Searches for Tenerife, Malaga and Alicante have all shown significant rises for Easter this year as Brits take advantage of the potential 11 day holiday over the Royal Wedding period.

Skyscanner says Tenerife is now the second most searched destination on the site, jumping up 21 places from this time last year. City breaks have suffered; although Amsterdam and Barcelona are still in the top ten, they’ve both dropped four places compared to last Easter.

Skyscanner chief executive officer Gareth Williams said: “Malaga and Alicante remain immensely popular with the British, but it also looks as though people are taking advantage of the extra Royal Wedding holiday and going a little further afield this Easter with Tenerife, New York and Istanbul all up considerably compared to last year.

“This has come at the expense of city break destinations which have all dropped significantly this Easter. The fact that London doesn’t even appear in this year’s top ten certainly seems to suggest that many Brits are trying to escape the hype around the Royal Wedding ”.

Most popular destinations for British travellers Easter 2011

1. Malaga

2. Tenerife

3. Alicante

4. New York

5. Istanbul

6. Faro

7. Amsterdam

8. Barcelona

9. Rome

10. Palma

A Taste of the Real Spain

Spain has a glitzy Costa for every day of the week
but the Costa Calida, which has only recently
been discovered by foreign tourists, is a
leisurely destination for discerning visitors and
Spanish families. South of Alicante, in the province of
Murcia, the ‘Warm Coast’ is keen to assert its
individuality, and with good reason. It claims more
sunny days than any other, more than 140 miles of
shore fringed by crystal-clear waters and a lush
hinterland dotted with historic towns and hill villages
tucked among vineyards and citrus groves.

A long forgotten corner of Spain, Murcia is
developing fast but, with a few exceptions, high rise
sites remain refreshingly sparse, with areas of natural
beauty carefully managed and protected. It offers the
best of both worlds: a taste of real Spain with delightful
holiday villas and amenities on your doorstep.

Golf and spa

Ours was a short break so we headed straight for the
Mar Menor Golf Resort at Polaris World, where the
nine-hole course, open to non-residents, will soon be
extended to 18 by the Nicklaus Design team. It plans
a total of six prestigious courses, each one unique,
‘challenging and enjoyable’, suitable for all levels and
landscaped to enhance the environment, enough to
inspire any golfer keen to follow in legendary
footsteps.

Duly impressed, the men set off to tackle the
course while we vanished in search of the spa.
Imagine stepping into a subdued sensuous world of
sound and fragrance, closing the door on all your
cares as you edge into the vitality pool, feel the
warmth of the sauna or the freshness of the ice
fountain, then relax in an inner patio straight out of
the Arabian Nights – and all this before your
treatment even begins.

Then it’s decision time, hot stone, ayurvedic, body
wrap, massage or the ultimate age-defying facial? I
must admit, my greatest need was for the last option
and one hour and 50 minutes of blissful dreams. Cool
aloe and spearmint, scented cypress, lavender, sweet
almond, frankincense, avocado and more, a
gorgeous garden of Eden was at work to enhance my
looks, without the slightest effort on my part.
My face was sprayed with extracts of ivy, jojoba oil
and mallow; my eyes revitalised with an antioxidant
mask and my hair massaged with pink mud. Scrubbed,
moisturised and smoothed to a polish, I emerged on
top of the world, hoping there would be enough time
before dinner to wash the mud out of my hair.

Click to read the whole article, or search for a villa in Spain.