No doubt that if used properly Ryanair is fantastic, but make sure you do your homework or things can get non-budget quite quickly (i.e paying for customer service, £5 per checked bag, £5.50 / £8 per kilo for baggage over the 15kg limit).  On Sept. 20th Ryanair will introduce a £2 fee for passengers who DO NOT check-in online; however, the catch is that you cannot check baggage.  So if you do have baggage to check you will have to pay an extra £7 (£2 check-in fee + £5 checked-bag).  The good news is that passengers are allowed 10kg to carry-on.  Keep this in mind when you are purchasing those little mementos.