Where you’ll get New Year holiday bargains

holiday bargains

If you are looking for New Year holiday bargains, Lanzarote, Cyprus and Tenerife are where you’ll find the best deals, says the Post Office.

The Eurozone trio top the chart with UK tourists getting up to 33 per cent more travel money than two years ago.

Hitting the Boxing Day sales is a post-Christmas tradition but do your homework. Post Office Travel Money reveals that while sterling is still riding high against some currencies, it has dipped against others.

The lowest-priced packages are in eurozone winter sun resorts. Lower airfares mean cheaper packages and a 5.5 per cent rise in sterling’s value against the euro will put £27 extra cash in holidaymakers’ pockets on a £500 currency purchase.

In a close run competition between Tenerife, Lanzarote (above) and Cyprus, a seven-night Lanzarote package with evening meals in resort restaurants costs £278 per person, £6 less than in Paphos.

If you want to go further afield, sun-seekers should compare exchange rates now and two years ago before sterling started to surge in value to see how far their pounds will stretch. Although packages are more expensive, UK tourists will have the bonus of 30 per cent more cash to spend in South Africa and 33 per cent more in Japan as their currencies fall in value. This means over £117-£121 extra on a £500 currency purchase.

holiday bargains

On price alone Egypt is the best value long haul option at £408pp for a week in Sharm-el-Sheikh (above). Although sterling is worth two per cent less against the Egyptian pound than a year ago, keenly-priced packages make it cheapest of eight long haul destinations surveyed.

The Top 10 best value options for a seven-night package plus seven evening meals are:

  1. Lanzarote £278
  2. Paphos, Cyrpus £283
  3. Tenerife £309
  4. Sharm-el-Sheikh £408
  5. Hua Hin, Thailand £745
  6. Orlando £750
  7. Cancun, Mexico £760
  8. Jamaica £869
  9. Cape Town £929
  10. Tokyo £937
  11. Dominican Republic £967

In the Caribbean, a 20 per cent upturn in the value of sterling over two years puts almost £85 more Jamaican dollars in the pockets of UK tourists, making Jamaica (£869pp) a cheaper bet than the Dominican Republic.

At £967pp, a seven-night holiday including evening meals costs almost £100 more in the Dominican Republic and holidaymakers will also get marginally fewer Dominican peso oro for their cash.

The same applies in Thailand and the USA where sterling is worth 5.2 per cent less against the baht and 4.7 per cent less against the dollar year-on-year. However, both these destinations rate as good value because of lower-priced holiday packages to resorts like Hua Hin (£745pp including evening meals) and Orlando (£750pp including evening meals).

holiday bargains

Mexico is another strong contender because the pound is worth over six per cent more than a year ago while packages in Cancun (above) and resort costs remain low for UK holidaymakers. A one week trip will cost £760pp in January and visitors will have £30 more to spend in Mexican pesos than a year ago on a £500 currency transaction.

Andrew Brown of Post Office Travel Money said: “Although European winter sun holidays are unbeatable on price, the Red Sea resort of Sharm-el-Sheikh is also great value with packages pegged at 2013 levels to make them a compelling proposition for bargain hunters.

“Further afield, the continuing strength of sterling against currencies for some of the most popular long haul beach destinations will make these attractive to wallet watchers as well – particularly in Mexico and Jamaica where the pound has risen in value recently.”