The obscure cities you can fly to on Europe’s least-loved airline

Wizz Air’s new all-you-can-fly subscription service comes with plenty of catches, but it might appeal to those who favour offbeat trips

Wizz Air’s new “all-you-can-fly” subscription service might not be the most tempting offer. Despite its rock-bottom prices, eastern Europe’s answer to Ryanair has a checkered track record for customer satisfaction.
Last year, Telegraph readers voted it their least-favourite short-haul airline in Europe (out of 23 contenders). And Wizz can hardly complain you were too tough: they were recently found to be the least punctual airline in the UK for the third year running.
Despite the hiccups, I confess to having a soft spot for Wizz, given that its low fares and expansive route map ignited my travel obsession back in the early 2010s. Ten years later, I still usually pick them over their better-known rivals for shorter flights.
Perhaps I’m the ideal candidate for this new subscription pass, which is currently available for an introductory price of £429 (rising to £515 from tomorrow). Having unlimited flights sounds like heaven, but there are a couple of big caveats.
For a start, the flights aren’t actually free, as you need to pay a €9.99 (or £8.50) “voucher fee” every time you fly. And given Wizz’s already-cheap prices, you might not be saving that much.
Looking at flights for next week – peak season, apparently – I found one-way tickets from London to Tirana for £19.99; Split for £31.99; and Prague for £35.99. That said, the tickets to Lisbon (£58.99), Mallorca (£53.99) and Venice (£89.99) were slightly more expensive.
Another catch – and it’s a big one – is that you can only choose flights that take off in the next three days. This means that unless you’re prepared to pay for your return journey, you’ll likely be heading off on holiday without knowing exactly how and when you’re getting back.
What’s more, the terms suggest that only a limited portion of seats will be eligible on each flight (similar to Avios redemptions with BA). What happens if they’re gone? Wizz’s current advice is that anyone in that situation can book a flight “using the regular booking process” – i.e. pay full price.
Perhaps pass holders can minimise the risk of being in that situation by sticking to some of Wizz Air’s famously obscure routes. Here are 10 destinations that are less likely to sell out:
When it comes to tourism in the Gulf, there is plenty of choice, with UAE, Qatar, Oman and now Saudi Arabia all competing to bring in visitors.
One country that hasn’t yet entered that race is Kuwait, the oil-rich emirate probably best known for being invaded by Iraq in the first Gulf War. That said, it does have some fancy-looking hotels, including a Four Seasons and a St Regis.
If you do fancy a weekend in an alcohol-free city where the summer weather regularly tops 45 degrees, Wizz has you covered. 
The rugged Balkan outpost of Skopje, the birthplace of Mother Teresa, was one of my first trips on Wizz Air back in 2013.
Since then, the country has updated its name (from FYROM, or Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, to the much easier North Macedonia), but its charm remains unchanged.
Expect bustling open-air markets, fragrant street dining, and pretentious monuments to Alexander the Great, whose apparent Macedonian roots have triggered the most bitter of disputes with neighbouring Greece.
Some good news for adventurous travellers: the glorious Silk Road city of Samarkand is a must-see – especially now that Uzbekistan, formerly a hermit kingdom, permits visa-free travel for both Britons and EU arrivals.
The ancient madrassas of Registan Square, built during the 15th-century reign of Timur, are as much a visual feast as anything in Istanbul or Rome. When I visited last summer, I was astounded by the lack of tourists there to see them.
While it certainly isn’t obscure, the Maldives isn’t a typical Wizz Air destination either, given the emphasis on low-cost travel.
Then again, not everything in the Maldives is an island resort. Cost-conscious travellers can instead take a budget break in the slightly chaotic cities of Malé and Hulhumale.
In my experience, you’ll get as much sunshine as any resort-goers, with better food at a fraction of the price (provided you can handle your spice). What you won’t get, however, is a single drop of alcohol or accommodation that exceeds the typical boarding house.
The former Soviet republic of Moldova holds the position of being the least-visited country in Europe. Is it really that bad? I’d be the first to argue otherwise.
Moldova lacks the majestic landscapes of its bigger sibling Romania, but it is blessed with good wine, ancient fortresses, and an intriguing clash of romantic and Soviet architecture.
It also contains the pro-Russian puppet state known as Pridnestrovie, or Transnistria, which has long fascinated travellers of a certain bent. I suspect it all feels a bit sadder, though, after the events in neighbouring Ukraine.
The capital of Kurdish Iraq (an autonomous region that remains on broadly good terms with Baghdad) isn’t quite the terrifying prospect that it might sound. And though almost exclusively a business destination, Erbil does come recommended by some travel bloggers on YouTube.
That said, the Foreign Office advises against travel to the region, albeit assigning it an amber classification (“essential travel only”), rather than the much sterner red (meaning do not go in any circumstances) used for the rest of Iraq. 
As someone who jumped at the chance to visit Kazakhstan when Wizz Air launched its first Astana route in 2017, I’m glad to see that the arrangement has continued.
As the airline’s third stop in Kazakhstan, Turkistan is undoubtedly the strangest of the trio. The small city (population around 200,000) is rather remote even by Central Asian standards. A train to the cultural capital of Almaty will take around 20 hours.
Even with Saudi Arabia’s recent break with its Wahhabist past (letting women drive, for example), the capital of Riyadh is generally regarded as much more austere than other cities (notably the Red Sea port of Jeddah).
Still, Saudi’s ambitious crown prince Mohammed bin Salman clearly has ambitions for the city, spending billions to host major sporting events (notably boxing matches and WWE pro-wrestling) to put it on the wider tourism map.
Will it be the start of a new era for Saudi Arabia? Wizz Air seems to think so, given it has been expanding its operations in the country.
The capital of the ancient nation of Armenia, Yerevan doesn’t make the typical shortlist for summer holidays. But the Caucasus republic is tipped as a hidden gem by those in the know, partly due to its fascinating cultural heritage.
Indeed it’s a shame Wizz Air hadn’t launched the route when I visited in 2019. On that occasion, I had to fly with the Russian carrier Aeroflot, whose service makes Wizz seem like Pan Am by comparison.
A mountainous realm wedged between the deserts of China and Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan has emerged as a favoured destination for adventurous tourists – due in part to its emphasis on high-end equine tourism.
A horseback trek through the vast Jyrgalan Valley is one thing. But how about a city break in Bishkek itself, Kyrgyzstan’s relatively young (founded in 1825) capital city?
Surrounded by the imposing Tien Shan mountains, the city has been praised for its cosmopolitan and liberal vibe – at least by regional standards.