Alicante pairs a palm-lined waterfront with one of the driest climates on the Spanish coast — rain on a weekend trip here is genuinely rare.
Quick answer: Manchester to Alicante is about a 2.1h direct flight. Alicante averages 290+ sunny days a year and is best visited in April, May, June.
🔍 Search live Manchester → Alicante weekends
Alicante is known for Postiguet beach, Santa Bárbara castle, marina nightlife and paella — comfortably coverable between a Friday evening departure from Manchester and a Sunday night return. Flying from Manchester Airport, you have direct options that keep the whole weekend usable.
The hard part isn't the route — it's the timing. Cheap fares and sunny forecasts rarely line up on the weekend you happen to check. SunnyFlight watches both, every week, and emails you when they do.
Set Manchester as your home airport — we'll watch this route (and every other sunny one) for you, free.
Get free weekly alerts →A direct flight from Manchester (MAN) to Alicante (ALC) takes roughly 2.1 hours — short enough to leave Friday after work and land in time for dinner.
Alicante is at its best in April, May, June, September, October: warm, reliably sunny weather without peak-season pricing. Average daytime highs run from 17°C in winter to 30°C in summer.
Fares from Manchester to Alicante swing week to week. SunnyFlight scans this route (and every other direct route from Manchester) every Wednesday and emails you only when a cheap weekend fare coincides with a sunny forecast — free.
| Destination | Country | Sunny days/yr | Winter / summer | Direct flight | Best months |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Málaga | Spain | 300+ | 17°C / 30°C | ~2.3h | April, May, June |
| Faro | Portugal | 300+ | 16°C / 29°C | ~2.4h | April, May, June |
| Palma de Mallorca | Spain | 300+ | 15°C / 29°C | ~2h | May, June, September |
| Tenerife | Spain | 320+ | 21°C / 28°C | ~3.8h | January, February, November |
| Marrakech | Morocco | 290+ | 18°C / 37°C | ~3.1h | January, February, March |
| Lanzarote | Spain | 320+ | 21°C / 28°C | ~3.6h | January, February, November |
| Fuerteventura | Spain | 320+ | 21°C / 27°C | ~3.7h | January, February, November |
Guides: all weekend flights from Manchester · the full Alicante weekend guide