Simon Calder: The bargain destination where you can dodge cold weather for £1.40 an hour

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Escape to Africa from the UK deep freeze for £1.40 per hour: this is likely one of the tempting propositions over the following three weeks, as journey companies desperately attempt to shift unsold flights and holidays.

The Independent has discovered Tui, Europe’s largest vacation firm, is promoting packages to Tunisia for departure tomorrow or on Friday 26 January for simply £235 per individual. It represents a 54 per cent low cost on the total value of £506, which is being charged the next Friday 2 February.

The deal consists of flights (and 15kg of checked baggage) from London Gatwick to Enfidha airport and a switch to the four-star Phenicia Hotel in Hammamet – where, in addition to a room for every week, bargain-seekers get breakfast and dinner included.

Someone incomes the nationwide minimal wage might earn sufficient for the week’s bundle in simply three days. BBC Weather predicts a excessive of 22C for Friday, with “sunny intervals and light winds”.

On Saturday 20 January, Jet2 Holidays is providing every week in Torremolinos on Spain’s Costa del Sol for £261, together with flights from Birmingham (with baggage), transfers and self-catering lodging.

The following day, Jet2 has a deal from East Midlands to Praia da Rocha on Portugal’s Algarve coast for £232 per individual – once more with self-catering lodging. Clear skies are forecast for Sunday and all of subsequent week.

Flight-only offers from funds airways are promoting at under value. Flying out to Rome from London Stansted on Monday 22 January for every week, Ryanair has a deal for £26 return. The identical value, on the identical day, applies from Birmingham to Valencia.

For most sunshine inside Europe, the destination of selection is Spain’s Canary Islands. From Prestwick in Scotland to Tenerife, flying out on Monday 22 January for 10 days, the Ryanair fare is £45 return.

Egypt for low-cost

Across in Egypt, Red Sea locations equivalent to Hurghada and Sharm el Sheikh are struggling due to travellers’ considerations concerning the Israel-Gaza battle and assaults on delivery – though these are going down 1,000 miles away.

On 27 January, easyJet is providing flights from Belfast International to Hurghada for £109 return – a round-trip distance of over 5,500 miles, nearly so far as from the Northern Ireland capital to Boston.

The day earlier than, 26 January, Wizz Air is promoting Gatwick-Sharm el Sheikh flights for £126 return. The outbound fare of £72 is £15 lower than the Air Passenger Duty payable by the airline when a passenger steps aboard the flight. The present charge for most locations outdoors Europe from Britain is £87.

City breaks are on supply, too. From Edinburgh to Beauvais in northern France, which Ryanair calls “Paris”, a Monday-to-Wednesday journey is £26 return subsequent week.

This coming weekend, British Airways will fly travellers from London Heathrow to Milan, with two nights in a four-star lodge, for £166 per individual – lower than the air fare alone for a passenger checking in a bag, which is included within the bundle value.

Ski flights are additionally cheap: on easyJet, flying on the benchmark route from London Gatwick to Geneva on Saturday 27 January for every week, the most affordable flights are £79 return.

Once February half-term is underway, fares soar. Making precisely the identical easyJet journey two weeks later prices nearly 5 instances as a lot, with some Gatwick-Geneva fares over these weekends exceeding £1,100.

Paul Charles, chief government of journey consultancy The PC Agency, says: “Some of these deals prove that you really can get some bargains at the eleventh hour.

“If you have the flexibility to travel at the last-minute, then some of these offers are in fact too good, and too true, to bypass.

“Tour operators, airlines and travel agents have had a really strong start to 2024 so the majority of their sales are at higher prices for later in the year. But these late deals prove that there are still a smattering of great offers for those desperate to escape the cold.”