Every destination, rated honestly

Direct from Irish airports, scored out of seven blue dots. Pick your airport.

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Cheap and cheerful direct from Dublin Clear

Antalya

Turkey · 4h 55m direct23°7/711° warmerthan home6/10Worth the bother? Could be tempted.“Ancient ruins, a cracking old town and resort hotels the size of villages. Sun guaranteed.”

Tirana

Albania · 3h 35m direct20°6/78° warmerthan home3/10Worth the bother? I wouldn’t.“Croatia’s beaches at half the price, before everyone else copped on.”

Poznan

Poland · 2h 30m direct9°5/73° colderthan home1/10Worth the bother? Stay where you are.“Charming old square, mechanical goats and croissants that have a whole festival. Easy and cheap.”

Wroclaw

Poland · 2h 30m direct9°6/73° colderthan home1/10Worth the bother? Stay where you are.“A beautiful market square, hunting for tiny bronze dwarves, and pints that cost less than a coffee at home.”

Kraków

Poland · 2h 40m direct7°7/75° colderthan home1/10Worth the bother? Stay where you are.“A fairytale old town, cheap pints and pierogi everywhere. One of the best-value city breaks from Ireland.”

Lodz

Poland · 2h 40m direct7°5/75° colderthan home1/10Worth the bother? Stay where you are.“An old textile city turned art city, with a street of murals and a very long main drag. Unfussy and cheap.”

Katowice

Poland · 2h 45m direct7°4/75° colderthan home1/10Worth the bother? Stay where you are.“Industrial roots, a very good music scene and Krakow about an hour and a half down the road.”

Rzeszow

Poland · 3h direct8°4/74° colderthan home1/10Worth the bother? Stay where you are.“A small, friendly city in the south-east and the gateway to the Carpathians. Bring walking boots.”

Swidnik

Poland · 3h direct8°4/74° colderthan home1/10Worth the bother? Stay where you are.“The airport is in Swidnik, the real prize is Lublin 10 minutes away, a lovely, quiet old town.”

Chișinău and Moldova

Moldova · 3h 30m direct7°6/75° colderthan home1/10Worth the bother? Stay where you are.“Come for the Soviet relics, stay for the wine. More modern, friendlier and tastier than anyone back home will believe.”

Iasi

Romania · 3h 35m direct8°5/74° colderthan home1/10Worth the bother? Stay where you are.“A university city with a palace in the middle and prices from another decade.”

Sofia

Bulgaria · 3h 35m direct10°5/72° colderthan home1/10Worth the bother? Stay where you are.“One of the cheapest capitals in Europe, with a mountain at the end of the tram line.”

Bucharest

Romania · 3h 40m direct8°5/74° colderthan home1/10Worth the bother? Stay where you are.“Grand boulevards, one gigantic palace and a very good night out for very little.”

Marrakech

Morocco · 3h 35m direct28°7/716° warmerthan home8/10Worth the bother? Sure why not.“Souks, spice, rooftop sunsets and snake charmers. A full-on assault on the senses, in the best way.”

Cairo

Egypt · 5h 30m direct31°5/719° warmerthan home8/10Worth the bother? Sure why not.“The pyramids are every bit as good as you think. The traffic is every bit as bad.”

Alicante

Spain · 2h 40m direct21°6/79° warmerthan home7/10Worth the bother? Worth a look.“Sun, sea and a castle on the hill. Benidorm is down the road if you are feeling brave.”

Valencia

Spain · 2h 40m direct21°6/79° warmerthan home7/10Worth the bother? Worth a look.“Paella’s home town, a city beach and futuristic buildings. Like Barcelona without the elbows.”

Murcia and the Costa Cálida

Spain · 2h 50m direct21°6/79° warmerthan home7/10Worth the bother? Worth a look.“The Mar Menor, endless golf and sunshine that rarely takes a day off. Retirees know something.”

Málaga

Spain · 2h 55m direct23°6/711° warmerthan home7/10Worth the bother? Worth a look.“A proper city with a beach attached. Tapas portions are not a meal.”

Salou and the Costa Dorada

Spain · 2h 30m direct19°6/77° warmerthan home6/10Worth the bother? Could be tempted.“Golden beaches, PortAventura rollercoasters and chips if you want them. Families, this is your spot.”

Seville

Spain · 2h 45m direct25°6/713° warmerthan home6/10Worth the bother? Could be tempted.“Flamenco, orange trees and the best tapas in Spain. Do not go in August unless you enjoy being roasted.”

Crete

Greece · 4h 05m direct20°7/78° warmerthan home6/10Worth the bother? Could be tempted.“Big enough for a fortnight, beautiful enough for a lifetime. The food alone is worth the flight.”

Izmir

Turkiye · 4h 20m direct17°6/75° warmerthan home5/10Worth the bother? Ah… maybe.“Turkey without the all-inclusive wristband. Proper city, proper food, beaches up the road.”

Porto

Portugal · 2h 15m direct23°6/711° warmerthan home4/10Worth the bother? Think about it.“Port wine, pretty bridges and a riverside built for long lunches. Your legs will remember the hills.”

Istanbul

Turkiye · 4h 25m direct20°7/78° warmerthan home3/10Worth the bother? I wouldn’t.“One of the great cities of the world, and closer than you think. Go.”

Budapest

Hungary · 2h 50m direct10°7/72° colderthan home2/10Worth the bother? Would ya bother?“Thermal baths, ruin bars and the Danube lit up at night. Two cities for the price of one.”

Prague

Czechia · 2h 15m direct7°7/75° colderthan home1/10Worth the bother? Stay where you are.“Castles, bridges and beer cheaper than water. Possibly the most beautiful city you can reach in two hours.”

Bratislava

Slovakia · 2h 45m direct8°5/74° colderthan home1/10Worth the bother? Stay where you are.“A pocket-sized old town and cheap pints. Vienna is an hour away if you get bored.”

Warsaw

Poland · 2h 45m direct8°5/74° colderthan home1/10Worth the bother? Stay where you are.“A rebuilt old town, great food and vodka that costs less than water. Seriously underrated.”

Kosice

Slovakia · 3h direct10°5/72° colderthan home1/10Worth the bother? Stay where you are.“A pretty Slovak city with the biggest church in the country and a main street that is all cafes.”

Cluj-Napoca

Romania · 3h 15m direct10°6/72° colderthan home1/10Worth the bother? Stay where you are.“Transylvania's big city, with great coffee, a young crowd and a salt mine you can go and look at.”

Vilnius

Lithuania · 2h 55m direct7°5/75° colderthan home0/10Worth the bother? Cop on.“A baroque old town nobody talks about, with prices that make you order dessert.”

Kaunas

Lithuania · 3h direct7°5/75° colderthan home0/10Worth the bother? Cop on.“Lithuania's second city, a lot of 1930s architecture and nobody else there.”

Riga

Latvia · 3h direct9°6/73° colderthan home0/10Worth the bother? Cop on.“Art nouveau, a huge market and good beer at good prices. Underrated, which suits us.”

Faro and the Algarve

Portugal · 2h 45m direct22°6/710° warmerthan home8/10Worth the bother? Sure why not.“Golf, grilled fish and a sunburnt man from Mullingar. Grand.”

Fuerteventura

Spain · 4h 10m direct25°6/713° warmerthan home8/10Worth the bother? Sure why not.“Endless beaches and a breeze that never clocks off. Bring a book, not a hairdryer.”

Gran Canaria

Spain · 4h 15m direct27°6/715° warmerthan home8/10Worth the bother? Sure why not.“Sand dunes, a proper city and sun on demand. Like a continent squashed into an island.”

Tenerife

Spain · 4h 20m direct26°7/714° warmerthan home8/10Worth the bother? Sure why not.“Guaranteed sun. You will meet someone you went to school with.”

Paphos

Cyprus · 5h direct25°6/713° warmerthan home7/10Worth the bother? Worth a look.“Sun nearly all year, mosaics older than your granny’s granny and a sea that stays warm into November.”

Lisbon

Portugal · 2h 40m direct22°6/710° warmerthan home6/10Worth the bother? Could be tempted.“Gorgeous, cheap-ish and built entirely on hills. Bring the good runners.”

Malta

Malta · 3h 30m direct19°5/77° warmerthan home6/10Worth the bother? Could be tempted.“They drive on the left and speak English. Wexford with sun and 7,000 years of history.”

Madeira

Portugal · 3h 40m direct23°6/711° warmerthan home6/10Worth the bother? Could be tempted.“Spring all year, cliffs everywhere and walks along water channels. Not a beach island, and that is fine.”

Rhodes

Greece · 4h 20m direct18°6/76° warmerthan home6/10Worth the bother? Could be tempted.“A medieval walled city, a clifftop acropolis and 300 days of sun. The knights had taste.”

Madrid

Spain · 2h 35m direct17°6/75° warmerthan home5/10Worth the bother? Ah… maybe.“Late dinners, world-class art and a city that never seems to go to bed. Your liver will need a siesta.”

Athens

Greece · 4h 15m direct20°6/78° warmerthan home5/10Worth the bother? Ah… maybe.“The Acropolis, rooftop bars and souvlaki at midnight. Ancient history with a great night out attached.”

Naples and the Amalfi Coast

Italy · 3h 10m direct16°7/74° warmerthan home4/10Worth the bother? Think about it.“Chaos, the best pizza on earth, Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast. Hold onto your bag and your heart.”

Corfu

Greece · 3h 30m direct20°6/78° warmerthan home4/10Worth the bother? Think about it.“Green hills, blue water and a Venetian old town. The Greek island for people who like trees.”

Bilbao and the Basque Coast

Spain · 2h 10m direct16°6/74° warmerthan home3/10Worth the bother? I wouldn’t.“Pintxos, the Guggenheim and green hills. It rains a bit, so you will feel right at home.”

Zadar

Croatia · 2h 55m direct15°6/73° warmerthan home3/10Worth the bother? I wouldn’t.“A sea organ, the best sunset in Croatia and national parks on the doorstep.”

Lyon

France · 2h 15m direct10°6/72° colderthan home2/10Worth the bother? Would ya bother?“France’s food capital. You will eat too much and not regret a single bite.”

Zagreb

Croatia · 2h 50m direct10°5/72° colderthan home2/10Worth the bother? Would ya bother?“Croatia without the beach, and without the crowds. Come for Christmas.”

Berlin

Germany · 2h 20m direct9°6/73° colderthan home1/10Worth the bother? Stay where you are.“History on every corner, clubs that never close and currywurst at 4am. Cool, not cute.”

Tallinn

Estonia · 3h 05m direct8°6/74° colderthan home0/10Worth the bother? Cop on.“A fairytale old town at stag-party prices. Go before the secret is out. Ah, it is out.”

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