2016's cheapest destinations for British holidaymakers

The strong pound means a lot of places are more affordable this year.

New research has revealed that prices for UK holidaymakers are cheaper in over half the world's holiday resorts and cities.

The report from the Post Office has found that three-quarters of the 40 bestselling currencies are weaker against sterling than a year ago, meaning your holiday pound will go further in many popular resorts.

Cheapest holiday destinations

If you are looking for a low-cost holiday Portugal and Bulgaria are the cheapest choices with South Africa, Spain and Turkey also coming in the top five low-cost places.

“If sterling continues to hold its value, UK holidaymakers will have plenty of choice in the coming year,” says Andrew Brown of Post Office Travel Money.

“In Europe the best deals are likely to be in Portugal and Bulgaria, where increased competition to attract tourists has resulted in lower prices for tourist staples. Once the exchange rate is factored in, tourists should see their spending costs shrink. For those travelling further afield, Cape Town, Bali and Tokyo look good bets for the bargain-hunter.”

Cheapest destinations

Here are the cheapest destinations at the moment and what things cost.

Items	Algarve, Portugal	Sunny Beach, Bulgaria	Cape Town, South Africa	Costa del Sol, Spain	Marmaris, Turkey
Cup of coffee	£0.57	£0.80	£0.91	£0.91	£1.21
Bottle of local beer	£0.91	£0.60	£0.91	£1.52	£1.94
Bottle of Coca-cola	£0.91	£0.80	£0.45	£0.91	£1.21
Glass of wine	£1.14	£1.41	£1.45	£2.29	£2.43
1.5l bottle of mineral water	£0.28	£0.36	£0.64	£0.29	£0.49
Suncream	£5.46	£3.42	£4.99	£3.77	£4.85
Pack of 20 cigarettes	£3.28	£2.01	£1.59	£3.05	£2.43
Three course evening meal for two	£16.77	£20.09	£23.61	£22.87	£24.27
Total costs	£29.32	£29.49	£34.55	£35.61	£38.83

The most expensive destinations

If you are thinking of heading to a far-flung destination be prepared to pay more. Anyone considering a holiday in Dubai should make sure they pack enough suncream, as buying it out there will cost you a whopping £13.55 for a 200ml bottle.

Here are the five most expensive destinations.

Items	Jumeirah, Dubai	English Harbour, Antigua	China Town, Singapore	St Lawrence Gap, Barbados	Auckland, New Zealand
Cup of coffee	£4.84	£2.74	£3.03	£2.58	£1.91
Bottle of local beer	£8.71	£2.33	£6.31	£2.21	£3.81
Bottle of Coca-cola	£3.48	£1.78	£2.78	£1.47	£1.91
Glass of wine	£9.29	£4.38	£7.07	£5.16	£4.29
1.5l bottle of mineral water	£0.58	£1.37	£0.91	£2.03	£1.14
Suncream	£13.55	£9.58	£6.06	£8.85	£9.24
Pack of 20 cigarettes	£2.13	£3.28	£6.56	£5.64	£10.01
Three course evening meal for two	£107.80	£109.48	£90.89	£89.56	£77.69
Total costs	£150.38	£134.94	£123.61	£117.50	£110.00

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Holidaymakers more currency aware

The research by the Post Office has also revealed that holidaymakers are increasingly taking exchange rates into account before choosing their destination.

Currency sales have increased for countries where the currency has weakened against the pound. For example, sterling has risen by more than a third against the Australian dollar over the past five years and this helped to stimulate a 15% growth in currency sales in 2015.

Similarly, sales of Peru’s Nuevo sol rose 27% last year while the currency slumped by 11% against sterling.

“When you have a look at many of the fastest growing currencies over the past year, it is clear that the strength of sterling has played an important part in determining holiday choice,” says Post Office Travel Money’s Andrew Brown.

“The evidence suggest that holidaymakers have been doing their homework before booking and checked to see where their pounds would stretch further."

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