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The cheapest 5 destinations in Europe for tipsy travellers
It’s beginning to smell like summer and for youngsters under 25 there is nothing better than getting sozzled in unusual destination around Europe. No drinker wants to pay more for their booze, hence the trend for the mad and cheap holiday. The cost of alcohol varies drastically from one place to another and in a surprising number of places a beer is cheaper than a coke! Thanks to a weak Euro, the worst thing you can do is to stay home or to go to Scandinavian cities like Oslo or Stockholm – great for culture but the most expensive cities for getting pissed. The following destinations are the cheapest when it comes to getting plastered. There are low-‐cost flight connections most of the time to all of them with return tickets for under a hundred pounds. If you fancy a beer, wine or cocktails, get lashed for less than the price of one beer in Oslo in the following five destinations:
Sunny Beach, the Cancun of Europe
In this Bulgarian paradise where English is spoken everywhere, Happy Hour is every hour. Most of the places around even offer free drinks (200 restaurants, live music bars, nightclubs, discos, cafes, pubs and casinos), so be careful with the quantities! If you are looking for a bargain break and cheap booze, you should head to Europe’s new holiday playground considered as the cheapest destination for food and drink with a pint of beer for only 60p! Visit Guaba Beach Bar, grab a hammock and enjoy the atmosphere as this party beast hots up for a night of pure pleasure, or go to Revolution, a 800-‐capacity dance club stylish in décor with DJs playing national ‘chalga’ and house music. Sunny Beach offers British tourists the lowest prices in Europe, according to Post Office Travel Money (study showing that holiday costs £65 taking into account the prices of 15 typical holiday items and services compared with the most popular European resorts). Spirit and mixer for £2, bottle of wine for £5 and three-‐course meal for £12, are the average resort costs. Without a doubt, Sunny Beach is Bulgaria’s most popular tourist destination for foreigners. You have no other choice than partying with house music on the beach until the sun comes up with 18-‐28 aged people around. Clubs as Cacao Beach and Bedroom Beach
run all night beach parties with big name DJs such as Adam Beyer, Marco Carola, David Guetta or Mark Knight, attracting thousands of young people with insatiable appetite for 24-‐hour partying. Soft golden sand, clean sea, water scooters, beach volleyball, aqua parks…what more can you ask for? Enjoy the freedom and drink as much as you want under the lovely 30°C sun in the largest and most popular seaside resort on the Black Sea coast (a mix of Underworld, Cancun and Disney World). Located between the super old and beautiful town of Nessebar (UNESCO historical site) and the largest yacht port on the Bulgarian coast, St. Vlas, the tourist season lasts from May until October. Go and visit Nessebar, the Pearl of the Black Sea Coast, on your hangover or relaxing day and discover its rich three millennia of ever-‐changing history. It was listed a World Cultural Heritage Monument in 1983 because of its unique historic colour. Definitely the ideal place for romantic strolls along the narrow cobbled streets, shall shops selling handmade souvenirs, knitting and crochets.
Prague, where alcohol is cheaper than water
One thing you will learn very quickly when in Prague is that you will drink beer. Czech Republic is the world’s number one beer-‐drinking nation. Beer is served even in breakfast cafés! The whole country consumed 1.5 billion litres in 2015 with 150 litres per head (not including children, obviously). That’s not surprising since the world famous Czech beer has a terrific taste and costs less than £1 for half a litre. Located in the heart of Europe, Prague offers an abundance of bars and clubs, with a reputation as one of the best nightspots in Europe and the second cheapest for tanking up. Here beer is not even cheaper than a coke, but from water!
The cost of a holiday in Prague is roughly half of that of a break in Rome, Barcelona or Paris, and you can still perceive an appreciation of culture, historical monuments, art and stunningly colourful architecture. Considered as the cheapest young traveller’s holiday hotspot, this is a beer drinker’s
magnet especially for stag-‐dos. What a cheap place for long nights, top class DJs and a variety of over a hundred good beers! So, if beer is cheaper than water, you should try the most common type of beers. Most Czech beers are light beers, brewed naturally from handpicked hops, nicely chilled and with a tall head. The most representative beer brands are Pilsner Urquell -‐ the original beer from which all golden beers are derived in the entire world; world well-‐known Staropramen and Budvar -‐ the original king of beers. Don’t miss the chance to try them all and drink to your heart and wallet’s content! Five-‐hundred-‐old basement pubs are the most common places to become intoxicated. If you get tired of doing the same, make a change visiting Letna Beer Garden (located inside the beautiful Letna Park along the bank of the river Vitava) where you can have a nice drink while overlooking the old town of Prague. Also, for those who want to take a break from the hard stuff, the mandatory experience to make Prague unique is visiting the Nuclear Bunker Tour. Made during the Cold War, this ex-‐Soviet bunker is located 5 stories under the ground so that visitors can be involved in an evocative ambience of the paranoia and violence back in time. It is crammed with paraphernalia including gas masks, uniforms and medical kits. Absolutely the best choice after visiting world’s largest complex of Prague Castle, Charles Bridges with 30 statues and the Old Town Square with the Astronomical Clock.
Budapest, forbidden to clink beer glasses
The Hungarian capital is the cheapest destination in Europe to buy alcoholic drinks. Drinks ranking from wine and beer to spirits and cocktails, cost half the price as in places like Ibiza or Amsterdam, so this might be the best bet for boozy holiday abroad. And the good news is that you can fly from London to Budapest as little as £25 return provided you get out of bed at the crack of dawn… It is not always easy with a hangover! Drink prices, ranging from wine and beer to spirits and cocktails, cost half as much in Budapest as in places like Ibiza or Amsterdam. By all means, tourists who visit
the Pearl of the Danube will be able to purchase any alcohol drink not for cheaper than water, but certainly for less than a pound! Wine and bottles of lager cost around 90p on average whereas the most expensive drinks of the city were cocktails such as Cosmopolitan or Mojito with a price of £3. What is more, a round of ten different drinks will cost you £19 in total. But make sure you don’t clink you beer glasses. When Hungary was defeated by Austria after 1848s revolution, the Habsburgs celebrated the victory by clinking their beer glasses in Vienna. Hungarians vowed not to clink their beer glasses as a cheers since because brings bad luck. Also, it is considered rude not to look the other person in the eye when saying “egészségedre” (cheers) with any other alcoholic beverage. Locals will literally have their eyes wide open to make sure you know that they're looking at you, and vice versa. But Budapest is famous for the ruin bars (dilapidated buildings converted into quirky bars). Check out Caesar’s Pub, where local Arany Aszok beer costs only 62p and in match days it is very crowded. Nagy Diofa Wine-‐house is another twilight feeling option, where you can have half litre jar of wine-‐spritzer for only 80p, or Xenia, strange-‐coloured vodka only for the bravest. But undoubtedly, a boat-‐tour on the Danube at night is the crème de la crème not related with alcoholism while in Budapest. Why at night and not during the day? Because at night, you will be able to enjoy the Hungarian Parliament building, which shines in golden colours among all the rest sights of the historical city. It is surely an extravagant, fanciful and calming experience.
Algarve, have a drink in Instagram beaches
Alcohol is very reasonably priced in the most popular tourist destination in Portugal. In Algarve prices have fallen sharply since last year by 20%. A glass of Mateus (best known rose) or young green Soalheiro (slightly sparkling) wine now costs £1.10. The “cerveja” has almost halved in price and it is now only 75p to swallow national beers between Sagres, Super Bock or Cristal. The Algarve is also famous for its spirits which cost around £1.50. Choose aguardente (a rough brandy to warm your cockles) or Medronho (fire water) if you want a potent spirit that can knock your socks off. Also, try a glass of port (Portugal’s best known drink) after a meal. In here, one can only dream of Mediterranean climate, safety, low costs and well-‐known beaches from Marinha Beach to Armação de Pêra. Whichever part you choose, you will find friendly people, excellent local wines and delicious fresh fish and cured hams. Here is a selection of the nicest places depending of the area. For house music in Carvoeiro go to Bar Havana and have £2.50 cocktails. If you are in Alvor, visit Praia dos Três Irmãos and dance with a beer on the beach between cliffs during DJ sets and party nights with live music. Another option is Stevie Ray’s Blues Jazz Bar in Lagos – an elegant place with live music and warm atmosphere. Last recommendation is Bat at Bela Vista in Praia de Rocha (Portimao), head for the terrace that overlooks the beach with superb range of cocktails. If you have one of those days and you feel like a teetotaller, do not worry because you have marvellous options. Go to Zoomarine Park and make up your mind whether you want to be one of the lucky guys who have interacted and swum with dolphins in the pool. But do not forget that there is another option for visiting the largest artificial underwater park in the world – the Ocean Revival Underwater Park. This is the greatest opportunity to dive exploring four sunken Navy ships and witness the developing ecosystems within the marine life. How much does it coast? All of it is for free! Any person can dive there as long as they are trained. However, the safest way to dive is with a club or diving school, so that you can get the best out of the experience.
Malaga, miraculous and Mediterranean
Drinking in the Mediterranean capital of the Coast of the Sun is priceless. Avoid Spanish summer destinations like Lloret de Mar or Benidorm. They have their prices somewhere in the clouds, and to put matters worse, all local people have sneaked away because of the jammed foreign gringos. If you are really ready for ‘fiesta’, Malaga with its resorts is your sun and sea exception where everything is about cheap drinks and saving money. One San Miguel, Alhambra or Cruzcampo cost nearly £1.10 and a glass of Ribera de Duero or Rioja round £1.25. On top of that, the good news is that there is another popular option: “botellón”. Spaniards know how to party and you better join their botellón way based on street alcohol drinking during day and night-‐time while socializing (it was created in Andalusia in the 80s). It is an economical way to drink before going to discos and nightclubs as a whole litre of wine cost only 40p in supermarkets! Nothing can be cheaper and better than tasting the popular ‘calimocho’ (wine mixed with soda). Also, there is a draw for those considered as the ‘party animals’ – clubs and bars stay open until 6am as Malagueños go clubbing late. Choose between Torremolinos, Benalmadena and Fuengirola, a youngster’s beach party atmosphere where nights become sunrise. All of them are thrifty, offering typical Andalusian nightlife with a very cosmopolitan 24 hours feel. You will find plenty of tastes including dance bars, house and techno clubs, Hip-‐Hop and Reggae discos. Check Discoteca Mai Tai nightclub on the Fuengirola seafront open until dawn; visit Kiu in Benalmadena -‐ the largest club in 24-‐hour Square with three dance floors; and the most extravagant lighting system with nights until 9am at Fuengirola’s Palladium Disco. Warm summer nights in Costa del Sol are the ideal ambiance to enjoy out-‐door parties and savour all those sexy tanned bodies in light summer clothing. What are the options if by any coincidence you are tired of partying? Visit one of the best Spanish villages: Ronda. Only one hour away from The Coast of the Sun, this historic charm is famous worldwide for its dramatic escarpments and views. It is considered from the majority of Spaniards as the most beautiful village in the whole Iberian peninsula. Also, American artists like Orson Welles and Ernest Hemingway spent many summers in Ronda writing about its beauty and bullfighting traditions.
Georgi Dianov Georgiev
