Jet2.com and Ryanair both offer direct flights from Faro in Portugal to Edinburgh Airport. The flights from Scotland to Faro should take about 3 hours and 30 minutes and one of the great things is that you do not have to change your clocks as Portugal is on the same time zone as the UK.

When you make a flight reservation online if you can be slightly flexible with your flight dates (only within a day or so) it will help you secure the best prices available. It is usually much cheaper if you can travel on a Tuesday or Wednesday as they are the least popular days and with demand low the seat prices are at their most affordable.

If you are happy to travel very early in the morning or late at night, these more anti-social flying times will offer cheaper seat prices. I know this is difficult if you are travelling with young children but is still worth checking the difference in price as the flight to Faro from Scotland is not a long one for them to feel grumpy and tired on.

Finally with airlines charging for every add on that they can at the moment, it is important that you keep your luggage to a minimum as you will be charged for every piece of baggage that you check into the hold, and travelling with a family this can make the costs escalate very quickly.