FANCY draining a stein without emptying your wallet?

We have rounded up Europe’s best-value Oktoberfest hotspots.

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A survey by travel giant Tui has revealed the cheapest city break destinations to enjoy a pint.

And Jacob Lewis shares where to find the tastiest beers at prices you will raise a glass to.

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WHY settle for one type when you can have dozens?

Prague’s beer scene is overflowing, with pints from £1.86.

The Czech capital is a paradise for beer lovers, packed with interesting bars, and boasting a host of microbreweries and centuries of brewing history.

From traditional pilsners to strange craft concoctions, the city has got something to tantalise every taste bud.

Three nights’ B&B at the Ibis Praha Mala Strana in Prague is from £356 per person, based on two sharing, including flights from Birmingham on October 25 with 22kg checked baggage.

See jet2citybreaks.com.

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THIS city serves up bargains faster than you can say “cheers” in Romanian (it’s “noroc”, by the way).

With pints for as little as £1.50, Bucharest is a beer lover’s budget-friendly dream.

It has an 18th-century brewing heritage, but is not afraid to put modern twists on old favourites.

And it is another great option without raising your credit card bill too much.

Four nights’ room-only at the 3* Hotel Trianon in Bucharest is from £565 per person, based on two adults sharing, including flights leaving London Heathrow on October 19 with hand luggage only.

See tui.co.uk.

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PARTY along the Danube without sinking your budget.

Budapest’s nightlife — especially its ruin bars — is legendary, as are beer prices.

You can get a local pint for as little as £1.20, or enjoy craft beers starting from £1.70.

The best part? Many Budapest breweries use locally sourced ingredients, including native hops and Hungarian barley, providing a true local flavour.

Three nights’ room only at the 4* Soho Boutique Hotel in Budapest is from £285 per person, based on two adults sharing, including flights departing London Gatwick on October 21 with hand luggage only.

See tui.co.uk.

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WHILE not the cheapest, with a pint averaging £3.50, Munich is the spiritual home of Oktoberfest.

Rub elbows with lederhosen-wearing locals in the city’s massive beer halls, tents and gardens.

The atmosphere alone is worth the admission price.

Steins of traditional Bavarian brews, oompah bands and pretzels the size of your head . . .  it’s the ultimate Oktoberfest experience.

Three nights’ room-only at the Holiday Inn Munich-Unterhaching is from £217 per person, based on two sharing, including flights from London Gatwick on October 16 with hand luggage only.

See easyjet.com.

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BRACE yourself, beer lovers — pints here average £8.61.

Iceland’s capital boasts a beer culture born from Prohibition.

After a total ban from 1915 to 1989, it is now celebrated.

From microbreweries to bars serving quirky, volcanic-inspired brews, Reykjavik proves that sometimes, quality trumps quantity.

Just remember to budget accordingly.

Three nights’ room-only at the 4* Hotel Island Spa and Wellness in Reykjavik is from £554 per person, based on two adults sharing, including Luton flights departing October 13 with hand luggage only.

See tui.co.uk.

RYANAIR passengers will have to follow new boarding pass rules next year – and it isn’t good news.

The low-cost airline has confirmed that paper boarding passes are to be scrapped in 2025.

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Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary confirmed that they would phase our the physical boarding passes by May, saying that as many as 60 per cent currently use mobile passes.

Currently, Brits can get a boarding pass at the airport with the airline.

But passengers are charged £55 if they forget to check in and download their boarding passes before arriving at the airport.

The new rules would mean there would be no option to to check in at the airport at all, with the desks scrapped.

He said: “Our goal is to eliminate check-in desks at the airport, just like we’ve done with luggage counters.

“Everything will be managed through the app, making the process fully digital and eliminating paper entirely.”

The scrapping of the desks would also mean the scrapping of the £55 fee.

He added: “I’m one of the last remaining people still showing up with my piece of paper.

“It also means, once we get everybody onto the app, nobody will ever again pay for a boarding pass at an airport – the airport check in fee will be gone. 

“So, I think it will be a smoother, easier journey for everybody.” 

Some countries, however, require a physical print out of the boarding pass, such as Morocco, Turkey and Albania‘s Tirana, so it isn’t clear how this will be affected for passengers who forget to print one.

The Ryanair website currently states: “If you depart from a Moroccan airport, a digital boarding pass will not be accepted.

“You must carry a physical printout of your boarding pass, and you’ll need to present this boarding pass at the Moroccan airport check-in facility.”

Ryanair has also increased their luggage fees this week.

The airline previously charged up to £38 for anyone booking Priority upgrades at the airport, which come with a 10kg suitcase and hand luggage bag.

New rules could see passengers charged up to £60 if adding this after booking flights or at the airport.

A spokesperson said the fees depend on the route and travel dates selected.

Earlier this year, the Ryanair boss warned that flight prices will soar this Christmas.

Due to passenger caps at Dublin airport, he said that flight prices could hit £422, adding he will “make a fortune” this Christmas.

It’s not the only outlandish way the airline wanted to make money.

Previous Ryanair plans included paying £1 to use the onboard toilets.

And the airline even proposed standing cabins and scrapped armrests to reduce the weight of the plane – saving them money.

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PLEASURE Beach Resort in Blackpool is one of the country’s best-loved seaside attractions.

The award-winning seaside theme park, which is just as popular in the colder months of the year, claims to be home to the “most haunted” ghost train in the world.

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The Ghost Train at Blackpool‘s Pleasure Beach Resort first opened to the public in 1930 and remains in operation to this day, with Hollywood director Tim Burton among its fans.

Tim Burton visited Blackpool last year while he was filming Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and went on a private tour of the Blackpool-based ghost train for inspiration.

But a tour – or even a ride – certainly isn’t for the faint-hearted, with claims that it’s the world’s most haunted ghost train.

The popular ride is said to be haunted by a clog-wearing spirit aptly named ‘Cloggy’.

Cloggy, who died 20 years ago, was one of the ride’s original operators, and earned his nickname because he always wore clogs.

It was after Cloggy passed away that guests reported being “touched” or “grabbed” by someone – or something – they could only hear.

Over the years, staff members have also claimed to hear odd noises like tapping, scratching and groaning as well as loud footsteps.

A group of workmen also reported unusual events like signs working without any power or electricity, while others have claimed to see a ghostly male figure resembling German philosopher Karl Marx.

Other parts of the seaside theme park are also said to be haunted, including Hiram Maxim’s Flying Machines, the park’s oldest ride.

A ghostly little girl is said to haunt the ride’s gift shop.

Other spooky sightings at the park include a phantom hanging man and a blood-stained woman.

The TV series Most Haunted investigated Blackpool Pleasure Beach Resort in 2004, with the late Derek Acorah claiming to make contact with Cloggy

Still in use today, the Ghost train will form one of the four scare zones at Pleasure Beach Resort’s Journey to Hell event.

Journey to Hell is an experience-led event, featuring live actors through themed areas of Pleasure Beach Resort.

There will also be immersive scare zones and unlimited riding after dark, guaranteed to leave adrenaline flowing and hearts thumping. 

Two new live-action scare zones are set to feature in 2024.

I just love the whole vibe

The Alice and Wonderland-themed ‘Down the Rabbit Hole’ will see the park’s Alice in Wonderland ride transformed into a nightmarish world where Alice and friends have gone insane.

Meanwhile, inside the bizarre ‘Cabinet of Curiosities’ visitors will find the lair of a macabre collector and have to flee through a maze of horrors.

There will be nine rides in the event, all available for unlimited riding, with the north of the Pleasure Beach home to terrifying roaming creatures.

‘The Ghost Train: Vault of Shadows’ returns for the second year, and the resort’s network tunnels will become home to a live-action scare zone.

Entry tickets start from £39.50 per person, with the event running from October 11 until October 31, 2024.

Andy Hygate, director of operations at Pleasure Beach Resort, said: “The story goes that Cloggy loved his job so much that, even after he passed away, he continued showing up for work and causing mischief. Even the most skeptical of staff have stories to tell, and some point blank refuse to work on that particular ride.

“Other people can’t get enough of the ghostly goings on though, and we’ve had guests travel from all over the world to get a glimpse of Cloggy and the other ghosts that are said to haunt Pleasure Beach.”

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Celebs who love Blackpool

Plenty of A-listers have been spotted in the northern seaside town, including Robbie Williams and Samuel L Jackson.

Tim Burton, who is arguably the town’s biggest fan, first visited Blackpool in 2006 to watch The Killers perform.

Since then, he’s returned to the town on several occasions, even shooting his Miss Peregrine’s School For Peculiar Children in the Blackpool in 2015, and turning the lights on at Blackpool Illuminations.

Burton told Granada Reports: “I just love the whole vibe. It surprised me because I don’t really know why. Sometimes things are an emotional response.

“I don’t know if it’s because I grew up in California and used to wander alone on these amusement piers.

“It just had a gravity to me; the old and new, the texture of the older buildings. The whole environment was something that really spoke to me.”

Plans are underway to develop pet-friendly apartments at the seaside theme park.

And this award-winning theme park is opening a new £300m attraction in the UK.

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TOUR operator Jet2 is set to launch six new routes to affordable destinations in Greece for summer 2026.

Four regional airports in the UK will get the new Greek routes, with more than 100,000 seats already on sale.

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East Midlands Airport will see two new routes, one to Thessaloniki (Halkidiki) in northern Greece and another to Preveza in northwestern Greece.

Flights to Thessaloniki (Halkidiki) are set to operate from May 23, 2026, with one-way tickets to Greece starting from £95 per person.

The weekly service will depart from East Midlands Airport at 4.45pm before touching down in Greece at 10.15pm local time.

Services to Preveza will begin operating slightly earlier on May 6, 2026, with one-way fares again starting from £95 per person.

The weekly service will depart from East Midlands Airport at 3.30pm, landing in Greece at 9pm.

A new service will also operate from Newcastle Airport – dubbed the best airport in the UK – to Preveza on May 26, 2026.

One-way fares from Newcastle Airport to Preveza will also start from £95 per person, with fares shooting up in the school summer holidays.

Located south of Corfu, Preveza is home to Monolithi Beach, the longest beach in Europe.

Holidaymakers should expect a mix of both Italian and Greek culture, with many visiting for boat trips to explore the nearby coves.

Jet2 will also add a new route from Bournemouth Airport to Kos, with the route launching right on time for the school summer holidays on July 29, 2026.

The cheapest one-way fares start from £146 during the school summer holidays, with the best deals to be had in October on this route.

Tourism is the main industry for Kos, with the resort of Kardamena popular with British holidaymakers

Edinburgh Airport will also see two new routes in summer 2026, one to Kefalonia and another to Kalamata.

The Kefalonia service will start operating from May 3, 2024, with one-way fares starting from £137.

Flights will leave the Scottish airport at 3.50pm, arriving on the Greek island at 9.50pm local time.

Kefalonia is one of the six largest islands in Greece, along with Crete and Rhodes.

The island also has some of the best secret beaches where you won’t bump into many other tourists.

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Meanwhile, flights to Kalamata in southern Greece are slated to start operating just three days later on May 6, 2024.

One-way fares from the UK start from £106, with flights departing Edinburgh at 2.15pm and landing in Greece at 8.30pm.

Following the announcement, Jet2 boss Steve Heapy said: “Customers are telling us they want to book ahead and secure that all-important holiday to Greece, so we have responded to that demand by putting our biggest ever Greek Summer programme on sale for 2026, earlier than anyone else and earlier than ever before.  

“This Summer 26 programme represents a huge expansion with more seats and routes on sale to Greece, including 110 routes and six new routes.”

In total, 22 brand-new summer routes are scattered throughout the summer 2026 schedule, with Newcastle Airport seeing five new flights.

Dubbed the “best airport” in the UK, Newcastle Airport will now serve 57 destinations thanks to the new Jet2 routes.

Travellers heading to Newcastle Airport will now be able to head off to Agadir and Marrakech in Morocco, Preveza in Greece and the twin Iberian hotspots of Barcelona and Porto.

In addition to those, passengers will be able to take advantage of new routes from Bournemouth, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London Stansted and the East Midlands.

Altogether, over 1,700 flights will depart weekly across the network during peak periods.

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A HUGE new waterfront development is set to transform a Brit-loved winter sun hotspot.

Ras El Hekma is a new waterfront megaproject being built in Egypt, which will be twice the size of Barcelona.

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Ras El Hekma will be on the North Coast of Egypt between Alexandria and Marsa Matrouh.

It will also be just a few hours from Cairo, with plans to have both flights and cruise ships from Europe.

This means a new international airport will be built, along with a cruise terminal and high speed rail links.

Brits can currently fly to Cairo in just under five hours, with flights to the the development expected to be slightly shorter.

Resorts expected to be built there include Accor – who own Ibis and Novotel – and Ennismore.

The luxury golf courses will be created by Valderrama, one of the most famous golf resorts in the world.

The main waterfront area will be the tourist resort with a main downtown that has beach resorts, public beaches and “coastal communities”.

Another district will promote “local culture”.

Images also show a cable car network as well as restaurants right on the beach.

Some of the first stages will be complete by next year, such as some of the beach apartments, amusement facilities and the seafront with construction starting next month.

The project is being developed by Abu Dhabi based Modon Holding as well as other UAE and Egyptian developers including ADQ subsidiary Ras El Hekma Urban Development Project Company.

As much as $110billion (£84billion) investment is expected by 2045.

His Excellency Jassem Mohamed Bu Ataba Al Zaabi, Chairman of Modon Holding, said, “Ras El Hekma is destined to become a regional crown jewel in a country already famed for its rich and diverse attractions.

“Modon Holding is proud to bring this 170-million-square-metre
visionary megaproject to life, leveraging our expertise and innovative approach.

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“With our partners, we are poised to transform Ras El Hekma into a dynamic economic powerhouse and a global model for urban development.”

Another £16.3billion beachfront attraction is set to open in Egypt as well.

The new SouthMED project is to become a “global destination on the southern Mediterranean”.

As well as 2,000 hotel rooms, there will also be an international marina and 8km beach.

Five new water attractions opening in the UK

1. Therme Manchester will have 25 swimming pools, 25 water slides and an indoor beach.
2. Modern Surf Manchester will be a surfing lagoon offering lessons to both beginners and experts.
3. Chessington World of Adventures Waterpark is set to have wave, infinity and spa pools as well as waterslides and cabanas.
4. The Cove Resort, Southport is likely to have a water lagoon and a thermal spa with steam rooms and saunas.
5. The Seahive, Deal plans to be the “surfing wellness resort” in the UK.

In Greece, a £6.8billion Dubai-like attraction is set to open with the seaside resort home to five-star hotels and marina.

And a £4.3billion beachfront attraction in Qatar is to “rival Disney” in size.

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