Leavers holiday after A-levels 2027: Zante, Malta or Albania?

When you can go

On the JCQ common timetable, A-level exams start on Monday 10 May 2027 and the last paper is on Tuesday 22 June. Keep Wednesday 23 June free as well: it's the contingency day, used if exams are disrupted. Results come out on Thursday 12 August 2027.

That leaves a window from late June to early September, with results day in the middle. Some groups go straight after the last exam; others wait until the results are in. If your exams are with WJEC or CCEA, check their own key dates.

First, check that everyone is 18

This guide is written for leavers aged 18 or over. Check the whole group, not just yourself: school years in England run by birthday from September to August, so the youngest in Year 13 may not turn 18 until the summer.

Take ID on every night out. In Greece, the UK government advises carrying your passport, as police may not accept a copy.

Sources for the table: UK Foreign Office travel advice for Greece, Albanian Law no. 9518/2006, Canary Islands Law 7/2011, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights and the Café del Mar ticket page.

The options at a glance

Sources: the group's 2026 calendar and the GetYourTickets event pages. The 2027 dates have not been published yet.

Zante: the classic, with an Italian accent

According to Greece's official tourism site, Laganas's main road is a strip of beach bars and big clubs about 3 km long, open until the early hours and busy with a mainly young crowd. The UK is Zakynthos airport's biggest market: flights to and from the UK carried 764,954 passengers in 2025, a third of its traffic.

Know this before you book: in 2026 most of the group's nights in Zante were built for Italian travellers, from Dolce Vita on Saturdays to Italiano Night and an Italian pirate-ship boat party. Alongside them:

• Tuesdays: Club Barrage's Martedì Bianco, an all-white night starting at 23:30, drink included.
• Thursdays: El Paradiso Beach Club's sunset party, 18:00–22:00, and Papi Chulo at Sizzle Club for reggaeton, hip-hop and trap.
• Late July to late August: Favelas, a Brazilian night.
• 16 and 23 August: a Latin Party at Club Barrage and Noche de Perreo at Gatsby Live Theater.

There's no Party Island Zante website yet: message us on WhatsApp and we'll tell you when the 2027 dates are out.

Malta: the most choice, in English

English is one of Malta's two official languages, and young people are its biggest summer crowd: in July 2025, under-25s made up 36% of the island's tourists, the largest single group.

Party Island Malta's 2026 calendar peaked in July and August, each with more than 40 different parties. What that looked like:

• Boat parties: the all-inclusive Mega Boat Party (12 dates from 30 June to 25 August) and its all-white edition (12 dates from 4 July to 29 August).
• Pool parties: Toy Room Beach Club on Fridays, from daytime to sunset; Café del Mar on Thursdays from 2 July, 20:00–01:00, by the sea in Qawra; and Sunday Swim, a rooftop pool party in St Julian's.
• Big names in mid-August: Claptone (14 August) and Bob Sinclar (17 August) at Café del Mar, and Hugel played Fort Manoel on 29 August.

Distances are short: Paceville, the club district in St Julian's, is about 11 km from the airport, a 16-minute drive without traffic.

Party Island Malta is open now, and its 2027 summer dates will appear there first.

Albania: the after-results trip

If you'd rather wait for results, Albania starts when the rest of the summer is winding down. In 2026 the group's Albanian season covered 11 August to 15 September on the Riviera, between Ksamil and Saranda, the town that faces Corfu across the Ionian Sea.

The nights: beach parties at Greg Beach in Ksamil; a Latin pool party at Mulino Beach, 18:30 to midnight; an infinity-pool party in Saranda, 19:00 to midnight; and boat parties out of Saranda, including an all-white one every Friday between 21 August and 11 September. Many of the themed nights were French, such as La Parisienne and Le Classico.

Party Island Albania doesn't have its website yet. Message us on WhatsApp to get the 2027 dates as soon as they're released.

Tenerife: for later in the year

Tenerife works the other way round. Its summer 2026 programme was short: Shattaland at El Nido on Wednesdays from 15 July to 26 August, and a white beach party on 1 and 14 August. In 2026 the weekly nights began in mid-September and are scheduled until Christmas week.

That makes it the pick for a gap year or an autumn trip. At the centre of it is Papagayo, a club for 1,500 people that came 76th in DJ Mag's 2026 club ranking, with a different sound each night.

Party Island Tenerife's website isn't open yet; message us on WhatsApp and we'll tell you when it is.

Mykonos: the big name, no dates yet

Mykonos is, in the words of Greece's tourism site, a clubbing destination of worldwide reach, and flights to and from the UK carried 189,387 passengers through its airport in 2025. Party Island hasn't published any Mykonos dates so far; message us on WhatsApp and we'll let you know when they appear.

How to choose

• You want to go the week after your last exam: Malta, or Zante from early July.
• You want to celebrate your results: Malta in mid-August, or Albania.
• You want everything in English: Malta.
• You're taking a gap year: Tenerife, from the autumn.
• Someone in the group is still 17: plan around their birthday, not the exam timetable.

Before you book

• Read the age rule on each ticket page, and carry ID every night.
• Buy your own drinks and keep them in sight. The UK government's advice for both Malta and Greece warns about drink spiking.
• Check your travel insurance. The UK government notes it may not cover you if you miss a flight after an alcohol-related arrest.
• One ticket per night: tickets are sold by date, so buy for the night you'll actually be there.