Best Summer Flights from London 2026: Beaches, Cities & Bargains

Santorini returns from around £189 on easyJet from Gatwick sounds steep until you compare it to what people pay in peak August, when the same route regularly hits £280-£340. June is genuinely the sweet spot: prices are lower, the island is hot, and you can actually move around Oia without being pressed against a stranger's selfie stick.

Crete is the better shout for most people, honestly. easyJet from Gatwick and Ryanair from Stansted both serve Heraklion, with returns sitting around £89-£140 in June, climbing to £160-£220 by late July. Crete in August is busy everywhere, but it's a big island and you can escape the resort strips if you hire a car. Worth knowing: the north coast is tourist central, the south coast is a different story.

Split in Croatia from £74 return on easyJet from Gatwick is one of the most consistent summer deals out of London right now. July temperatures hit the mid-30s and the old town is genuinely heaving with cruise ship tourists between 10am and 5pm. Go early morning or evening and it's a completely different place.

Tenerife South from £99 return on Jet2 from Gatwick, or from £87 on Ryanair from Stansted, is the one people forget works brilliantly in summer too. The Canaries don't have a bad season. August crowds are real at the resort end, but the north of the island around La Laguna barely registers the tourist peak.

Rome from £59 one-way on Ryanair from Stansted to Ciampino is always tempting, but Rome in August is properly brutal. Think 36-degree heat, queues at the Colosseum stretching back 45 minutes, and half the locals having left for the coast. Go in June, when returns sit around £110-£160 and the temperature is a manageable 28-30 degrees.

Ciampino is the airport to know here. It's 15km south of the centre, and you'll need the Terravision bus or a taxi. Factor in 45 minutes and around £5-£8 each way. British Airways do fly from Heathrow to Fiumicino for around £180-£240 return, which is a smoother arrival if you'd rather skip the budget airport shuffle.

Seville from £49 one-way on easyJet from Gatwick is an incredible city, but summer is genuinely its worst season. July temperatures regularly hit 40 degrees and locals are not exaggerating when they say it's like standing in a fan oven. Returns in June are around £98-£140 and the heat sits at a more survivable 32-35. Go in June, not August, unless you specifically enjoy suffering.

Lisbon from £41 one-way on Ryanair from Stansted, or from £55 on TAP Air Portugal from Heathrow, is probably the most manageable big European city in July. It gets warm, around 29-32 degrees, but there's usually an Atlantic breeze that keeps it from becoming unpleasant. Returns in July run roughly £110-£170 depending on how far ahead you book. The tram 28 queue is long in summer but the city doesn't feel overwhelmed the way Rome does.

Tbilisi, Georgia, from £189 return on Wizz Air from Luton is the one I keep pushing on people and they keep coming back converted. It's a genuinely fascinating city with extraordinary food, wine, and architecture, and in July it's around 30 degrees with far fewer British tourists than anywhere in southern Europe. The old town is walkable and the exchange rate makes it feel ridiculously good value once you're there.

Wizz Air's Luton-Tbilisi route runs a few times a week, so date flexibility matters. Luggage fees are real with Wizz Air: a cabin bag that doesn't fit under the seat costs extra, so check the size restrictions before you assume you're travelling light. That said, even with bags factored in, £230-£260 return all-in for Tbilisi in July is remarkable value.

The Azores, specifically Ponta Delgada on São Miguel, from £149 return on Ryanair from Stansted or SATA Azores from Gatwick, is the other one worth flagging. July and August are the driest months on the island, temperatures sit around 24-26 degrees, and the landscape is genuinely unlike anywhere else in Europe. Green volcanic craters, hot springs, whale watching. It's not a beach holiday in the traditional sense, but for something completely different at a sensible price, it's hard to beat.

The downside with the Azores: it's still not as cheap as mainland Europe once you're there, and accommodation books up fast in summer. If you're considering it, sort the hotel now rather than waiting until May.

March and April are the last months where June flights are still reasonably priced. Once May arrives, the school holiday premium kicks in hard and July-August fares jump significantly, often by £60-£120 per person on popular routes. If you've not booked a summer flight yet and you have a destination in mind, the time to move is now.

June flights are the current sweet spot. School's still in for most of the month, so prices haven't gone completely mad yet. Rome in mid-June runs around £110-£140 return from Stansted on Ryanair, which by late July becomes £180-£240. Same destination, same airline, completely different price depending on which side of the school holidays you land.

August is the most expensive month across the board, full stop. Families are locked into it by school calendars and airlines know it. Greek island returns from Gatwick in August average £180-£280 on easyJet, compared to £110-£160 in June. If you have flexibility and no kids in school, avoid August entirely and you'll save meaningfully.

For last-minute deals in summer, Ryanair from Stansted tends to drop prices on routes that haven't filled, sometimes 10-14 days out. It's a gamble, but I've seen Faro from Stansted drop to £38 one-way in mid-July on a Tuesday departure. Skyscanner's price alerts are genuinely useful here: set one for your route and let it do the watching.