Best holiday resorts where you will get the most for your money this year

Brexit-bashed Brits will be focusing on value for money more than ever when they choose their breaks in 2017.
As sterling continues to languish against the euro and the US dollar after the EU referendum bombshell, one of the key questions being asked by most people about this year’s travel plans is: where’s cheap?



Step forward Portugal’s sunny Algarve which has taken top slot in the annual Worldwide Holiday Costs Barometer from Post Office Travel Money.
Researchers surveyed the price of eight typical tourist purchases in 44 popular resorts or cities around the globe (see table below).
And it was the Portuguese favourite that led the way as Europe and short-haul dominated the report, taking 10 of the 14 best value places.
To get a comparison of costs, researchers checked prices of eight typical purchases made by UK tourists on a foreign holiday – three-course meal for two with wine, cup of filter coffee, bottle of local beer, can of Coca-Cola, glass of wine, large bottle of still water, suncream and insect repellent – and added them all together.

And while the barometer revealed that overall costs are higher worldwide than last year, UK tourists can take some comfort because prices in local currency for the eight items have either fallen or stayed on par in 40% of the destinations surveyed – and in Europe this rose to 50%.
So by choosing one of these resorts or cities, you could keep the increased cost caused by the weaker pound to a minimum.



The Algarve is a case in point, topping the chart for the second year running with a barometer total of £33.36 – up £4 (10%) more than a year ago but pegged back by the local price of the evening meal for two falling almost 5% year-on-year.

Runner-up, Sunny Beach in Bulgaria (£33.53), is just pennies behind the Algarve and also benefited from a 1.5% fall in local prices. In third place, Spain’s Costa del Sol (£38.79) has closed the gap on the Black Sea resort thanks to a 3% drop in local costs.
For a cheap city break look no further than fifth-placed Prague (£51.17) and Budapest in seventh (£53.18) – not only good value but great places to see too.
Japan’s growing reputation for affordability got a further boost as the pulsating capital Tokyo (£58.47) made its first appearance in the report Top 10, in eighth place – the only long-haul destination to make it.

 It’s now even cheaper than Cape Town (£65.37), which has fallen from third to 11th place after a surge in value for the South African rand.

Conversely, a weak peso and stable prices in Cancun (£66.50) have helped the Mexican resort to move five places up the barometer chart to 12th, making it the third cheapest long-haul holiday resort.



The most expensive destination was Jumeirah Beach, Dubai (£221.11), down in 44th place, mostly due to the eye-watering price of alcohol and food.
Andrew Brown of Post Office Travel Money said: “Holidaymakers can do little about sterling’s value but they can do their homework and plan trips to resorts or cities where prices for meals, drinks and other tourist staples are low.’’