Nearly three years after the Brexit vote, it’s crunch time.
No one can predict what will happen in the coming months, and whether sterling will rise or fall. But one thing is certain – it will pay to do some holiday homework to avoid burning a hole in your budget.
If you haven’t booked, you may be wondering where to go, while those who have may be worrying about what things will cost in their resort.
Either way, our research on the costs of essentials in 10 popular hotspots, compared to Brighton in the UK, is just what you need.
The destinations to watch
We’ve teamed up with Post Office Travel Money to find out how much a family of four will need to shell out for a week’s worth of holiday basics.
And despite all the economic uncertainty, there’s good news. Prices are down on last year in seven of the 10 places we checked.
Bargain hunters will still find the cheapest spots outside the eurozone, in Turkey and Bulgaria.
The Black Sea resort of Sunny Beach remains by far the cheapest for families.
The Bulgarian Lev is weaker than a year ago and local prices are down too. A family of four can expect to spend less than £285 on snack lunches, three-course evening meals, beer, wine, Coca-Cola, ice creams, buckets and spades and suncream.
Cheap meals explain why Sunny Beach’s total is less than half that of most other resorts. A family lunch and evening meal costs just £33.59, compared with £51.58 in Marmaris and £52.81 in the Algarve, the survey runners up.
Cheapest destination for an Easter holiday revealed - and how to find the deals
Local costs are up sharply in Marmaris, Turkey’s top resort, but it’s still a bargain because the Lira is so weak against the pound.
Britons will get an extra £107 worth of currency when changing £500 – more than 27 per cent more than a year ago.
In the Algarve, prices for the eight holiday must-haves have dropped 20 per cent to £442, making it the cheapest of the six eurozone destinations we checked.
It’s also worth noting that Portugal has already put measures in place to ensure UK tourists don’t face airport delays post-Brexit.
On the Costa del Sol, the price of our basket is down just 0.7 per cent on 2018, at £584. So Paphos, where prices have plunged 13.7 per cent to £581, has almost caught up.
Get paid £50k to travel the world trying new foods in amazing new job offer
Playa de Palma in Majorca has seen the biggest price drop – almost 22 per cent – but a week’s worth of essentials will still cost a hefty £710. And families also need to factor in the tourist tax of two to four per cent of accommodation costs.
Figures from Post Office Travel Money show two of the resorts we checked will cost more this summer. Prices in Zadar in Croatia are up 7.4 per cent to £872. And for the fifth year in a row, Sorrento in Italy, where our essentials will cost £1071, is the most expensive European resort on our list.
Those heading to the US will have to cough up a bit more this year. Local prices in Orlando are down slightly but the pound’s weakness against the dollar means our basket will cost £618, 6.6 per cent more than last year.
Nick Boden, head of Post Office Travel Money, said: “Before leaving home, make a list of money-saving holiday rules and stick to them so you don’t overspend.”
