Skyscanner Reveals Top 10 Cheapest Destinations (all with flights for less than £136 return on average) and Friday as the cheapest day to fly in 2026
Plus NEW Cheapest Destination Planner helps travellers find the lowest priced destinations and best value day to fly each month of the year
According to leading global travel app Skyscanner’s latest research, in association with OnePoll*, whilst 64% of Brits are planning to head abroad in 2026, only 38% have taken the plunge and booked their flights (this falls to 37% for hotels and 8% for car hire- often the piece of the holiday with the shortest lead time). Destination indecision and concerns over cost are the biggest booking barriers as over half share they are still deciding on destination (54%) and over a quarter (26%) still trying to find the best deals.
UK travellers’ perception of flight pricing in 2026 is not the reality of the great value deals on offer. Whilst 62% of Brits think their flights are going to cost more than £150 return this year, Skyscanner have done the hard work for travellers and crunched the numbers, across thousands of routes and millions of bookings, to reveal the top 10 cheapest destinations for 2026- all with average return flight prices of less than £136. In fact, a whole month search on Skyscanner today reveals flights to top-rated Lyon from as little as £44 return this February.
The top 10 cheapest destinations for 2026:
Ranking | Destination | Average Return Flight Price** | Live Flight Price*** | Live Hotel options**** | Live Car Hire Price**** |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Lyon, France | £105 | Fancy Lyon in February? You can find flights from as little as £39 return | 3*: Hotelo Lyon Charité from £58 per night 4*: Hôtel Maison Lacassagne Lyon from £94 per night | Find Lyon car hire deals for 3-day break from as little as £125 this February |
2 | Milan, Italy | £111 | Fancy Milan in March? You can find flights from as little as £43 return | 3*: B&B Hotel Milano Ornato from £72 per night 4*: Acca Sporting Milano from £81 per night | Find Milan car hire deals for 3-day break from as little as £10 this March |
3 | Madrid, Spain | £114 | Fancy Madrid in February? You can find flights from as little as £33 return | 3*: C&H Aravaca Garden from £34 per night 4*: Hotel Mercader from £74 per night | Find Madrid car hire deals for 3-day break from as little as £18 this February |
4 | Copenhagen, Denmark | £117 | Fancy Copenhagen in February? You can find flights from as little as £105 return | 3*: A Hotels City from £123 per night 4*: Scandic Sydhavnen from £141 per night | Find Copenhagen car hire deals for 3-day break from as little as £76 this February |
5 | Prague, Czechia | £122 | Fancy Prague in January? You can find flights from as little as £50 return | 3*: Hotel Braník from £45 per night 4*: Luxury Family Hotel Bílá Labuť from £61 per night | Find Prague car hire deals for 3-day break from as little as £46 this January |
6 | Berlin, Germany | £128 | Fancy Berlin in February? You can find flights from as little as £40 return | 3*: Campanile Berlin Brandenburg Airport from £66 per night 4*: IntercityHotel Berlin Airport Area North from £70 per night | Find Berlin car hire deals for 3-day break from as little as £94 this February |
7 | Bucharest, Romania | £128 | Fancy Bucharest in January? You can find flights from as little as £102 return | 3*: Hotel Mon Caprice from £37 per night 4*: Hotel Ema&Zain from £29 per night | Find Bucharest car hire deals for 3-day break from as little as £28 this January |
8 | Agadir, Morocco | £130 | Fancy Agadir in January? You can find flights from as little as £216 return | 3*: Sud Bahia Agadir "Bahia City Hotel" from £17 per night 4*: Agyad Maroc Appart-Hotel from £32 per night | Find Agadir car hire deals for 3-day break from as little as £42 this January |
9 | Venice, Italy | £134 | Fancy Venice in February? You can find flights from as little as £30 return | 3*: Hotel Centrale from £44 per night 4*: LH Hotel Sirio Venice from £48 per night | Find Venice car hire deals for 3-day break from as little as £32 this February |
10 | Tromsø, Norway | £136 | Fancy Tromsø in March? You can find flights from as little as £83 return | 3*: Smarthotel Tromso from £147 per night 4*: QualityHotel Saga from £198 per night | Find Tromsø car hire deals for 3-day break from as little as £180 this March |
Skyscanner launches NEW Cheapest Destination Planner
44% of UK travellers shared they feel overwhelmed at the prospect of booking travel for 2026 with worry over costs (62%) the biggest contributing factor to this. Skyscanner’s NEW Cheapest Destination Planner is on hand to help banish this stress, revealing the cheapest places to travel every single month, including average flight price and the cheapest day to travel. Think trending Tirana in February with average flight price of £73 return or a fashion and culture city break to Milan and onward adventure to the Dolomites in May with average flight price of £108. How does the Cheapest Destination Planner work?
Simply select the month you want to travel
The tool will reveal the top 10 cheapest destinations (on average) for that month- you’ll see the top reasons to visit and average price for a return flight alongside the cheapest days to travel
Made your choice? You can click through to explore flights and/or hotel options for your chosen destination
Friday is the cheapest day to fly, on average, in 2026
The cheapest day to fly? It might surprise you. According to Skyscanner’s analysis, the cheapest day, on average, to fly in 2026 is a Friday. Only 2% of Brits surveyed thought Friday would be the cheapest with 21% thinking Tuesday and 16% Wednesday. The reality, of course, is that the cheapest day to fly varies according to route and month. Handy Skyscanner tools like ‘Whole Month’ allows travellers to quickly compare which dates offer the best value.
Annual leave hacks in 2026
How Brits can combine their paid and statutory leave to maximise their time off. If they follow Skyscanner’s advice, holidaymakers don’t have to settle for the standard 28 days, they could almost double their time off in 2026 by booking annual leave in between long weekends and bank holidays. • Get 9 days off for St. Patrick’s Day. Those based in Northern Ireland can secure a total of 9 days of leave, by combining public holiday St. Patrick’s Day (17 March) with 4 days of annual leave including 16 March, plus 18 – 20 March • Get 16 days off during Easter. By taking 8 days of annual leave including 30 March-2 April and 7 -10 April and combining it with the Good Friday and Easter Monday public holidays, holiday makers can get 16 days off. (N.B. Scots will need to also take 6 April off)
• Get 24 days off (2-25 May) by booking the 12 days between the two May bank holidays.
• Get 9 days off for May Day Bank Holiday (2–10 May) by taking 4 days of annual leave, from 5-8 May
• Scots can get 9 days off for St. Andrews Day (28 November –6 December) by taking 1–4 December.
• Get up to 10 days off at Christmas (19 December – 3 January 2027) by taking, 29 - 31 December off (Scots get 11 days off as they 4 January is a public holiday)
New Year, New Glow Up
Skyscanner reveals that in 2026 skincare and beauty routines will shape real world travel plans for travellers from the UK.
Almost a third (31%) will keep beauty products and samples from their hotel bathroooms. 30% will buy local beauty products that they can’t get in the UK, while 18% plan to visit local cult-favourite beauty stores (like a Korean beauty product shop.
The research also shows that a very image conscious 15% will keep up their skincare routines in-flight.
When it comes to their reasons for practicing beauty regimes abroad, 44% want to try something new, and 33% believe you can get access to local beauty products that you can’t at home. 27% think shopping for local beauty products is more affordable than at home, while 26% think a detour to a spa or beauty retailer is a fun activity to do with friends.
The Future of Travel
Skyscanner reveals that in 2026 AI is likely to play an increasingly important role in shaping customers travel journeys, with research showing that 46% of travellers are confident in using AI to help them plan and book their travel. 35% have said they will use AI to help them research a destination, 28% will use it to create a travel itinerary, while 28% will use it to create flight and hotel options.
The data also shows us there are still some worries travellers have about using AI. Over half of UK respondents (56%) worry about the accuracy of information from AI tools and 18% say there are too many choices and 17% say there are not enough meaningful options for their trip.
Skyscanner Travel Trends and Destinations expert, Laura Lindsay, shares:
“January travel planning is hugely important to Brits as holidays provide a much-needed moment to look forward to post the festive period. Sadly, our research shows that in 2026, many Brits are overwhelmed at the prospect of booking (51%), with costs top of mind for most (62%). At Skyscanner, we’re committed to making sure everyone can get the break they deserve, by using smart data to find real savings. With the average flight prices of our cheapest destinations less than £136 return to some really fantastic locations, we hope 2026 can still be a great year of travel for all!
“Our new Cheapest Destination Planner has been designed to take the stress out of planning, helping travellers understand how to make their money go further this year.
More smart ways to save on travel in 2026
Drops: Checks flight prices and reveals anomaly price drops of at least 20% for real bargains!
‘Everywhere’ search: The all-time favourite – find the cheapest flights to anywhere in the world.
Price Alerts and Saved: Still in decision making mode? Save your routes and keep track of the flight fluctuations.
About Skyscanner
Skyscanner is a leading global travel app that helps travellers plan and book their trip with ease and confidence. Every month, Skyscanner connects millions of travellers, in 52 countries and 37 languages, to more than 1200 trusted travel partners so they can find the best flight, hotel or car hire options.
Founded in 2003, Skyscanner has offices worldwide, in Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America where traveller-first innovations are developed, powered by data and insights. Making use of the latest technology, Skyscanner simplifies the complexity of travel and provides honest and transparent solutions, searching more than 80 billion prices every day so travellers can be sure they've seen the best possible options, all in one place.
Notes to Editors
*Skyscanner research conducted with OnePoll in November 2025 with 2000 respondents
** Return economy flights booked on Skyscanner between 1 January 2025 and 31 October 2025 for travel between 1 January 2026 and 31 December 2026.
***Live flight prices as found on Skyscanner on 16/12/25 and subject to change
****Live hotel prices as found on Skyscanner on 16/12/25 and subject to change
**** Live car hire prices as found on Skyscanner on 16/12/25 and subject to change
