Cheap holidays: best and worst value destinations

If you fancy a cheap holiday abroad, forget about Dubai or Scandinavia.

Summer is almost upon us, and that means starting to think about our summer holidays.

But it’s not enough to focus on which destination offers the best beaches or museums - savvy holidaymakers also need to think long and hard about where they can go that will offer them the best value for money.

After all, research from Expedia last year claimed that families spend an average of £4,800 on their big holiday each year.

If you’re spending that much cash, you want to feel like you’re getting something cracking in return.

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Where does your pound go furthest?

The latest ‘holiday spending report from the Post Office polled holidaymakers on which destinations boast the best value for money for British tourists, as well as which areas are less enticing.

Spain got the best response from holidaymakers, with a whopping 87% of holidaymakers suggested it offered good value.

Indeed, Europe is clearly a favourite for Brits looking to get the most bang for their buck, with Greece (85%) and Portugal (82%) scoring highly as well.

Here are how the top nations shaped up according to the Post Office poll.

Spain (mainland) ᠆ 87%
Greece ᠆ 85%
Bulgaria ᠆ 85%
Croatia - 83%
Portugal - 82%
Turkey - 82%
Thailand - 82%

As you can see, getting value for money isn’t limited to short-haul destinations - Brit holidaymakers reckon their pound goes a long way in Thailand too.

Another important factor here is that Post Office polled both people that had visited that destination before, and those who had simply heard from friends and family whether it was good value.

Looking just at people that had actually been to the specific nation, Spain’s score rose to a whopping 91% of respondents rating it as good value for money.

Greece also saw its score rise, to 90%, while Croatia dropped to third spot, albeit with an increased score of 87%.

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The worst value for money

Interestingly, there are plenty of European nations popping up as poor destinations if you’re looking for value for money.

Both Italy and France feature in the bottom five, along with Scandinavia as a whole.

Here’s how the bottom five nations for value for money look according to the Post Office study.

USA - 68%
Caribbean - 65%
Italy - 64%
France - 58%
Scandinavia - 44%
Dubai - 38%

When restricting the results to just people that have actually visited the nation in question, Dubai’s score improved slightly to 41%.

This took it above Scandinavia, whose score plummeted to just 30% of holidaymakers believing it had been good value for money.

Both the USA and the Caribbean are clearly being held back by their reputations, rather than holidaymakers’ actual experiences too.

Their scores jumped to 80% and 77% respectively when restricted to just answers from people that have been.

Getting more from my money

Of course a big concern for any holidaymaker is exactly how much they will get when changing up their currency. And when it comes to the pound against the Euro, things have been a little rough of late.

At the time of writing, £1 will get you €1.13, though the last month has seen this exchange rate on a pretty negative trajectory, falling from a high of €1.16 back on 8th May.

It’s a similar story against the US dollar too, with £1 now getting you $1.27, compared to a month ago when it would buy you $1.30.

That might not seem much, but when you get into the big sums holidaymakers may be changing up for their spending money, it can really make a difference to how much cash you have to play with.

This is why it’s so crucial that you plan ahead and don’t leave sorting your holiday money until the last minute, either at a bureau de change in the airport or even worse relying on withdrawing cash from an ATM with your usual debit card.

Avoid rip-off fees on your holidays with the Tandem Journey Credit Card.