning.
0 Comments
Leave a Comment