Each year the Post Office® publishes their long haul travel survey which reveals the best value holiday destinations for UK travellers based on 32 locations across the world – and this year has a new destination in the number one spot!
The ‘long haul costs barometer’ compares a basket of 10 typical tourist items, from a bottle of suncream, a three course evening meal, insect repellent and various snacks and beverages. The thirty two destinations also cover a wide selection, from the US cities of New York, Washington DC, Miami, San Francisco and Orlando, right through to perennial travel hotpots including Phuket in Thailand, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and Vancouver in Canada.
And for the last three years, Sri Lanka has been hailed as the cheapest of all the long haul destinations, but this year it has been surpassed by the paradise island of Bali in Indonesia!
Top 10 Cheapest Destinations
1. Bali, Indonesia
2. Cape Town, South Africa
3. Hoi An, Vietnam
4. Phuket, Thailand
5. Colombo, Sri Lanka
6. Cancun, Mexico
7. Jamaica
8. Mombasa, Kenya
9. Orlando, USA
10. Kololi, Gambia
Sri Lanka has made a welcome return to travellers’ must-see lists over the last few years but resort costs have increased by 45% resulting in the drop to fifth spot in this survey.
Prices have dropped slightly in Bali over the last year, which will hopefully stimulate interest in this paradise island once more. I visited Bali a few years ago and as well as finding it incredibly cheap, I also thought it was incredibly beautiful and the people very warm and welcoming.
And some great news for UK travellers looking for an autumn holiday or a school-holiday getaway: sterling is currently performing well against the South African Rand, which brings Cape Town costs in at 12% less than last year. And the perennial family-favourite, Orlando in Florida was the cheapest of the five US destinations surveyed, coming within the top 10!
