A Spanish coastline with a whitewashed town above a blue bay

Mainland Spain · from BFS

Spain from Belfast: every coast, compared

Spain is not one destination from Belfast. It is four coasts and four islands with different seasons, different prices and very different reasons to go.

Last checked 20 September 2026 By Oliver Jones Independent — we sell nothing

Flight time: 2h 45m – 4h 50mfrom BFS
Season: Varies by region
Direct from Belfast: Yes

All of it, on one table

Region	Airport	Flight	Transfer	Season	Book it for
Barcelona	BCN	2h 45m	20–40 min	Year-round	A city that works in February
Costa Dorada	BCN	2h 50m	70 min	May–Sep	Shallow beaches, small children
Majorca	PMI	2h 50m	15–60 min	May–Oct	Range: families, mountains, a city
Ibiza	IBZ	2h 55m	10–50 min	May–Oct	Short transfer, coves, an old town
Menorca	MAH	2h 55m	10–45 min	May–Oct	The best beaches, if you will walk
Costa Blanca	ALC	3h 5m	20–70 min	Apr–Oct	Value and variety
Costa del Sol	AGP	3h 10m	Train, 12–35 min	Apr–Oct	No transfer needed, day trips inland
Costa de Almería	AGP/LEI	3h 15m	60 min+	May–Oct	Empty beaches and desert
Lanzarote	ACE	4h 30m	10–35 min	Year-round	Winter sun, shortest transfer
Gran Canaria	LPA	4h 40m	25–45 min	Year-round	Winter sun with variety
Tenerife	TFS	4h 45m	20–30 min	Year-round	The most reliable sun in Europe

The four questions that decide it

1. What month are you going?

This eliminates most of the list before you start.

November to March: the Canaries, or Barcelona. Everything else on that table is either cold, closed, or both. Resort Majorca in January is a boarded-up seafront.

April and October: the southern mainland comes into its own. Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca hold a swimmable sea into late October and cost a fraction of August.

May to September: everything is open, and now the other three questions matter.

2. How long can you sit on a plane?

The gap between Barcelona at 2h 45m and Tenerife at 4h 45m is two hours each way. With small children, that is the single biggest variable on this page, and it is worth more than any hotel upgrade.

3. How long is the transfer?

This is the one people forget at the point of booking, and the one they remember at eleven at night on a coach making its fourth hotel stop.

Best: the Costa del Sol, where a train from inside the terminal reaches four resorts. Then Lanzarote at ten minutes, Ibiza at ten. Worst: the Costa Dorada at seventy minutes, and anything in the far north of Majorca.

4. What do you want to do when you are not on the beach?

Where the value actually sits

Two patterns worth knowing, because they run counter to instinct.

In the Canaries, winter is peak. January and February cost more than May, because northern Europe has nowhere else to go. If your dates are flexible, April, May and November give you the same weather for much less.

On the mainland, late September is the best week of the year. The sea peaks about two months after the air, so late September holds a 24 to 25°C sea across the southern coasts, with the crowds gone the week schools go back. It is the most underpriced window on this whole table.

Start here

Tenerife · Lanzarote · Gran Canaria · Canaries compared
Majorca · Menorca · Ibiza · Balearics compared
Costa del Sol · Costa Blanca · Costa Dorada · Costa de Almería
Málaga · Alicante · Barcelona

Frequently asked questions

Which part of Spain is warmest in winter?

The Canary Islands, and it is not close. Around 21°C in January against 17°C on the southern mainland, and the Canaries have the sunshine to go with it.

Which has the shortest flight from Belfast?

Barcelona at around two hours forty-five, followed by the Balearics and the Costa Dorada.

Where is the cheapest?

Benidorm on the Costa Blanca for sheer value per night, and Majorca for the widest range of prices because supply is so large.

Which is best for young children?

The Costa Dorada or northern Majorca, both for the same reason: very shallow, gently shelving sandy beaches.