Amsterdam: not as cheap as you might think
A study has found that Brits spend 100 per cent more on city breaks than they anticipate.
The study, by travel-search site Skyscanner, looked at the total cost for a two-night break for two people, staying in a four-star hotel in 10 of Europe’s top holiday cities and found that total costs (including flights) ranged from £500 for a trip to Prague to over £900 for a weekend in Paris, with the average cost of a city break to be around £700 per couple.
Brits perceived the cost of these trips to range from £380 to just £460 with an average cost of approximately £420 – a massive 65% less than the true cost.
Brits are also confused as to which cities offer the best value for money, believing Amsterdam to be the cheapest, the study found it was the third most expensive option and £400 more than Brits expected. The study also found that Milan and Rome were perceived to be the most expensive, when in reality they are the third and fourth cheapest cities in the study.
To help with choices, Skyscanner has created a guide to the real cost of Europe’s top ten cities to help travellers accurately budget their autumn breaks and help them decide where to go to get the best bargain (www.skyscanner.net/news/great-value-city-breaks).
The guide calculates the total cost for two people, providing clarity around the cost for each element of the trip including flights, accommodation in a four-star city centre hotel with breakfast, entrance to a top tourist attraction, sightseeing bus tour, dinner and beer.
The breakdown costs for each city highlights that a cheap flight does not necessarily equal a cheap break. In some cases, such as Istanbul, taking a slightly more expensive flight is still worth it as the other costs when you get there are so much cheaper.
Skyscanner’s Mary Porter said: “As our guide shows, a cheap flight does not necessarily guarantee a great value city break – two return flights can be under 30% of the total cost, as is the case with Paris. It’s therefore important to consider all your city break costs and we hope that this guide provides clarity for travellers so that planning and budgeting for a weekend is as easy as possible”.
|
Destinations |
Perception** |
|
Amsterdam |
£381 |
|
Prague |
£386 |
|
Istanbul |
£403 |
|
London |
£410 |
|
Munich |
£411 |
|
Barcelona |
£420 |
|
Vienna |
£447 |
|
Paris |
£457 |
|
Milan |
£458 |
|
Rome |
£460 |
|
Destinations |
Real Cost** |
|
Prague |
£505 |
|
Barcelona |
£575 |
|
Rome |
£621 |
|
Milan |
£633 |
|
Istanbul |
£671 |
|
London |
£699 |
|
Munich |
£711 |
|
Amsterdam |
£783 |
|
Vienna |
£877 |
|
Paris |
£928 |
