Half-term sun: the shortlist
Late October 2026 · 2 adults, 2 teens, 1 nine-year-old · direct flights only · updated 1 Oct
- Leave Thu 22 (late) – Sun 25
- Home Thu 29 – Sun 1 Nov (by ~3pm)
- Flights ≲ £1,400 for all 5
- Rooms ≲ £300/night
- Seaside + good food
How to read the prices: all flight prices are the total for all 5 of us, return, with no hold bags. Add roughly £150–300 for bags. They're live Google Flights prices from 1 Oct, and half-term fares are moving. Hotel prices are per night for the whole family unless stated.
The top three
1Balearics, direct from Bristol
BRS both wayswarm sea ~21–23°Cgreat foodend of season: check hotels are open
Mallorca and Menorca, which we loved last time, fly direct from Bristol at sensible times. Because open-jaws are fine, we could also fly into Mallorca and home from Menorca or Ibiza with a ferry in the middle, which is actually cheaper than a single island.
Mallorca, 9 nights · £947
Out Fri 23 BRS 21:55 → Palma 01:15 (Ryanair) · Home Sun 1 Nov Palma 10:30 → BRS 11:55 (TUI)
Or out Sat 24 17:35, landing 20:55, same return, 8 nights for £983. The Friday flight lands at 1am, so we'd stay near Palma the first night.
Out Fri 23 BRS 21:55 → Palma 01:15 (Ryanair) · Home Sun 1 Nov Palma 10:30 → BRS 11:55 (TUI)
Or out Sat 24 17:35, landing 20:55, same return, 8 nights for £983. The Friday flight lands at 1am, so we'd stay near Palma the first night.
Mallorca → ferry → Menorca, 8 nights · £1,069
Out Fri 23 BRS 21:55 → Palma · Home Sat 31 Menorca 12:05 → BRS 13:30 (easyJet)
The Alcúdia → Ciutadella ferry takes about 2 hours. Pick up a car separately on each island.
Out Fri 23 BRS 21:55 → Palma · Home Sat 31 Menorca 12:05 → BRS 13:30 (easyJet)
The Alcúdia → Ciutadella ferry takes about 2 hours. Pick up a car separately on each island.
Mallorca → ferry → Ibiza, 8 nights · £873
Out Fri 23 BRS 21:55 → Palma · Home Sat 31 Ibiza 11:15 → BRS 12:45 (easyJet)
The Palma → Ibiza ferry takes about 2–4 hours; roughly €250–400 for 5 foot passengers.
Out Fri 23 BRS 21:55 → Palma · Home Sat 31 Ibiza 11:15 → BRS 12:45 (easyJet)
The Palma → Ibiza ferry takes about 2–4 hours; roughly €250–400 for 5 foot passengers.
Menorca only, 7 nights · £1,267
Out Sat 24 BRS 10:20 → 13:40 · Home Sat 31 Menorca 12:05 → BRS 13:30 (easyJet both ways)
The most civilised flight times of the lot. From Luton it's £1,099 for Sun 25 to Sun 1.
Out Sat 24 BRS 10:20 → 13:40 · Home Sat 31 Menorca 12:05 → BRS 13:30 (easyJet both ways)
The most civilised flight times of the lot. From Luton it's £1,099 for Sun 25 to Sun 1.
Menorca: calmer and greener than Mallorca, with turquoise coves (Macarella, Turqueta), two lovely towns (Ciutadella and Mahón) and great seafood. Lobster stew (caldereta) is the island dish. There's no big-resort tat.
2Dubrovnik (+ a day in Montenegro)
Sheraton ~£335/nightcooler, sea ~19–20°CGatwick
Dubrovnik, 7 nights · £1,197
Out Sun 25 LGW 05:45 → 09:20 · Home Sun 1 Nov 10:35 → LGW 12:40 (easyJet both ways)
Fri 23 → Sun 1 (9 nights) is £1,325. Fri 23 → Sat 31 is £1,303.
Out Sun 25 LGW 05:45 → 09:20 · Home Sun 1 Nov 10:35 → LGW 12:40 (easyJet both ways)
Fri 23 → Sun 1 (9 nights) is £1,325. Fri 23 → Sat 31 is £1,303.
The Sheraton (Marriott) is the realistic hotel at about £335/night for 2 rooms with breakfast. Most others need 3 rooms for 5. Kotor in Montenegro is about 1h45 from Dubrovnik airport including the border, so it's an easy day trip. Croatian hire cars can cross with about €30–60 of paperwork, declared when booking. Split → Kotor is 4.5–5 hours, so that open-jaw is out. The catch is that late October can be wet and stormy.
3Jávea / Dénia (Costa Blanca, nowhere near Benidorm)
cheapest by farDénia: UNESCO food cityhome on a 6am flight from BRS
Alicante from Bristol, 6 nights · £639
Out Sat 24 BRS 21:15 → 00:45 (Ryanair) · Home Fri 30 ALC 06:00 → BRS 07:40 (easyJet)
Or into Alicante and home from Valencia, both from Gatwick: Sat 24 → Fri 30 for £968, with a 10:20 departure home. Jávea/Dénia is about 1h15 from either airport.
Out Sat 24 BRS 21:15 → 00:45 (Ryanair) · Home Fri 30 ALC 06:00 → BRS 07:40 (easyJet)
Or into Alicante and home from Valencia, both from Gatwick: Sat 24 → Fri 30 for £968, with a 10:20 departure home. Jávea/Dénia is about 1h15 from either airport.
This is the closest to our Marbella apartment trip: a beachfront flat for under half the hotel budget, with Dénia's restaurants down the road. The Parador sits right on Arenal beach.
Where to stay
The research team checked late-October opening dates where they could. Lots of seaside hotels close in mid or late October, so anything marked unverified needs an email before booking. Within budget means about £300 a night or less for all five.
Menorca & Ibiza
None of our chains are open here: W Ibiza, Riomar (Marriott) and Mondrian (Accor) all close mid-October, and Menorca has no Accor, Marriott or Hilton. Villa Le Blanc, Torralbenc, Six Senses and Nobu are closed too. Over half the resort restaurants shut by the last week of October; the towns (Mahón, Ciutadella, Santa Eulalia) stay lively.
| Where | What | Per night, family | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fornells, Menorca | 3–4 bed village houses / apartments (e.g. ES BERRY 3, BAHIA 28) | ~£110–145 in budget | 200–450 m from a sheltered bay. Fornells is the lobster-caldereta village, but check which restaurants are still open. |
| Es Castell, Menorca | Son Granot (rural hotel) | ~£360 a bit over | 100 m² 3-bedroom family suite; short drive to Cala Sant Esteve; well-regarded restaurant. Best hotel value for 5. |
| Mahón, Menorca | Cristine Bedfor (5★, independent) | ~£490–690 (2 rooms) over | Old-town hotel with a pool, no beach. Mahón has the island's best year-round food. |
| Ciutadella, Menorca | Faustino Gran (Relais & Châteaux) | ~£730 over | Serious food. May close 30 Oct, so check the last night. |
| Santa Eulalia, Ibiza | Apartamentos Bahia | ~£205 in budget | Beachfront 3-bed, rated 9.2. Walk to Santa Eulalia's restaurant street. Best value on either island. |
| Nr Sant Carles, Ibiza | Apartamentos Aguas Blancas | ~£230 in budget | On the beach in the calm north-east, near Las Dalias. 2-bed, so confirm it sleeps 5. |
| Santa Eulalia, Ibiza | Aguas de Ibiza (SLH / Hyatt partner) | ~£345–475 over | Seafront. Its season may end 25 Oct, so confirm. |
| Es Canar, Ibiza | S'Argamassa Villas | ~£465 over | 3-bed villa with a private pool, 200 m to the beach, rated 9.5. |
Mallorca
| Where | What | Per night, family | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paguera, nr Santa Ponsa | Hilton Mallorca Galatzó (Gold status) | ~£210–230 (2-bed family suite, B&B) seems to close ~28 Oct | Checked live: the family suite is in budget, but Booking.com only sells nights up to 27/28 Oct, and our full dates show "no availability". Worth asking Hilton directly. The suite is listed as "max adults 4", so confirm it takes 5. Santa Ponsa itself is fairly British-resort. |
| Llucmajor (inland) | Hacienda Son Antem (Marriott Autograph) | ~£530 (2 rooms, B&B) over, no beach | Checked live for 24–31 Oct. It's the only Autograph on Mallorca: a golf resort 15 min from the airport, not on the sea. Not available for 23 Oct – 1 Nov. |
| Port de Pollença | 3-bed sea-view apartment (e.g. "Apartment Can Tomas", 9.4 on Booking) · search apartments | ~£115 in budget | Closest to the Marbella vibe: a calm shallow bay to swim in morning and night. The resort is fairly British. Other 3-bed flats are about £180–320/night. |
| Port de Sóller | Hotel Es Port (independent) | ~£500 (2 rooms) over | Lovely valley and real food, a walk to the bay beach. Bookable for our dates. |
| Illetes, nr Palma | Hospes Maricel (Design Hotels; earns Marriott points) | ~£880 well over | Swim off platforms into the sea, excellent restaurant. Has a family room for 5, not priced. |
| Costa d'en Blanes | St. Regis Mardavall (Marriott, Platinum applies) | ~£2,000 no | Part-renovation until 2028. Skip. |
Dubrovnik & Montenegro
| Where | What | Per night, family | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mlini/Srebreno (nr Cavtat) | Sheraton Dubrovnik Riviera (Marriott) | ~£335 (2 rooms, B&B) just over | Checked live: €389/night for 24–31 Oct, or €382 for 23 Oct–1 Nov, with free cancellation. The 9-year-old stays free in our room; the teens would share a king bed. Platinum might get a suite. Indoor pool, open year-round. |
| Dubrovnik | Rixos Premium (Accor) | ~£525 (3 rooms needed) over | Checked live: every room is max 2 people, so 5 of us need 3 rooms. Private rocky beach, 10 min walk to the old town. |
| Cavtat | Hotel Croatia (independent) | ~£640 (3 rooms needed) over | Checked live: rooms are 2-person only. Lovely peninsula, but too pricey for 5. |
| Luštica Bay, MNE | The Chedi | ~£500–600 over | Open year-round, beach plus indoor pool. The best Montenegro option. There's no Marriott or Hilton on the coast. |
Jávea / Dénia
| Where | What | Per night, family | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jávea, Arenal beach | 3-bed apartment, "beach at your feet" (9.0) · search apartments | ~£100 in budget | Right on the main beach, lots of restaurants. |
| Dénia, Les Rotes | 3-bed sea-view apartment with terrace (9.2) · search apartments | ~£150 in budget | Clear rocky coves for snorkelling; Dénia's food scene is 3 km away. |
| Jávea | Parador de Jávea | ~£425 (room for 3 + a double) over | Gardens open straight onto Arenal beach. Free cancellation to 22 Oct. |
| Dénia (inland) | Denia Marriott La Sella | ~£260 (2 rooms) 10 km from sea | Uses Marriott status, but it's a golf resort, so we'd drive to the beach. |
Also considered
| Where | Best direct flights | £ flights | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sicily (Catania) | LTN Fri 23 → Thu 29, 6 nights | £1,265 | Luton, short From Bristol it's £1,832. Sea is warm (~22–23°C). Best value with status: Delta Giardini Naxos (Marriott, on the beach, ~£565/night for 2 rooms). For food: Ortea Palace, Ortigia (Autograph; no beach). Both over the room budget. |
| Naples (Amalfi, Pompeii) | LTN Fri 23 → Thu 29, 6 nights | £1,334 | lidos closing Sea ~21–22°C. Base in Sorrento (train to Pompeii, ferries to Amalfi and Capri). Parco dei Principi: 5★ with a private beach by lift, ~£420–470/night for the family. The Hilton Sorrento Palace has no sea access. Over the room budget. |
| Santorini | BHX Fri 23 → Fri 30 (Jet2) | £1,132 | poor beach fit Black volcanic beaches, coolest sea, hotels shutting. Sandblu (Hilton) may be open to 31 Oct. |
| Kefalonia | LGW Sat 24 → Thu 29 | £1,195 | no Nearly every good resort closes 6–20 Oct. |
| Costa Navarino (Greece) | LGW Sat 24 → Sat 31 only | £2,609 | over budget The Westin (Marriott) is open, but rooms are ~£650–900/night. |
| Corfu | BRS Fri 23 → Sun 1, 9 nights | £1,596 | flights over Domes of Corfu (Marriott Autograph) is open with family pools heated to 1 Nov, on a big sandy beach, ~£250–350/night for the family, so in room budget. Late October is the start of the rainy season. |
| Tangier → Tamuda Bay | LGW Thu 22 19:45 → Fri 30 / Sun 1 | £1,375 | fits Thursday London 1h15 from the airport; sea ~19°C. Sofitel Tamuda Bay (Accor Diamond) is open, with a private beach and kids' villa, ~£396/night for 2 rooms (it offers 50% off an adjoining room). The Ritz-Carlton there never opened. |
| Montenegro direct (Tivat) | LGW Fri 23 → Thu 29 | £1,835 | Fly to Dubrovnik instead. |
| Rhodes / Crete / Corfu / Zante | various | £1,470–2,400 | over Half-term premium. |
| Canaries · Cyprus · Turkey · Malta | various | £1,560–2,700 | over Turkish flights are mostly 1am returns. |