€1 Pints, €7 Hotels & Better Weather Than Ibiza – Is This the New Magaluf?

When I was a fresh-faced 18-year-old, my mates and I embarked on a rite-of-passage trip to Magaluf. After falling asleep in an underground car park, hearing House Every Weekend more times than Come On Eileen at your nanny’s 70th, and dining at fine establishments like “Dr Kebab” after €2 pints, it was an experience like no other. But there’s a new destination on the up—and it might just knock Maga off its sunbed.

Zanzibar, Tanzania’s coastal gem, has been dubbed “the new Magaluf” and is attracting Irish tourists looking for sun, sea, and savage nightlife—without the savage prices. Pints? €1.22. A meal in a decent spot? €4.50. And if you’re scraping the last €20 from your Revolut vault, you can get a budget hotel for €7.50 a night.

Besides being outrageously cheap, Zanzibar boasts stunning white sand beaches, turquoise waters, beach clubs, and buzzing nightlife. Stone Town, the birthplace of Freddie Mercury, is filled with bars, nightclubs, and restaurants—ideal for those who want a few scoops in paradise.

Flights at the moment aren’t direct and start at around €446, but with bargain prices once you land, Zanzibar might just be the best-value party holiday of 2024.