Britons flock to Eastern Europe

According to statistics released this week by the Civil Aviation Authority, the number of Britons visiting the Czech Republic alone rose by 59 per cent (an additional 770,000) last year. The increase in visits to other newcomers to the EU - including Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Baltic States - almost doubled. A good portion of weekend travellers are said to be stag parties.

In addition to cheap flights, British visitors are attracted to the east partly out of a sense of adventure and partly because hotel rooms and meals are still very reasonably priced.

Many of the countries - in particular the Czech Republic - are also famous for the high quality (and low price) of their beers. Prague, Tallinn and Vilnius are already well established on the stag-party network.

According to Neil Taylor, director of Regent Holidays, a specialist in trips to eastern Europe, many travellers are also beginning to venture beyond the capitals to discover relatively unspoilt areas of countryside.

"Undoubtedly the fact that these countries are now part of the EU has given people confidence to explore, and when they do, they find that standards have really risen in the region," he said.