NEW: Which are the cheapest holiday destinations?

The recent wet weather has seen a surge in holiday bookings abroad as families long for a sunshine break. But which are the cheapest holiday destinations if on a budget? Travelex has come up with a league table of countries based on how many days £500 would last you – if you eat out three times a day, have four soft drinks, two beers, a coffee and two trips using public transport.

Thailand, above, came out on top – you could manage for 44 days compared to just SIX in Switzerland!

Here are the 10 most expensive and 10 cheapest destinations:

10 Cheapest destinations 10 Most expensive destinations
Country How many days you could last on £500? (Days) Country How many days you could last on £500 (Days)
Thailand/Baht 44 Switzerland/CHF 6
Mexico/MXN Peso 26 Norway/Krone 6
Jamaica/JM$ 25 Denmark/Krone 7
Bulgaria/BGN Lev 23 Netherlands/Euro 8
Czech Republic/Koruna 23 Belgium/Euro 8
Hungary/Forint 22 Republic of Ireland/Euro 8
Poland/Zloty 22 Italy/Euro 8
Turkey/TL 22 Australia/AU$ 9
South Africa/Rand 18 Finland/Euro 9
Portugal/Euro 17 France/Euro 9

To help travellers budget better, Travelex has launched their spending calculator tool where users can fill in details about where they want to travel and the activities they want to take part in while on holiday. The tool will then reveal a suggested budget for the trip based upon real time cost of living.

John Rayment, UK Commercial Director at Travelex, said: “When it comes to holiday budgeting it can be difficult to know where to start. It’s not just cheap flights and accommodation that make a trip good value. Thorough research before you book about how much spending money you’ll need can really help you stick to a set budget.”

Here’s the full league table of destinations:

How long could you last on £500?
Country/Currency Spent per day (local currency)  Spent per day (in £) How many days could you last? (days)
Thailand/Baht 473.27 11.43 44
Mexico/MXN Peso 417.82 19.14 26
Jamaica/JM$ 3101.16 20.01 25
Bulgaria/BGN Lev 45.38 21.91 23
Czech Republic/Koruna 620.83 22.12 23
Hungary/Forint 7305.35 22.65 22
Turkey/TL 94.68 22.32 22
Poland/Zloty 103.15 23.05 22
South Africa/Rand 445.53 27.55 18
Portugal/Euro 32.90 29.64 17
Barbados/Bda$ 97.40 40.29 12
Spain/Euro 45.08 40.61 12
Cyprus/Euro 46.35 41.76 12
Greece/Euro 48.40 43.60 11
United Arab Emirates/AED 203.45 44.80 11
Canada/CA$ 75.01 46.15 11
Germany/Euro 53.24 47.96 10
Austria/Euro 54.48 49.08 10
USA/Dollars 62.31 49.39 10
Malta/Euro 55.17 49.70 10
Sweden/S Krona 574.64 53.84 9
France/Euro 61.06 55.01 9
UK 55.04 55.04 9
Finland/Euro 65.20 58.74 9
Australia/AU$ 92.82 56.29 9
Italy/Euro 65.47 58.98 8
Belgium/Euro 67.92 61.19 8
Republic of Ireland/Euro 69.08 62.23 8
Netherlands/Euro 70.16 63.21 8
Denmark/Krone 612.39 74.82 7
Norway/Krone 896.77 85.34 6
Switzerland/CHF 106.93 88.82 6