Your holiday cash could go further than you imagine
THE CLOCKS have sprung forward and summer is in sight, and those who can afford to travel abroad this year should start planning their holidays now. Britons need a respite from the glut of bad news and millions will want to escape the cost of living crisis with a week or two in the sun.
Yet money is still tight and many will be counting every penny while away, or rather, every euro, dollar, peso and lira.
The good news is the pound is up 3.5 per cent against the euro over the last year.this means your money should go that little bit further in hotspots such as Spain, France, Italy and Greece, although sterling is down 4 per cent against the US dollar.
Local resort prices will also determine how much you spend and the Post Office’s latest global barometer of tourist costs shows which destinations offer best value.
LIRA WE GO
Britons travelling to Turkey this summer will be the biggest winners, as the lira has plunged an incredible 37 per cent amid a currency crisis.
That makes Turkey cheapest of 36 destinations surveyed by the Post Office, which tots up the cost of eight tourist staples, including an evening meal for two, bottle of beer, glass of wine, can of Coke, bottle of water, coffee, suncream and insect repellent.
It found these items will cost just £26.13 in Marmaris,turkey, which has beaten cut-price Bulgarian resort Sunny Beach for the first time.
Sunny Beach is still cheap and destined to remain popular, though, as the same eight items cost just 6p more.the Bulgarian lev is now one of the top 10 best selling currencies, the Post Office says.
LONG-HAUL
Turkey and Bulgaria offer the best value by far, with the next cheapest resort, the Algarve, charging £44.39 for the same eight items.
Britons are spreading their wings for the first time since the pandemic, judging by soaring sales of the Mexican peso and Caribbean currencies.yet Southafrica offers the best long-haul value, with those eight items costing £53.23, against £83.33 in Cancun, Mexico.
Closer to home in Europe, Cyprus looks affordable with prices down 15 per cent in a year to £56.44. Spain’s Costa del Sol (£59.56), Malta (£65.35) and the Canary Islands (£71.13) are also at the cheaper end of the scale. Further afield, Orlando, Florida, in the US (£67.01), Mauritius (£72.59) and Thailand (£72.98) also offer relatively good value.
PRICES CHANGE
Orlando is 22 per cent cheaper than two years ago despite the stronger dollar, said Post Office head of travel money Nick Boden: “Most people won’t have travelled abroad in the past two years, so it’s worth doing your holiday homework to see how prices have changed.they have risen sharply in some destinations and fallen significantly in others.”
Currency values change all the time and the pound has fallen in recent days, as the cost of living crisis intensifies. Holidaymakers have plenty of choice, Boden said: “Turkey and Bulgaria are best buys but further afield it will be worth considering Thailand or Mauritius.”
Dubai is also popular, with the
UAE dirham the third best selling currency behind the euro and US dollar, but it is expensive with those eight items totalling £132.73. Reykjavík, Iceland, was priciest of all at £158.16.
CHECKLIST
There are other ways to save money when booking a holiday, said money-saving expert Nick Drewe at Wethrift.com, who offers the following tips.
Check a few different airlines for flight deals. By checking comparison websites such as Skyscanner you may secure a better deal.
Consider a non-direct flight.this may be less convenient but can be a great way to save money.
Stay in hostels. If you spend your day exploring, you could save by flopping somewhere cheap afterwards.
Get a sightseeing or city pass. If planning to do a lot of sightseeing, you could get into several local tourist attractions for the price of one, saving money and seeing more.also check for group discounts. Sharing rooms and group bookings can lower costs.
Book in advance. Save by booking far ahead or at the last minute.
Be flexible with dates. If you can, avoid school holidays and travel outside the peak months of July to September.travel light, as taking loads of baggage can bump up the cost of your flights, especially if you accidentally exceed allowances.
Try a staycation instead of going abroad, although UK living expenses may be higher.
‘Brits who had holiday plans cancelled at the last minute are chomping at the bit to get abroad’
SUN FUN
The average holidaymaker plans to spend an average £1,203 each on their holidays this year despite falling real incomes, according to research from Allclear Travel Insurance.
That rises to £1,457 each for the over-65s, who reckon they owe themselves the holiday of a lifetime after missing out in the pandemic.
Allclear chief executive Chris Rolland said: “Brits who had holiday plans cancelled at the last minute are chomping at the bit to get abroad.”
Clearly it will take more than a cost of living crisis to stop Britons from getting their fix of fun in the sun.