Rimini, Aalborg or Bydgoszcz? Ryanair's new routes for 2018 offer some intriguing options for travellers
The only direct flight from the UK to the Italian seaside resort of Rimini will take off next summer.
Ryanair is launching the new twice-a-week service from Stansted in March, with one-way fares available from £19.99 if booked before November 28.
It is among a clutch of new routes for 2018 announced by the low-cost carrier in recent weeks as it seeks to put what has been a challenging 2017 behind it.
Rimini is a popular destination for Italians, but is largely overlooked by Britons – not least because there are no direct flights. Those wishing to visit must currently fly to Bologna, 75 miles to the north, and take a train.
The beach here is vast, sandy, and - as is often the case in Italy - filled with more sunloungers than seems sensible. Rimini is also one of the country’s pre-eminent party towns, with scores of lively bars along the coast and a few swanky clubs on the outskirts.
But there are diversion for the culturally minded too, with Roman remains and a Renaissance cathedral to admire, and Florence and Ravenna within easy reach by rail. The nearby hilltop towns of Santarcangelo di Romagna and San Leo, meanwhile, are among the prettiest in Italy.
Those arriving by air will also note the name of Rimini’s airport: Federico Fellini International. The great Italian director responsible for La Dolce Vita, Amarcord and La Strada is the town’s most famous son and some of his films were shot here.
Ryanair’s other new routes for 2018 include six from Stansted, to Aalborg, Belfast, Dusseldorf (Weeze), Frankfurt, Oradea and Pardubice. Perhaps the most enticing for holidaymakers is Aarlborg, the gateway to Denmark’s far north.
“If you fancy that traditional seaside holiday, with plenty of sun, rain, sand and sea, perhaps taking a cottage by the beach, building sandcastles and flying kites, but without the crowds or amusement arcades, this is the perfect of places,” explains Charlotte Cory, writing for Telegraph Travel. “Think miles and miles of sand dunes – sparse, windswept, sun-scorched, beautiful but, above all, empty. It is like having Norfolk all to oneself.”
The budget airline will also begin services from Luton to Bydgoszcz - if anyone can find that on a map we’ll be mightily impressed - and from Liverpool to Milan and Prague.
For the record, Bydgoszcz is in Poland, and rather unassuming, but isn’t far from Toruń, a riverside city that ranks as one of the country’s prettiest. Milan needs little introduction, being home to the Teatro alla Scala, Da Vinci’s The Last Supper, and more boutiques than you can shake a diamond-encrusted tiara at. Prague, with its fairy-tale centre and cheap beers, is equally established among UK travellers.
Other new services likely to catch the eyes of holidaymakers include Newcastle-Faro, Birmingham-Malta, Manchester-Seville, and Bristol-Valencia.
