The priciest cities to visit on Halloween revealed – THESE Scotland spots top the list

Dundee ranks as the most expensive city to stay in on Halloween, with Airbnb prices reaching an average of £235.63 on the night.

Cambridge and York also rank highly among England’s priciest Halloween getaway destinations.

Affordable options for the holiday include Liverpool and Manchester, both with average prices of under £95 per night.

The research ranks cities across Scotland, England, and Wales by giving each a score out of ten, based on two key factors: the average cost of an Airbnb stay on the night of October 31st, and the availability of accommodation on this date.

While some cities offer a spooky stay on a budget, others will make your wallet scream in terror.

The research reveals that Scotland is the most expensive country to visit for Halloween, with Dundee taking the top spot as the priciest city for a spooky staycation on the 31st of October.

The average cost of an Airbnb in Dundee on Halloween is £235.63 per night with only 267 Airbnb listings currently available. This earns the city a low score of 0.57 out of 10 when considering both price and availability.

Scottish cities dominate the list of the priciest Halloween destinations, with Edinburgh right behind Dundee, offering an average nightly price of £167.62. This gives Edinburgh a low score of 4.76 out of 10, thanks to its high prices and lack of options.

Glasgow’s Airbnb rates sit at a costly £159.95 per night, with only 372 Airbnb listings available. This gives the city a score of 4.42 out of 10 for price and availability.

Aberdeen also commands a hefty nightly rate, coming in at an average of £151.60 per night for a Halloween stay. The city scores a measly 3.58 out of 10, reflecting the high accommodation costs and lack of Airbnb options.

But it’s not just Scotland feeling the pinch—England’s university cities are also seeing a frightening surge in prices.

The most expensive city to visit in England and Wales this Halloween is Cambridge, where the average Airbnb price for the 31st of October reaches £146.78.

With only 346 Airbnbs available that night, Cambridge scores a mere one out of 10 for price and availability.

Following Cambridge, the next most expensive city to visit in England and Wales is York. With an average price of £145.99 and a near rock-bottom score of 0.93 out of 10, York is not a budget-friendly destination for Halloween visitors.

The third most expensive English city for a Halloween stay is Peterborough, with an average price of £133.80 and a low score of 1.67 out of 10.

While the city may not typically get as many visitors as Cambridge or York, it has limited Airbnb availability and relatively high prices.

Oxford is the fourth most expensive English city to visit for Halloween, where you’ll need to shell out £132.99 per night.

It fares slightly better on the availability front, scoring 3.25 out of 10, meaning there are more Airbnb options compared to Cambridge and York.

However, the cheapest listing in Oxford is £50 per night, so travellers hoping to save will still find their budgets tested.

The 10 worst cities to visit on Halloween based on Airbnb price and availability

	City	Average Airbnb Nightly Price on the 31st of October	Number of Available Airbnbs on the 31st of October	Score (Out of 10)
1	Dundee	£235.63	267	0.57
2	York	£145.99	324	0.93
3	Cambridge	£146.78	347	1.00
4	Peterborough	£133.80	274	1.67
5	Hull	£117.93	183	2.47
6	Oxford	£132.99	521	3.25
7	Aberdeen	£151.60	173	3.58
8	Southampton	£118.81	419	3.84
9	Glasgow	£159.95	372	4.42
10	Edinburgh	£167.62	482	4.76

Meanwhile, Northern England makes for a cheaper trip, with Liverpool ranking as the most affordable and highest scoring city in Scotland, England and Wales.

With an average Airbnb price of only £88.30 per night, there are still over 1,000 Liverpool Airbnb listings available.

When considering both cost and availability, Liverpool earns the highest possible score of 10 out of 10, making it the best option for budget travellers looking for a Halloween getaway.

Manchester is the second most affordable and highest–scoring destination this Halloween, with an average price of £94.21 per night and over 1000 Airbnb listings still available on the 31st of October.

This gives Manchester a score of 9.49 out of 10, just shy of a perfect score.

Wakefield gets the third highest score for a stay on Halloween night, with an average Airbnb price of £100.76 and over 944 Airbnb listings to choose from. The city scores a respectable 8.59 out of 10 for price and availability.

The fourth highest scoring city for a Halloween getaway is Wolverhampton, where visitors can enjoy an average nightly price of £107.72 and over 1,000 Airbnb listings to choose from on Halloween.

While not as budget friendly as Liverpool or Manchester, Wolverhampton still earns a high score of 8.59 out of 10 when considering the relatively low average price and high number of Airbnb listings.

Coventry is the fifth best-scoring city, where a one-night stay on Halloween will cost an average of £108.48. Coventry has over 1000 Airbnb listings still available, giving it a score of 8.27 out of 10 for both affordability and availability.

The 10 best cities to visit on Halloween based on Airbnb price and availability

	City	Average Airbnb Nightly Price on the 31st of October	Number of Available Airbnbs on the 31st of October	Score (Out of 10)
1	Liverpool	£88.30	1,000+	10.00
2	Manchester	£94.21	1,000+	9.49
3	Wakefield	£100.76	944	8.59
4	Wolverhampton	£107.72	1,000+	8.34
5	Coventry	£108.48	1,000+	8.27
6	Birmingham	£114.39	1,000+	7.77
7	Leeds	£107.32	849	7.45
8	Derby	£98.61	724	7.43
9	City of London	£118.51	1,000+	7.42
10	Cardiff	£111.48	866	7.20

A spokesperson of the study commented on the findings: “It’s clear that the cost of enjoying a Halloween night away varies wildly depending on where you want to stay. If you’re looking for a budget-friendly trip to celebrate the holiday, it’s best to steer clear of places like Dundee and Cambridge.

“For those really set on a Scottish getaway, be prepared to fork out a bit more for your accommodation because it’s the most expensive destination in the UK this midterm.

“Scotland’s higher Airbnb prices probably have a lot to do with lower availability. There are simply not as many properties available in Scotland as there are in England, so naturally, prices are going to be higher due to demand.”

Technology

Legacy to Cloud in 100 Sprints: A Tactical Guide for CTOs in Regulated Industries

By Sam Allcock06/01/2026

Cloud migration has become essential for regulated industries where security, compliance, and nonstop availability are crucial. From finance to healthcare and insurance, legacy systems once built for stability are now being stretched thin by the swift demands of digital transformation. Organizations face a daunting challenge: how to modernize without risking operational downtime or regulatory penalties? At the heart of this transformation is a practical story of steady progress, the journey of Balraj Adhana, a technology leader who pioneered an agile and risk-conscious approach known as “Legacy to Cloud in 100 Sprints.” With over 20 years of experience, Balraj has led the modernization of vital platforms across capital markets, insurance, and healthcare domains. His approach was not about big leaps but about breaking down the complex multi-year cloud migration into 100 manageable sprints. Sprinting added functional upgrades and provided complete business continuity, even to the most sensitive compliance systems. This method enabled teams to turn single-monolith legacy software into agile microservices, which operate in the cloud and reduce the six-hour critical batch processing windows to fifteen minutes. It has also reduced the costs of cloud infrastructure by up to 45%, signifying financial discipline and technical excellence. His leadership extended beyond technical delivery. He reshaped organizational collaboration by bridging gaps between technology, compliance, and audit teams, creating cross-functional cloud squads that improved onboarding speed by over 60% and sprint velocity by 65%. This cultural shift increased confidence across stakeholders and accelerated delivery without compromising regulatory requirements. The innovator also developed comprehensive internal playbooks, which became standardized guides for modernization projects across multiple industries. His leadership in establishing a Cloud Center of Excellence streamlined governance and tool use, reinforcing consistency in cloud adoption company-wide. One of the expert’s most notable achievements was achieving zero downtime during the phased migration of critical regulatory systems. His team implemented a dual-run strategy, running legacy and cloud systems in parallel for months while an automated engine reconciled all data events in real time. This approach eliminated risk during the transition and safeguarded thousands of compliance analysts working in global markets around the clock. His team also introduced event-driven architecture, turning overnight batch jobs into real-time event streams, boosting efficiency by 96%. These advancements accelerated compliance reporting from a three-day delay to same-day insight, increasing responsiveness to market changes. Cost savings were equally significant. By right-sizing workloads, adopting container orchestration, and eliminating redundant data centers, Balraj’s initiatives achieved $2 million in annual operational savings. Automated deployment pipelines and self-healing workflows reduced manual overhead by 40%, freeing teams to focus on innovation. Compliance adherence also improved dramatically, with full alignment to leading standards maintained throughout migration, a major trust builder with regulators and customers alike. The professional’s work provides useful insights for leaders facing modernization challenges today. He stresses that speed must align with safety, coining the phrase: “True transformation is a steady sprint, not a risky leap.” Instead of viewing compliance as a constraint, he sees it as an engineering discipline embedded from the start. He added,” Legacy systems are repositories of institutional knowledge that should be carefully refactored rather than discarded, preserving business logic while unlocking agility.” Looking ahead, he foresees hybrid and multi-cloud architectures dominating regulated sectors due to data residency and audit requirements. The next wave of modernization revolves around treating data pipelines as control planes, focusing on real-time observability and lineage tracking. Furthermore, AI-driven governance holds great promise, helping detect compliance risks preemptively and automating audit trails. Ultimately, cloud modernization is as much about people and culture as it is about technology, a balance Balraj has mastered with his pioneering 100-sprint approach. This story of transformation shows how complex regulatory IT environments can be modernized sustainably, enabling faster innovation, stronger compliance, and smarter cost management. Balraj Adhana’s model creates a roadmap for enterprises striving to keep pace with digital disruption while safeguarding trust and continuity. For regulated industries, the future belongs to those who blend engineering discipline with regulatory empathy to deliver cloud migration that’s faster, safer, and ready for the challenges ahead.

The priciest cities to visit on Halloween revealed – THESE Scotland spots top the list

Related Posts