You could enjoy a budget “do-it-yourself” Winter Sun holiday in the Alicante region in Spain for as little as £133 per person, based on two sharing.

Flights – £52 per person based on return flights from Edinburgh to Alicante with Ryanair costing £52 per person, paying with Visa Electron to avoid card fees of £4 per flight, using online check in and only taking maximum permitted 10 kgs of hand luggage.

Car hire - £65 through Economy Car Hire for a super mini to include two drivers and no insurance excess.

Accommodation – £96 for 7 nights self catering accommodation in one bedroom apartment at Palmera Beach Apartments booked through the Holiday Nights. The Palmera Beach Apartments are located on the Orihueda Coast, about half way between Cartegna and Alicante.

Please note that prices and exchange rates vary from day to day.

My costings are a revision of the nine day reccy we are planning to evaluate the southern coast of Spain as a location for Our Own Place in the Sun, where the cost of that trip is £220 per person. The costs are reduced by the stay being for seven instead of nine nights, staying in the lowest priced accommodation for the duration of the holiday and using the same airport for the pick up and drop off of the hire car.

As I’ve pointed out before, DIY holidays you don’t have the same level of protection compared to booking a package holiday. One way to protect yourself is to use your credit card to pay for any purchases made over £100 (but this level isn’t always reached on a cheap DIY holiday) and to purchase travel insurance from a company such as 1Stop Travel Insurance which includes cover for dynamic packaging.