Man finds 'Maldives of Europe' in most unexpected place with £30 return flights
When people start describing what they believe paradise would look like, the Maldives often top the list or are what most people would imagine, even if they don't say it by name.
Its idyllic sapphire waters and consistently balmy weather lead many to herald it as a slice of heaven on Earth. However, reaching the Maldivian shores can be expensive and take a long time, with journeys including long 12-hour flights as well additional travel by speedboat or seaplane to get to your resort.
For those seeking an escape closer to British shores, a globetrotter named Scott claimed he's discovered Europe's answer to the Maldivian paradise – and it's only a £30 return flight away.
Taking to Instagram, Scott shared his discovery with a video montage of his holiday, which including enjoying the sunny days by dipping into the clear turquoise water.
"POV: You find the European Maldives in the cheapest most unexpected country," he wrote in the caption of his video, which has gone viral on the platform with over 5.2million views.
His video continued to show the white sandy beaches leading up to the blue waves, where visitors relax under parasols at tables and chairs sprinkled along the shore.
Scott also raved about the cheap yet incredible accommodation options with beach views and pool access, which once again looks like they belonged on the Maldives. He then shared clips of the many bars and beach clubs available for your evening activities.
While it all looked like it belonged to another world, Scott revealed the place in question was Ksamil in Albania. It's located in the riviera of Southern Albania, just 15 kilometres (9 miles) south of Saranda and near the Greek island of Corfu.
During the summer months, Ksamil becomes one of Albania's most popular and crowded beach destinations, attracting both locals and international tourists looking for an affordable Mediterranean paradise.
However, Scott's glowing review sparked a mixed bag of reactions from those who had visited Ksamil themselves, as not everyone had enjoyed the holiday spot as much as he had.
One viewer commented: "It does not look like this... I fell for this con last summer," with another echoing the sentiment as they labelled it a 'tourist trap'.
However, others jumped to Ksamil's defence, suggesting that timing is key to making the most of the destination. They recommended visiting during the early or late parts of summer to avoid the peak tourist season in July and August.
One defender of Ksamil said: "That's our Holiday Season then, but when you go some other time it is this calm and Beautiful Like in the Video. I myself am every year in Albania and can say the Video is right with this Beauty,"
Another simply stated: "It looks amazing."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
TUI hotel's 'inedible' food blasted by Brit couple banned from Corfu flight home
Paul and Ellie Bell's Greek getaway was cut short after the couple were ejected from their hotel and told they couldn't fly home - but TUI say the decision was based on "repeated incidents" A British couple were left stranded in Corfu after being booted out of their hote l and denied boarding on their return flight to the UK, claiming that TUI "washed their hands of them". North Shields couple Paul Bell, 64, and his wife Ellie, 65, had booked a week-long half-board holiday at the Terezas Hotel in Sidari, Corfu, having previously enjoyed a stay there. Their holiday was abruptly cut short when TUI removed them from their hotel and prevented them from flying home, despite the couple having booked a package deal. Paul is baffled as to why they were ejected and then left several hundred pounds out of pocket, having to arrange an alternative flight home with Jet2, take a taxi to the airport instead of a transfer, and book into another hotel for the remainder of the holiday. In letters seen by ChronicleLive, TUI stated that the decision was based on repeated incidents during their stay which were deemed unacceptable and disruptive. However, Paul contests this, stating that TUI never asked him or Ellie for their side of the story. Earlier in the holiday, Ellie had voiced her dissatisfaction to the manager about the quality of the food, which Paul described as "tepid" and "not very nice". He said: "Some of the things you would get were rice with sprouts, or another time you'd have rice with a slice of beetroot in it. "My wife spoke to the manager twice, she complained about the food being inedible and he didn't seem interested. She asked him to join us for breakfast the next day so we could show him what we meant, but he never turned up." The couple enjoyed a day out, but upon their return, they "had a word" with the representative. The following day, as Paul and Ellie awaited their excursion to Corfu town, they were stunned to receive a letter stating they could no longer stay at the hotel. Dated May 20, the letter read: "You caused a serious disturbance by shouting inside the hotel restaurant in front of other guests, resulting in significant distress and disruption to the peaceful environment of the hotel," and "you directed aggressive and disrespectful language towards both hotel staff, the hotel owners, and TUI representatives on site." Paul insists that they did nothing wrong, highlighting that no one from TUI sought their side of the story before making a decision. He claimed: "I don't remember anybody shouting. "We only spoke to the rep when she was present at the hotel, and there was no disrespect towards her. They've made a decision based on the manager's account without hearing us out. But surely every story has two sides? I was livid; it completely ruined our plans for the day." Paul and Ellie were instructed to contact the UK consulate for further assistance, rather than being given a chance to respond or appeal. On May 21 at 22.28, they received another letter stating that Ellie was prohibited from boarding the TOM1531 flight on Friday, May 23. Just over 12 hours later, an additional email stated that both Paul and Ellie would be barred from the flight. TUI explained this decision was made in line with their terms and conditions, due to "due to your conduct and behaviour". On Thursday, May 22, Paul booked flights home from Corfu with Jet2 for later that day, costing €328.56 (£284). However, after returning to North Shields, they received another email from TUI stating that "the refusal of carriage for Paul Bell and Eleanor Bell has now been revoked, and you will now be allowed travel on your inbound flight". Paul said: "That doesn't help us now, because we were told we have to make our own travel arrangements and we came home. We had to pay €60 (£50) for a taxi to the airport as well, because we weren't allowed on the transfers. "When we go on holiday, we try to go somewhere nice and quiet, sit and chill, try the local stuff, go to the towns and see the scenery and to have food like we did (in the hotel) was really disappointing. We got no back-up whatsoever from TUI. "They took whatever the manager said as gospel and came to a decision just like that. Had we been drunk and disorderly, fine, but we weren't - we've never had any bother on any holidays before, until this time with TUI." ChronicleLive reported that TUI plans to refund the couple's flights home with and their journey to the airport. TUI declined to comment further. Paul is not the only North East holidaymaker to come back from Corfu feeling let down by their experience. Earlier in June, Westerhope gran Susan Edwards vouched to never book with the tour operator again after moaning that there was "no English food" available at the Lido Corfu Sun Hotel.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Shoppers spot chocolate bar that's a Kinder Bueno dupe but it has a HUGE twist
SHOPPERS have spotted a new chocolate bar in B&M that's a Kinder Bueno dupe - but there's a big twist. The discount retailer has started selling Nutymax bars which have come all the way from Turkey. At first glance they look similar to the popular Kinder Buenos, with two fingers of chocolate filled with crispy wafer and a cream filling. But rather than having a hazelnut filling, they contain pistachio - much like the viral Dubai chocolate bars. They are selling for 89p for a 44g bar, making them much cheaper than a Kinder Bueno. For comparison, B&M sells Kinder Buenos for £1.95. They're cheapest at £1.75 in Iceland, but this still makes them almost twice the price. The Nutymax is described online as having a "crispy wafer and abundant cream filling" and "pistachio puree overflowing from the wafer and the whole pistachios inside". Popular Instagrammer John's Snack Reviews shared his thoughts on the bar, giving it a solid 7.5 out of 10. "The pistachio cream is really decent. Strong nutty cream that tastes like supermarket pistachio spread," he said. "However, the thickness of the milk chocolate coating overpowers it so it's a touch difficult to taste the pistachio until the end." Commenters shared their excitement to try the new sweet treat, with one saying: "This sounds like a DREAM!" Dubai Ice Cream Another wrote "Ooooohhhh yum" while a third said they "need it". But a different commenter said they had tried the bar in Turkey and it was "disappointing". Shoppers seem to be divided as reviewers on which also sells the bar, say they are "the BEST chocolates". One person said: "LOVE them so much, great presentation, great packing and flavor perfect, LOVE them so so so much!!" Another said: "Delicious, never had these before and can't get them here. Will be ordering more in time." What other Kinder Bueno varieties are there? Of course, this is a dupe rather than a new Kinder Bueno version. But you can get a couple of Kinder Bueno varieties. The original version comes with milk chocolate, but there is also a popular white chocolate one. These cost 75p in Asda or £1 in Sainsbury's, Tesco and Morrisons. At Christmas you can also get Kinder Bueno Eggs in an 80g pack. You can also get Kinder Bueno ice creams, which are £4.94 for a pack of four at Asda. They're one penny more expensive at Morrisons, Iceland and Tesco. How to save money on chocolate We all love a bit of chocolate from now and then, but you don't have to break the bank buying your favourite bar. Consumer reporter Sam Walker reveals how to cut costs... Go own brand - if you're not too fussed about flavour and just want to supplant your chocolate cravings, you'll save by going for the supermarket's own brand bars. Shop around - if you've spotted your favourite variety at the supermarket, make sure you check if it's cheaper elsewhere. Websites like let you compare prices on products across all the major chains to see if you're getting the best deal. Look out for yellow stickers - supermarket staff put yellow, and sometimes orange and red, stickers on to products to show they've been reduced. They usually do this if the product is coming to the end of its best-before date or the packaging is slightly damaged. Buy bigger bars - most of the time, but not always, chocolate is cheaper per 100g the larger the bar. So if you've got the appetite, and you were going to buy a hefty amount of chocolate anyway, you might as well go bigger.
Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Inside abandoned British ghost town left at nature's mercy for a decade that looks just like a scene out of Walking Dead
The town was built during the height of Cold War APOCALYPSE NOW Inside abandoned British ghost town left at nature's mercy for a decade that looks just like a scene out of Walking Dead A YOUTUBER has discovered an eerie abandoned town which looks like a scene out of Walking Dead. The creepy abandoned community was once home to thousands of British soldiers but now it is slowly decaying with buildings falling apart. 4 The creepy town once houses thousands of British personnel Credit: YouTube/@The Bearded Explorer 4 Houses remain untouched a decade on Credit: YouTube/@The Bearded Explorer 4 Buildings could be worth millions if sold today Credit: YouTube/@The Bearded Explorer 4 The explorer said the inside felt oddly cold despite warm weather outside Credit: YouTube/@The Bearded Explorer An entire village, with hundreds of enormous four-bedroom homes, a barrack-like apartment complex, sports facilities and even a gas station, has been frozen in time for more than ten years and is now being reclaimed by nature. The abandoned site looks like a typical British town, with many of the houses resembling English architecture and having their own garages, some of which are unlocked. But it is located in Germany and was built during the height of Cold War by the British government. JHQ Rheindahlen once housed up to 12,000 British personnel and their families between 1952 and 2013. read more on news DEATH RIDDLE Two murder probes as cops searching for missing man find someone else's body Colin Hodson, known online as the Bearded Explorer, said on his channel: "This place is so big it is pretty much its own city. "I cannot believe this whole estate is completely abandoned.' Wandering through the former town, which is now solely inhabited by red squirrels and deer, he compared it to being in a post-apocalyptic world where all human life has disappeared. The 376-hectare haunting site is hidden by the dense forest, making it almost impossible to spot in summer. During Colin's visit, the trees were bare, giving the audience an idea of what the garrison town would have looked like when it was inhabited. The properties in the ghost town would fetch millions of pounds if they were sold today. Although there is occasional evidence of graffiti and vandalism, the houses are mostly undamaged. But Colin noted that despite the warm weather, the eerie buildings were oddly chilly inside. Colin continued: 'This is actually incredible. This is probably the closest I've ever felt to be like walking around in The Walking Dead. "This is exactly what it would look like if the world ended everyone disappeared nature would just literally take over everything.' At its peak, the town had five British primary schools, a clothes shop, two post offices, a BP gas station and a NAAFI bookshop. Plans were created to renovate the town to accommodate asylum seekers after the British Army formally returned it to the German government in December 2013. But over a decade on, there has been little improvement. In 2015, a group of Arab businessmen put forth plans to turn the property into a leisure park, but it seems that those plans have since been shelved. The followers lamented the town's downfall, with many flooding to the comments. One person wrote: "What a waste, this is criminal letting all these good houses go to rack & ruin." Another one said: "This is very high quality accommodation and still in reasonable condition. "It probably wouldn't take too much to refurbish and either use as social housing, or just sell off." A third person added: "I lived there for over 6 years as my father was military. It was an absolutely brilliant place back in the day. So so sad to see it like this now." Colin only scratched the surface of the enormous territory and plans to return to the site to explore it further.
