Portugal’s Algarve (above) and the Costas are the cheapest places to go on holiday this summer, according to the latest survey by the Post Office.
Prices in both holiday hotspots have plummeted by 15-20 per cent this summer in the research which looks at the comparative in-resort costs of 10 typical holiday purchases, including a three-course meal, cup of coffee, bottle of beer, glass of wine, soft drink, bottled water, suncream, insect repellent, cigarettes and newspaper.
In a close-run race, Portugal just pipped Spain to the top spot in the seventh annual Post Office Travel Money barometer, thanks to low prices for meals and drinks. However, the 10 holiday items cost just 16p less in the Algarve (£46.34) than in Torremolinos on the Costa del Sol (£46.50) and only 80p less than in Javea, on the Costa Blanca (£47.14).
Tumbling resort prices in the Costas – down 19 per cent year-on-year in the Costa del Sol and 20 per cent in the Costa Blanca – helped Spain move to within a few pence of Portugal in the table. Sunny Beach, Bulgaria (£47.32) fell to fourth place in the table because of a 3.4 per cent rise in local resort prices but remains within 98p of top-placed Albufeira in the Algarve.
Fierce competition to attract back UK holidaymakers put a gap of £8-9 between the top four resorts and fifth-placed Majorca (£55.46), where prices have fallen 8.8 per cent in a year.
In the USA, even though sterling is 4.1 per cent weaker than last year against the dollar, holidaymakers heading to Orlando, Florida will find prices much lower in the theme park capital. The holiday basket there cost 21.2 per cent less than in 2012 (£58.16).
Sun-seekers will also be quids in if they choose the Egyptian resort of Sharm el Sheikh because prices are over 17 per cent lower than a year ago (£62.83).
Andrew Brown of Post Office Travel Money said: “The pound may be worth less in Europe than a year ago but fierce competition means that lower prices in several of the resorts we surveyed can easily offset the falling value of sterling. Taking some time to check out resort costs and add them to package prices to find the best overall deal will pay dividends this summer. This really is the year to do some ‘sterling’ work before booking a holiday: be prepared to swap destination or switch to a cheaper resort within the same country.”
See www.postoffice.co.uk/holidaycosts2013 for the full table
