Cheap March Flights from UK Airports: Seville from £39, Porto from £41

Prague from £29 one-way on Ryanair from Stansted is the sort of fare that makes me want to shout at strangers on the Tube. March sits in a sweet spot after the winter lull and before Easter pushes prices up. Airlines still have empty seats to shift, so the fares stay low.

I remember opening my laptop in late January a few years back, feeling thoroughly skint and gutted about the whole year. Then I spotted Lisbon from £44 one-way on easyJet from Gatwick for the following March. Proper relief, honestly. The January slump is real, but the March fares are the reward for sitting through it.

The weather is the other half of the deal. Southern Europe is mild, the crowds are thin and hotels haven't hiked their rates yet. You get shoulder-season prices with spring sunshine, which is a ridiculous combination.

Seville from £39 one-way on Ryanair from Stansted, or around £49 on easyJet from Gatwick. Mid-March temperatures sit in the low 20s and the orange blossom is out across the city. Three nights costs well under £300 all-in if you eat tapas rather than sit-down dinners.

Porto from £41 one-way on Ryanair from Stansted, with easyJet also flying from Bristol from around £46. It is cooler than Seville, so pack a jumper, but the food and the port cellars more than make up for it. The airport is tiny and the metro gets you into town for about £2.

Lisbon from £44 one-way on easyJet from Gatwick and TAP Air Portugal from Heathrow from around £69 if you want a bag included. Expect 16 to 19 degrees and far shorter queues for the trams. Prices jump sharply once Easter week arrives, so aim for the first three weeks of March.

Prague from £29 one-way on Ryanair from Stansted, with Jet2 flying from Manchester from about £38. It is properly chilly, around 8 to 12 degrees, but the Old Town is empty enough to actually enjoy. Beer is cheaper than a Pret coffee, which helps.

Ryanair is the one to check first for Stansted and Luton, with March fares regularly landing between £29 and £55 one-way. easyJet covers Gatwick, Bristol and Manchester, typically £39 to £67. Jet2 is worth a look from Manchester and Leeds Bradford, particularly if you want a bag and a transfer sorted in one price.

Booking 3 to 6 weeks out tends to work well in March, and I've seen it dip as low as £44 for Lisbon in that window. Book too early and airlines haven't started discounting. Book too late and the cheap seats have gone, especially on Friday and Sunday flights.

Watch the bag fees, because that £29 fare can become £60 once you add a 20kg case. Ryanair's early departures from Stansted are also brutal, often 6am, so factor in a night bus or an airport hotel. Midweek flights, Tuesday to Thursday, are consistently cheaper than weekends by £15 to £30.

Marrakech from £48 one-way on easyJet from Gatwick, with Ryanair flying from Stansted from around £44. March is ideal there, with highs around 24 degrees and none of the brutal summer heat. A week in the medina costs less than a long weekend in Paris if you stay in a riad.

Aqaba, Jordan from £79 one-way on Ryanair from Stansted opens up Petra and Wadi Rum at their best. Daytime temperatures sit in the low 20s, which beats the scorching summer by a mile. Fly into Aqaba, hire a driver for the day and you're at Petra in under two hours.

Tokyo from £480 return on Turkish Airways from Heathrow via Istanbul, with Japan Airlines and British Airways direct from Heathrow typically £700 to £900. Late March is cherry blossom season, so book 8 to 10 weeks out for that one, not the usual 3 to 6. It is the single exception to my timing rule, and the fares climb fast once the blossom forecast goes public.