April is becoming the new August for family holidays

The other day, on a morning whose weather could be the dictionary definition of “February”, my other half turned to me and pointed out that we are both looking rather pasty. Where’s good for sun in Easter, she asked?

Many British families seem to be asking the same question. Data from On the Beach shows that the number of Easter holidays booked in early February this year is up 37 per cent, compared to 2022.

It’s easy to see why early-season holidays are growing in popularity. In recent summers, the Mediterranean has suffered some of the worst heatwaves on record. In Catalonia last year, water was rationed amid a record-breaking drought which threatened to leave swimming pools empty. In Sicily in 2021, the mercury hit 48.8C: a Europe-wide record. Seasonal wildfires are a perennial concern.

If the sweltering climate doesn’t put you off, perhaps the fear of being squirted in the face will. In July last year, tourists on La Rambla, Barcelona, were targeted by water pistol-wielding protesters in a demonstration against mass tourism. Popular beaches were occupied or sometimes blocked off in Majorca. Early rumblings from Spanish resorts suggest that this “anti-tourism” movement will only pick up momentum in 2025.

So yes, it feels like all forces are nudging us earlier into the shoulder season, so much so that “elbow season” feels more apt. And this year in particular, April will be particularly alluring for families with school-age children given that Easter Sunday falls on April 20 (there will only be seven later Easters this century). So we face two key questions: how much will your April holiday cost, and has anywhere in Europe properly warmed up by this point?

First, the cost. On the Beach says you can save up to 50 per cent on a holiday if you book for Easter rather than July or August. Its data shows that families have saved an average of £1,268 by swapping August for April.

To cross check, I’ve been monitoring the monthly fluctuations of holiday prices across key dates in 2025. On average, the same holidays taken at the end of peak season (August 23–30) are 24.7 per cent more expensive than if taken over the Easter school holidays (April 12–19). Right now, for example, a week-long Jet2Holidays trip to Globales Palmanova in Majorca costs £1,110 per person in late August compared with £698 over Easter.

But at what price? In Majorca, the average daily max temperature in April is a T-shirt-worthy 20.4C (according to the Met Office). But this rises to a bikini-worthy 31.5C in August. The average daily low in April is a chilly 7.4C compared to 18.9C in August. The sea surface temperature is a bracing 16C in spring, rising to 26C in August. And there’s twice as much rainfall in April as there is in the summer.

That’s just Majorca, but all of our favourite Med resorts (the Greek islands, Cyprus, Sicily) see similar weather patterns of warm, but not necessarily sunbathe-able daily highs, cool evenings and a higher risk of rainfall. Waiting just one more month and travelling in late May is a good compromise, but usually an expensive one if you are tied to the half-term dates.

The upshot, with April holidays in mind, is that for reliable warmth you will have to look beyond continental Europe. The Canary Islands, just off Africa’s West Saharan coast, is the most logical choice. In April, Tenerife has daily highs of 23C, daily lows of just 16.5C and only 10mm of monthly rainfall. I suspect it is no coincidence that the only European itinerary I’ve found that is (marginally) more expensive in Easter than August is an easyJet Holidays trip to a resort in northern Tenerife.

But otherwise, we are looking at the Red Sea resorts like Sharm El Sheikh (25C-ish), or the Caribbean, where the sea will be warm and temperatures in the early 30s come spring. But don’t be surprised if prices are steeper in Easter compared to August, which isn’t a particularly pleasant month to visit either region (too hot in Egypt, hurricane season in the Caribbean).

So when your own loved one turns to you during this protracted cold snap and mentions a desire for some heat, I am afraid you have no choice but to recite the above and then ask the following questions. Are they bothered by the likelihood of encountering an anti-tourism protest? How far they are willing to travel? And, crucially, are they hoping to feel the sun on their shoulders, or will elbows suffice?