There’s fancy dress, and then there’s dancing beneath eight-hundred-year-old battlements while a Transylvanian storm rattles the shutters. If you’ve ever fancied swapping the usual pub crawl for something a little more gothic, the Halloween Party at Bran Castle, better known the world over as Dracula’s Castle, should be firmly on your radar this year.
This Year, the Timing Couldn’t Be Better
Most years, the famous Bran Castle Halloween party lands on the closest convenient weekend to 31 October. Not this time. In 2026, the party falls on Halloween night itself — the 31st, plain and simple. There’s something rather fitting about raising a glass of mulled wine in Vlad the Impaler’s old stomping ground on the one night of the year that actually belongs to the spooky and the supernatural. If you’ve been on the fence about booking, consider this your sign: the stars (and the calendar) have properly aligned.
Why Bran Castle, Of All Places?
Perched on a rocky outcrop between Transylvania and Wallachia, Bran Castle has been fuelling nightmares and imaginations since Bram Stoker borrowed its silhouette for his novel Dracula. Whether or not Vlad III ever actually slept within its walls is still argued over by historians, but that hardly matters once you’re standing in the candlelit courtyard as darkness falls. Turrets, secret staircases, and a fair few creaking floorboards do the rest of the work for you.
For one night only, the castle throws open its doors for an evening of:
Live music and DJs echoing through the courtyard and inner chambers
A costume competition — and trust us, Transylvania takes fancy dress seriously
Themed cocktails and local Romanian wine, served up by candlelight
Storytelling and legends of Vlad the Impaler, told by guides who clearly relish the material
After-dark access to rooms most daytime visitors never get to see
It’s atmospheric without tipping into naff, and it’s one of those genuinely bucket-list nights that photographs don’t quite do justice.
Make a Trip of It
Bran Castle sits close to the medieval city of Brașov, one of Transylvania’s most charming bases, with cobbled old towns, excellent food, and easy access to the wider Carpathian countryside. Many of our travellers use the Halloween party as the centrepiece of a longer Romania itinerary, pairing it with hiking in the Piatra Craiului mountains, a wander around Sighișoara’s old town, or a few days exploring Bucharest before or after.
As a UK-based small-group specialist with genuine on-the-ground expertise in Romania, we can build the whole 4-night Halloween Dracula Experience the party – transport, accommodation, and all the local knowledge that turns a good holiday into a properly memorable one.
Practical Bits to Know Before You Book
The party is genuinely popular, and with Halloween falling on the night itself this year, we’d expect tickets and accommodation in Brașov to go quickly
Fancy dress is very much encouraged, though not compulsory
Layers are your friend – Transylvanian nights in late October have a proper autumn bite to them
It’s a fair way from the UK, so factor in travel time either side
Ready to Spend Halloween With Dracula?
Get in touch with the Untravelled Paths team and we’ll help you plan a trip to Bran Castle you won’t stop talking about. Drop us a line at info@untravelledpaths.com or get in touch through our website to check availability for this year’s party.
For eighteen years, Untravelled Paths has been taking small groups off the beaten track, to the places most tour operators overlook. Now, we’re doing something a little different — and we couldn’t be more excited to share it with you.
Say hello to Wonders of the World Experiences, the newest addition to our Explorer range. These are one-off trips to some of the most iconic destinations on the planet, running through late 2027. Unlike the rest of our line-up, which tends to steer well clear of the crowds, these journeys take you straight to the world’s most celebrated sights — but always with the Untravelled Paths touch.
That means expert planning from a team who’ve travelled to and fallen in love with these destinations ourselves, small-group departures that never feel like a coach tour, and the local, immersive experiences we’re known for woven in throughout. You’ll see the wonders everyone talks about, in the best way possible, and then go beneath the surface to discover the culture, food and communities that surround them. It’s the bucket-list moment and the real story behind it, in one trip.
Whether you’ve dreamed of watching the sun rise over Machu Picchu, standing before the Pyramids of Giza, or seeing the Taj Mahal glow at dusk, this is your chance to experience it properly — with people who know the destination inside out, and a small group of fellow travellers who share your sense of adventure.
Here’s a first look at what’s coming.
The Machu Picchu Peru Experience
When: August | Country: Peru | Duration: 14 nights | Airport: Lima
Peru’s Explorer trip is built around one of the world’s most extraordinary sights, reached either via a one-day hike or the scenic train — whichever suits your style of travel best. From there, the trip opens out into a wider journey through the country’s landscapes, flavours and history. Expect a guided tour of the Sacred Valley, an introduction to the Amazon Jungle, and hands-on food experiences including a local cooking class and a Lima food tour. All internal flights are included, so the logistics are taken care of and you can simply enjoy the journey. For those wanting to add even more, optional extras such as Huacachina, a pisco tasting experience and Rainbow Mountain let you tailor the adventure further.
Interested in Peru? Sign up below to be the first to hear more.
Egypt’s Explorer trip brings together the country’s most legendary sights over seven unforgettable nights. You’ll spend a full day touring the Pyramids of Giza, explore the Valley of the Kings and Luxor, and take in the treasures of the newly opened Grand Egyptian Museum, before cruising the Nile in style. The real showstopper, though, is our Abu Simbel Sunrise Excursion — a genuinely rare moment when the sun aligns perfectly with the temple’s inner sanctuary, an event that only happens twice a year. It’s the reason this particular October departure is so special, and not something you’ll easily arrange elsewhere. Add in a hands-on Egyptian cooking class, and this is a trip that blends the truly iconic with the truly local. For those wanting to add even more, a hot air balloon experience is available as an optional extra for a bird’s-eye view over the Nile Valley.
Keen to explore Egypt with us? Register your interest today.
The Taj Mahal India Experience
When: November | Country: India | Duration: 9–14 nights | Airport: Delhi
India’s Explorer trip pairs one of the world’s most beautiful buildings, seen at both sunrise and sunset, with the colour, energy and warmth India is famous for. Along the way, expect a local food market tour, a traditional dance class, and a night of desert camp glamping complete with a camel ride. Wildlife lovers will be in their element with a tiger safari, while a local cooking class and time exploring the vibrant city of Jaipur round out the cultural side of the trip. It’s a journey that moves between the iconic and the intimate in equal measure, over a flexible 9–14 nights.
Ready to discover India? Let us know you’d like more details.
Your Next Unforgettable Adventure Starts Here
These three trips are just the beginning of our Wonders of the World Experiences, and each one is designed to give you the best of both worlds: the sights you’ve always dreamed of seeing, and the authentic, local experiences only Untravelled Paths can offer. As these are one-off departures, spaces will be limited, so we’d encourage you to register your interest early to avoid missing out.
Got your eye on a different Wonder of the World that isn’t listed here? We’d love to hear from you. Get in touch and let us know which wonder you’d most like us to add to the range — your suggestion could shape where we go next.
However you’d like to explore the world, we’re here to help you do it properly. Get in touch with the Untravelled Paths team today, and let’s start planning your next once-in-a-lifetime adventure.
Today is, by the calendar’s own logic, the single worst day of the year to be thinking about Christmas. The 31st of July sits almost exactly six months from the 25th of December, the furthest point from it you can possibly be. And yet here I am, sitting in a British heatwave, scrolling back through photos of the trip that made me feel more Christmas than any actual December ever has.
In December 2023, my best friend Doug and I booked a trip to Finland with one hope pinned to the whole thing: seeing the Northern Lights. We’re both big kids at heart, so we went all in and what we got back was, without exaggeration, the most unexpected, incredible trip of my life.
Helsinki Felt Like Walking Into a Film
We started in Helsinki, and the timing couldn’t have been better. The Christmas markets were in full swing in the main square, mulled wine, fairy lights, the whole city wrapped up against the cold and clearly enjoying it. It felt, genuinely, like walking onto a film set. Neither of us had really clocked how good Helsinki is at Christmas until we were standing in the middle of it.
The Overnight Train North
Because we’re both big kids, there was only one way we were getting to Rovaniemi: the Santa Claus Express, the overnight sleeper train that runs straight up through Finland while you sleep. We boarded in Helsinki in the evening and woke up, somewhere past the Arctic Circle, right as dawn was breaking over Rovaniemi. Waking up on a moving train to a landscape that’s gone from ordinary to properly Arctic overnight is one of those small, brilliant travel moments that’s hard to explain to anyone who wasn’t there.
First order of business once we’d arrived? Breakfast at the world’s northernmost McDonald’s. Was it necessary? No. Did we do it anyway, purely because we could? Absolutely.
Meeting Santa, and Meaning It
Santa Claus Village is touristy and there’s no getting around that but it’s touristy in a way that’s hard to be cynical about once you’re actually there. Watching the genuine, wide-eyed energy of the kids around us, all of them absolutely certain they were meeting the real thing, was infectious. We met Santa ourselves, wandered the village, and left grinning like idiots. Sometimes “touristy” and “genuinely special” aren’t opposites, this was one of those times.
Out to the Ranch Near Pyhä
From Rovaniemi we travelled out to a beautiful accommodation called Lucky Ranch in Pyhä, and this is where the trip really opened up. Over the next few days we went reindeer sledding and husky sledding, took a snowmobile out through the alpine forest, and even helped build the ice igloo we’d end up sleeping in that night, which, it turns out, gives you a whole new respect for the people who build them properly.
That igloo, by the way, gave me the best night’s sleep of my life. I went in expecting to lie awake shivering and counting down the hours. Instead there was something about the total silence, the insulated cold, the reindeer skins underneath us, I was out within minutes and slept straight through until morning. I still don’t fully understand how a room made of ice managed that, but I’m not arguing with it.
We also did a proper Finnish sauna followed by a cold plunge, which is every bit as brutal and every bit as brilliant as everyone says. There’s a very specific kind of euphoria that hits about ten seconds after you get out of the cold water, and no amount of being told about it beforehand actually prepares you for it.
The Lights, When We Least Expected Them
Here’s the part I still can’t quite believe. The forecast that night gave us a 2% chance of seeing the aurora. Two per cent. We’d more or less made peace with not seeing them at all, which, when the entire trip had been built around the hope of it, felt like a proper gut punch.
Then, late that night, I stepped out of our ice igloo for a toilet break, about as unglamorous a moment as travel offers, looked up out of habit, and there they were. Green light, moving, right over our heads, on the 2% night nobody expected anything from. I stood there in the cold for a good few minutes before I even thought to go back in and get Doug.
You can plan a trip around the Northern Lights all you like. In the end, ours found us in the middle of snow at 1am, mid-toilet-run, on the night the odds said don’t bother looking up.
Why I’m Already Planning to Go Back
It’s the 31st of July. It’s warm. Christmas is, on paper, about as far away as it’s possible to be. And I’m sitting here thinking that if I book now, in the quiet, un-festive middle of summer, I’ll get the trip dates I actually want before everyone else starts thinking about Christmas in, well, December. And I loved it that much, I am planning to bring my whole family over from Australia next winter.
That’s really what this is: not nostalgia, but a nudge. If Lapland’s been on your list, the best time to book your winter trip is right now, while everyone else is thinking about beaches instead of the aurora. The amazing thing about Lapland, that christmas charm, is the whole period through the winter, with all these experiences being most prominent from start of December to end of February.
Have you been? I’d love to know what stuck with you most!
Trips like this one aren’t something you do twice a year, or even twice a decade, they’re the once-in-a-lifetime kind, and they deserve to be done properly. That’s why we’ve put together three ways into Lapland, depending on what kind of trip you’re after:
The Premium Experience — a night in a glass igloo, watching the aurora from your bed the way I watched it from a car park at 1am, minus the toilet run.
The Family Lapland Experience — Santa Claus Village, reindeer, and all the wide-eyed magic that made Doug and me feel like kids again, built for travelling with your own. With the option of the day on the ski slopes.
The Adventure Lapland Experience — husky sledding, snowmobiling and everything else that had us out in the snow rather than looking at it through a window.
Take a look at our Lapland tours and find the version of this trip that’s yours, we can get you under that sky before December ever arrives.
Explore the world differently with Untravelled Paths. Small groups, big experiences, and places you won’t find in the brochures.
Let’s be honest about November in the UK: it is grim. The clocks have gone back, the average daily high in London struggles to reach 10°C, and the country is treated to roughly 17 rainy days out of 30 and as little as two hours of proper sunshine on an average day. It’s the month when summer feels like a distant memory and Christmas still feels a lifetime away – the definition of a travel dead zone.
Except it isn’t. While everyone else is huddled under an umbrella waiting for December to arrive, savvy travellers are quietly discovering that November might be the single best month of the year to go away. Flights are cheaper, queues are shorter, and if you know where to look the weather is still genuinely lovely. This is everything you need to know about why November deserves a permanent place on your travel calendar and where to go to make the most of it.
The UK in November: Reason Enough to Book a Trip
There’s no gentle way to put this: November in Britain is one long exercise in enduring the elements. Short days, long nights, and a damp chill that seems to seep into everything. Whether you’re in Manchester, Glasgow or London, the story is the same – grey skies, wet pavements, and a serious deficit of vitamin D. It’s precisely the sort of month that makes a well-timed escape feel less like a treat and more like a necessity.
Why November Is Such Brilliant Value for Travellers
Here’s the bit most people miss: November sits in the sweet spot between the summer rush and the Christmas market crowds, which makes it one of the cheapest and quietest months to travel anywhere in the world. Because it falls outside school holidays and before the festive getaway season properly kicks off, demand drops awa and prices drop with it. Industry data shows international airfares can run around a third cheaper during the shoulder season than at the peak of summer, with routes to Spain in particular sometimes over 40% less expensive than in July and August.
Add in the fact that popular destinations across Europe are noticeably less crowded – no queuing for an hour to get into the Alhambra, no fighting for a table at your favourite Sicilian trattoria and November starts to look less like a compromise and more like the smart choice. Better still, several destinations within a few hours’ flight of the UK are enjoying weather that’s still genuinely mild, even as Britain shivers.
Winter Short-Haul Sun: Warmth Is Closer Than You Think
If you assume “short-haul” and “sunshine” can’t coexist with “November”, think again. A handful of destinations just a few hours from the UK are still basking in properly pleasant temperatures long after autumn has taken hold at home.
The Andalusia Experience: Southern Spain barely seems to notice that summer has ended. Seville sees daytime highs around 21°C (with overnight lows around 10°C), while along the Costa del Sol, Málaga stays similarly mild at roughly 20°C by day. That’s shirt-sleeves weather for exploring the Alhambra, wandering whitewashed pueblos blancos, or lingering over tapas on a terrace – all while the UK huddles indoors. Direct flights from £39 return from London in November with skyscanner.
The Sicily Experience: Italy’s largest island holds onto its warmth beautifully into November, with Palermo and Catania both averaging around 20-21°C during the day. The sea stays swimmable for the brave, the wine harvest is in full swing, and with the summer tourist hordes long gone, you can enjoy food walking tours and vineyard visits without another British accent in earshot. Direct flights from £54 return from London in November with skyscanner.
The Sahara Desert Experience: Morocco’s desert in November is arguably at its best – daytime temperatures around a comfortable 25°C, with cooler nights near 10°C perfect for wrapping up under blankets beneath a spectacular blanket of stars. It’s the ideal balance: warm enough to enjoy camel treks and dune camps by day, atmospheric enough for unforgettable desert nights. Direct flights from £48 return from London in November with skyscanner.
The Montenegro Experience: Tucked along the Adriatic, Montenegro offers a quieter, more dramatic alternative to the well-trodden Mediterranean, with Kotor enjoying November highs of around 17°C. Combine the fjord-like Bay of Kotor, medieval old towns and mountain backdrops with a fraction of the summer crowds, and you have one of Europe’s most underrated November escapes. Direct flights from £74 return from London in November with skyscanner.
Winter Wonderlands: Christmas Magic Without the Christmas Prices
Fancy snow instead of sun? November is when Europe’s winter wonderlands switch on their magic and, crucially, before the December price surge and half-term crowds descend.
The Lapland Experience: The Arctic’s snow typically settles in for good by November, meaning you can experience a proper white winter husky rides, snowmobiles, the works and well before the frantic (and considerably pricier) run-up to Christmas Day itself. Direct flights from £63 return from London in November with skyscanner.
The Mini Winter Iceland Experience: November is prime Northern Lights season, with long dark evenings giving you the best possible odds of catching the aurora, alongside geothermal spas and dramatic waterfalls. And because it falls outside the February half-term rush, you’ll pay noticeably less for the privilege. Direct flights from £63 return from London in November with skyscanner.
The Mini Winter Estonia Experience(coming soon to Untravelled Paths): Tallinn’s fairy-tale old town is made for cobbled streets dusted with snow, mulled wine and Christmas market stalls – all at Baltic prices rather than Western European ones. Watch this space. Direct flights from £39 return from London in November with skyscanner.
The pattern across all three is the same: you get the full winter wonderland experience – snow, lights, markets, magic and at a noticeably better price than the same trip taken just a few weeks later.
Epic Long-Haul Journeys: Real Adventure, Real Value
For those who want more than a long weekend, who are after proper adventure, brilliant weather and outstanding value on the flights that get you there. November is quietly one of the best months of the year to go long-haul.
The Western Cape Safari Experience: November marks the start of South Africa’s spring and early summer, with warm, dry days perfect for game drives, whale watching along the coast and wine tasting in the Cape Winelands – all before the peak December and January rush sends prices climbing. Direct flights from under £500 return (even cheaper with a connection) from London in November with skyscanner.
The Costa Rica Experience: As the rainy season draws to a close, Costa Rica moves into its glorious dry season, with lush rainforests, pristine beaches and abundant wildlife all at their best with airfares considerably kinder to your wallet than during the North American winter break. Direct flights from under £700 return (even cheaper with a connection) from London in November with skyscanner.
The Colombia Experience: With a climate that barely shifts through the year, Colombia is a genuine year-round destination – meaning November delivers the same warm days in the coffee region, the same vibrant streets of Cartagena and Medellín, without the premium pricing of the traditional festive season. Direct flights from under £850 return (even cheaper with a connection) from London in November with skyscanner.
The Guatemala Experience: November brings the start of Guatemala’s dry season, ideal for exploring Mayan ruins, hiking around Lake Atitlán and wandering colonial Antigua under clear skies – all while long-haul fares sit well below their December peak. Direct flights from under £700 return (even cheaper with a connection) from London in November with skyscanner.
Each of these journeys proves the same point: travelling in November doesn’t mean compromising on adventure or weather. If anything, you get the best of both, at a price that peak season simply won’t match.
The Bottom Line
November has an image problem, and in the UK, that image is entirely deserved. But look beyond these shores and the picture flips entirely: cheaper flights, thinner crowds, and destinations ranging from sun-warmed Andalusian courtyards to snow-dusted Lapland forests and dry-season Guatemalan jungles, all waiting to be explored without the peak-season premium.
Don’t let another grey, drizzly November pass you by. Browse our full range of November trips and find your next adventure, because while everyone else is waiting for summer, you could already be halfway there.
Everyone assumes August has to mean sky-high fares. Peak summer, school holidays, everyone and their dog trying to get away at once, surely the flights are a fortune? Not necessarily. We’ve had a dig through Skyscanner and found ten cracking European destinations you can fly to and from London this August for under £75 return.
The trick, as ever, is flexibility. Stay open-minded about your exact travel dates and which airport you land into, and there are still some brilliant deals to be found even in the height of summer. Whether you fancy a proper city break or a springboard into somewhere further afield, here’s our countdown of the best value flights for August.
10. Tirana, Albania – £75
Albania’s buzzing, colourful capital doesn’t get nearly enough credit. Expect leafy boulevards, a lively café culture, and the Dajti Mountain cable car right on the doorstep, all in glorious August sunshine. It’s also one of the best-connected gateways into the Albanian Alps. It’s worth noting that Tirana easily connects to our Mountains to Sea and Mini Albanian Alps Experiences.
9. Stockholm, Sweden – £73
August is arguably Stockholm’s finest month, long, mild days, the crowds of high summer beginning to thin, and the city’s parks, waterways, and outdoor cafés all at their absolute best. Don’t miss the Old Town’s cobbled lanes or a boat trip out into the archipelago.
8. Trieste, Italy – £72
Sitting quietly at the top of the Adriatic, Trieste blends Italian, Austrian, and Slavic influences into something genuinely different from the usual Italian city break. Wander the grand Piazza Unità d’Italia, sip coffee in one of its elegant old cafés, and enjoy August’s warm, breezy evenings by the sea. Trieste connects beautifully with any of our Slovenia Experiences either by a relaxing train to Ljubljana or a shorter 1 hour road transfer
7. Budapest, Hungary – £68
Budapest in August means long evenings on the Danube, thermal baths that are just as good (if not better) in summer, and a ruin bar scene that really comes alive after dark. It’s a city that rewards wandering, so leave plenty of time to get gently lost.
6. Zagreb, Croatia – £61
Croatia’s underrated capital swaps the coastal crowds for a relaxed, café-filled old town, excellent museums, and some of the best ice cream in the Balkans. August evenings here are warm without the intensity of the coast, making it a lovely, low-key city break. Zagreb is also another easy connection for our Slovenia Experiences, with the two capitals just a short hop apart.
5. Seville, Spain – £59
Yes, Seville in August is properly hot, but early mornings and late evenings are glorious, and you’ll find the Real Alcázar, Plaza de España, and the city’s famous tapas bars far quieter than in spring. Just pace yourself in the afternoon heat. Seville is where our Andalusia Experience both starts and finishes, so it’s the ideal bookend to a deeper dive into southern Spain.
4. Copenhagen, Denmark – £40
Copenhagen in August is all bicycles, harbour swims, and long, light evenings. It’s a wonderfully liveable city to explore on foot or by bike, with Tivoli Gardens, Nyhavn’s colourful waterfront, and a seriously good food scene all worth your time.
3. Biarritz, France – £40
This elegant surf town on the French Basque coast is at its absolute best in August, think golden beaches, excellent seafood, and a laid-back, sophisticated atmosphere that feels a world away from the nearby Spanish coast. Perfect for a long weekend by the sea.
2. Bologna, Italy – £36
Bologna is one of Italy’s great food cities, and August brings warm evenings perfect for lingering over pasta and gelato beneath its famous porticoes. The Piazza Maggiore, the leaning towers, and a properly local, unpretentious atmosphere make it a brilliant, undervalued choice. Bologna is also home to our own Bologna Experience, so why not turn your flight into something more?
1. Cologne, Germany – £33
Topping our list at just £33 return, Cologne combines an extraordinary Gothic cathedral, a lively riverside old town, and a properly welcoming beer garden culture, all easily explored on foot. August brings a full calendar of outdoor festivals and events too, so check what’s on before you book.
Ready to do it?
Deals like these don’t tend to hang around, and with prices this good, there’s really no excuse to let the rest of summer pass you by. Whether it’s a spontaneous long weekend or the perfect springboard into one of our small-group adventures, now’s the time to book that last-minute trip you’ve been putting off.
Grab your flight, and get in touch with the Untravelled Paths team to see how we can turn it into something truly unforgettable.
