If you're planning a holiday without a budget-breaking bill, this travel news has arrived at the perfect time.
For the second year in a row, Bulgaria has been named the cheapest holiday destination of the year in the Post Office's annual Holiday Costs Barometer.
The report compares the average prices that holidaymakers will have to pay for eight essential holiday items in 42 destinations. The items include a coffee from a local cafe, a large bottle of mineral water, sun cream and a three-course evening meal, including wine, at a local restaurant. It's worth noting that flight and hotel prices are not taken into account.
The total cost of items at Bulgaria's Sunny Beach resort, located on the Black Sea coast, came to just over £36. Marmaris, a Mediterranean resort town in Turkey, was ranked in second place, with a total cost of just over £45. The Algarve, which was been named the cheapest holiday resort in previous years, slipped to third place with an average bill of just over £50, and Cape Town was the cheapest long-haul destination thanks to its favourable exchange rate.
The most expensive destinations were found to be Abu Dhabi, where the items cost almost £168 on average, followed by Mahe in the Seychelles.
The report indicates that there is good news for globetrotters, though. It found that costs had fallen in almost half of the destinations surveyed, mostly because of cheaper local prices for food and drink.
"It is good news that prices are down in many destinations this year, but it is still very important to be aware of the huge variation in costs we found across the 42 countries surveyed,” Andrew Brown of Post Office Travel Money commented. “For example, barometer costs in the six cheapest resorts and cities are less than half those in the 15 priciest destinations. That’s why we advise holidaymakers to draw up a destination shortlist and do their homework by comparing the prices for meals, drinks and other tourist items before booking.”
Ready for a holiday? Here's the top 10 cheapest destinations, according to this year’s Post Office report:
1. Bulgaria (Sunny Beach) - £36.03
2. Turkey (Marmaris) - £45.23
3. Portugal (Algarve) £50.11
4. South Africa (Cape Town) - £53.40
5. Spain (Costa del Sol) - £54.12
6. Japan (Tokyo) - £55.55
7. Kenya (Mombasa) - £55.87
8. Czech Republic (Prague) - £56.87
9. Cyprus (Paphos) - £65.17
10. Indonesia (Bali) - £69.49
