Summer is right around the corner - we've all put our clocks forward, Easter has come and gone, now all we need is the (slightly more) consistent sight of the Sun on a daily basis.
But summer also brings about holiday plans, and there is one urgent thing that you should bear in mind when you're scouring booking websites for the best deals in warmer places across Europe.
In case you have somehow forgotten, we are currently in the middle of a cost of living crisis, with the price of anything and everything increasing, from your weekly shop to mortgage repayments.
Advert
Even the price of food and drink has risen by eight percent year-on-year as of the end of 2023, and for everyone's sake, let's not talk about the increase in energy bills.
You may be wondering: how does this apply to holidays?
Well, this is something that you should have as a reminder when planning your trips away.
Holidays have not been immune to the crisis, and it turns out that they have seen a steep increase in price as well.
The Mirror and price comparison site Hopper have worked out exactly how much you can expect to pay to fly to several popular destinations, and it's not good news.
Looking at prices for more than 200 airlines, to compare a 'good deal price' - what a holidaymaker should expect to pay - available at the end of January 2020 and what's available this year.
Popular Spanish destinations were particularly hard hit, with return flights from the UK to Menorca shooting up a whopping 63 percent, from £178 in 2020 to £291 this year. Ouch.
Barcelona wasn’t far behind, with a 30 percent price increase bringing the cost of a trip up to £187 compared to £143 in 2020.
Malaga and Ibiza had similar increases of 28 percent and 17 percent respectively - return flights to the party island would now set you back £213 compared to £182 in 2020.
Greece also saw increases in popular tourist spots, with Athens going from £182 for return flights to £223 and Mykonos shooting up to £340 from £278.
Faro in Portugal has gone from £196 in 2020 to £250 in 2024, while Porto has increased 17 percent from £155 to £182.
Meanwhile, Izmir in Turkey has also gone up, from £216 to £244 and Bodrum has increased 12 percent from £276 to £311.
But it’s not all bad news, honest - as the study also discovered several locations where the price had gone down.
Funchal in Portugal was down 20 percent from £259 in 2020 to £207, while the stunning city of Lisbon is also cheaper, with return flights now costing £165 compared to £170 four years ago.
Flights to the ever-popular destination of Tenerife in Spain have also come down from £339 to £296, while Lesbos and Souda in Greece have dropped 15 percent and 13 percent respectively.
It's time to either consider lesser-known locations, or firm it, no matter how much it hurts your bank account (and it'll hurt a lot).
Joshua Nair