Beautiful country that's 'Europe's Maldives' with £1 pints Brits are choosing over Spain

This stunning country with turquoise blue waters and cheap beer is experiencing a massive surge in popularity.

By Vita Molyneux, Travel Reporter

beautiful landscape of Butrint national archeological park in Albania

Albania is experiencing a boost in popularity with Brits (Image: Getty)

Move over Spain because there’s a new British tourism hotspot on the rise.

New research from Dubai Tours & Tickets found that The Southeastern European country of Albania is among the most "in demand" destinations for UK travellers.

Travel experts analysed the Google search data of Brits for 250 countries over the past 12 months. They used seven popular search terms, including “holidays,” “flights,” and “trips” to find out where people from the UK are thinking of jetting off to.

Albania gathering an average of 54,929 monthly searches. “Holiday Albania” made up 37,583 of these monthly searches on average - beating Spain, Portugal and Iceland.

It’s hardly surprising that Albania is experiencing a boost in popularity.


The traveler is resting on Mount Dajt, watching Bovilla Lake.

There's plenty of stunning scenery to be explored (Image: Getty)

A beer is priced at around £1.07 to £2.10 and a coffee roughly £1.50, while groceries are around 40 percent cheaper than in the UK.

As well as its impressively low price point, Albania boasts stunning landscapes, sparkling seas and quiet coves perfect for sunbathing and relaxing.

Flights to Albania leave daily from major airports across the UK - and with paradise just a three hour flight away, why not put it on your list? There’s plenty to see and do, depending on what you fancy.


If you like beach lounging, you could head to the Canyon of Gjipe nestled between the popular regions of Dhermi and Vuno, which winds its way down to the stunning Gjipe Beach.

Further along the Albanian Riviera, the beautiful Ksamil is causing a stir among influencers, with many branding it Europe's answer to the Maldives due to its burgeoning popularity on social media - so get in quickly if you want to visit before it gets just as popular as the Maldives.

Magdalena Petrusic from Dubai Tours & Tickets said: “The power of social media has likely exposed Brits to some destinations they would never have thought of, which don’t necessarily break the bank.

"This can be seen with the popularity of Albania, which from social media has been described as ‘the Maldives of Europe’."

Would you like to receive news notifications from Daily Express?