Tropical island four hours away from UK has year long summers and costs just £400 for week's holiday

The summer season is finally fast approaching and some of your mates might have already started jetting off on holiday.

But while you might be enjoying the gorgeous British weather we’ve been treated to recently, maybe you aren’t as smug as you’re letting on. Maybe you are wishing you’d just coughed up the cash and booked your travel.

Don’t be fuming over it though, there’s still plenty of time because while some of your pals are sunning it up in the ‘Maldives of Europe’ or getting floored by the ‘booze ban’ on the Spanish islands, there’s a tropical island you could get off too.

Nicknamed the ‘Hawaii of Europe’ it’s just four hours away from the UK and boasts year-long summers.

Stunning, right? (Getty Stock Image)

And you can get it for a bargain too with a week’s holiday costing less than a pocket-friendly £400.

Sitting in the Atlantic Ocean, just off the coast of Morocco is the Portuguese island of Madeira. Below its ‘banana line’ (the line south of which bananas thrive), holiday-goers can expect daily highs of 20C and lows of 16C even in late January.

From beaches and palm trees to its popularity for walking holidays, there’s plenty of reasons to go to Madeira for your getaway this year - even if you want to wait a couple of months.

Holiday season is upon us. (Getty Stock Image)

The volcanic island is home to Cristiano Ronaldo, of course, and there’s a statue dedicated to him at the airport.

Although, and potentially disappointingly, it’s no longer that pretty crap statue of his head which was rather similar to the clay head from Art Attack.

And if you are a big fan of the footballer, there is actually a museum dedicated to the striker on the island, the CR7 Museum.

But if you’re not fussed about Ronaldo, there’s still plenty to do on Madeira with no jet lag to get over as the time doesn’t change when you arrive there from the UK.

There's a whole Ronaldo museum on the island. (Octavio Passos/Getty Images)

The island boasts incredible (and Instagram-worthy) natural swimming pools made from volcanic rock, pretty architecture, sweet local wine and just generally stunning scenery.

It takes just under four hours on average to fly over to the Portuguese island from the likes of Manchester, London and Birmingham.

Loveholidays has flights and seven-night stays in Funchal for as little as £201 per person with ‘luxury family holidays’ from just £375pp.

So, if you have a good search you’ll be sure to find something well within your budget for a decent getaway.