Lower in-resort prices make up for fall in sterling

Lower prices in many family favourite European destinations will more than compensate for the recent fall in sterling, according to Post Office Travel Money.

Resort prices have fallen in more than half the European resorts surveyed for the Post Office’s Family Holiday Report.

Bulgaria and Turkey remain the smart choices for holidaymakers planning trips to Europe, while the Costa del Sol and Algarve are best value in the eurozone.

Prices in restaurants, bars and shops are lowest in Sunny Beach, Bulgaria, down 14% since last summer, making it the best value of 15 destinations surveyed.

At just over £32 for a family meal for four including drinks together with the cost of a coffee, bottle of beer, glass of wine and soft drink, Sunny Beach is over a third cheaper than runner-up Marmaris, Turkey (£50).

Over the course of a week, wallet-watchers can expect to spend around £225 in Sunny Beach – over £100 less than the average that families spent on food and drinks.  By comparison, prices in Ibiza, Croatia (Zadar), France (Nice) and Italy (Sorrento) are over three times as high.

Other destinations were UK visitors will find a fall in meal and drink costs are Ibiza (£97, down 11%), Zadar (£97, down 0.5%) and Sorrento (£130, down 5.7%).

The biggest fall is in the Algarve, where food and drink has plummeted since last summer by almost a third (31.3%).  At less than £51, it is the cheapest of 11 eurozone resort areas surveyed.

Prices have also fallen by 9.5% in Playa de Palma, Majorca (£75) to make it sixth cheapest in the food and drinks barometer. Although the Costa del Sol (£66) remains lowest-priced of three Spanish destinations surveyed, this is 30% pricier than the Algarve.  

The cost of beach items varies significantly across 15 resorts surveyed. Marmaris is the cheapest place for fun in the sun at just £34.39, a year-on-year fall of around 11%.

The 10 beach items surveyed – including water rides, buckets and spades, mask & snorkel sets and ice creams – cost over 44% more in its closest competitors – Sunny Beach (£49.55) and Costa del Sol (£50.93).

The value available to families visiting Marmaris and other Turkish resorts has been boosted by a sterling surge that makes it worth around 20% more against the Turkish lira than last summer.

This means visitors can currently expect to receive around £83 extra in Turkish lira on a foreign exchange transaction of £500 at the Post Office.

As with meals and drinks, Post Office Travel Money researchers found that Beach Barometer prices have dropped in over half of the resorts surveyed.

Aside from Marmaris, the biggest falls have been in two of the more expensive resorts.   In Sorrento prices have dropped 12% to £92.82 and in Ibiza they are 17% lower than a year ago at £93.09. 

The highest premium on beach fun is in Nice (£106.01).  The 10 beach barometer items cost over three times as much in the South of France as in Marmaris.

However, while prices have risen only marginally in Nice – by 1.8% – there have been bigger increases in Greece and Croatia since last summer.

Families visiting Crete (£72.68) can expect to pay 13% more, while they are likely to pay 11% more for the 10 items in Porec, Croatia (£73.56).  

Lowest and highest Beach Barometer prices

Image by Amanda Martin from Pixabay