Summer holidays to fire-hit Rhodes on sale for just £295 – half the usual price

Exclusive: Tui is selling a week’s holiday for a family of four, departing on Saturday, for under £300 per person

Let’s go to the beach: A couple walk on the shore in Rhodes (REUTERS/Nicolas Economou)

A week’s package holiday to Rhodes is now selling for less than £300 per person, with bargain-seeking holidaymakers are being offered deals at around half the normal summer levels on the wildfire-hit Greek island

The trip depart on Saturday 29 July with the giant tour operator, TUI. Finding a week’s package for so low a price in the Mediterranean is almost unheard of this summer.

But flying on Saturday from East Midlands airport, a family of four will pay just £295 each.

The fare include flights, transfers and accommodation at the Anixis Apartments – between Rhodes Town and the island’s airport, a long way from the wildfires.

The cheapest deal that Tui has for Turkey on the same date is exactly twice as much: £590 for a week’s self-catering in Turunc, flying from Newcastle to Dalaman. The distance is almost the same.

Ashley Quint, director of the Hertfordshire agency Travel Time World, said: “Whilst I’m of the belief that we shouldn’t be sending people to where there is an imminent threat to life, once that threat has passed we should be supportive of that community, and for somewhere like this, the best we can do is visit.

“These look like some great offers, especially when you compare against what some airlines were charging this summer for the Greek islands.”

On Sunday 30 July, easyJet Holidays is selling a week in Rhodes for £334 per person including flights from London Gatwick and a stay at the Coralli Apartments in Pefkos, close to the affected area.

The following day, Jet2 Holidays has a deal for £389 per person flying from Manchester to Rhodes for a week at the Matoula Beach complex in Ialyssos, near the airport. The price includes breakfast each morning.

For travellers who prefer to assemble their own holidays, Ryanair is selling return flights from London Stansted to Rhodes for £158 return, departing on 31 July for a week.

By comparison, a departure the following day from Stansted to the nearby island of Kos for a week is currently priced at £542 return. The Rhodes flight is 70 per cent cheaper.

An even better deal is available on Ryanair from Birmingham on 1 August for a week – at just £116 return.

With budget accommodation in Rhodes Town available for as little as £32 a night, a couple could spend around £230 each for a week at the peak of the summer holidays.