Cape Town has regained its position as the best value destination in the annual Long Haul Holiday Report from Post Office Travel Money for the first time in six years, overtaking cities in Vietnam and Japan’s capital Tokyo.
Soaring sterling has made prices tumble around the world and South Africa’s spectacular Mother City is the pick of the leading destinations in a new getaway costs study.
Cape Town has regained its position as the best value destination in the annual Long Haul Holiday Report from Post Office Travel Money for the first time in six years, overtaking cities in Vietnam and Japan’s capital Tokyo.
Local price falls, together with a weaker South African rand, have combined to bring costs for Brits down by 12% since last autumn. At £55.59, the cost of 10 tourist staples, including meals, snacks, drinks and sunscreen, made Cape Town the best value of the 32 resorts and cities surveyed.
Brits will also find it easier to get there this winter with Norse Atlantic launching low-cost flights from Gatwick next month to take on British Airways and Virgin Atlantic. Post Office researchers found that Hoi An in Vietnam – 2023’s best value destination – has fallen to third place with local price rises resulting in a basket of £64.80. However, the city features the report’s cheapest beer at £1.53.
Tokyo, another former No1 destination, moved from third to second at £64.07, helped by local costs dropping 13.5%.
Bali, remained in fourth position with a barometer cost of £67.70, down 8% year on year. Jamaica is the only one of six Caribbean destinations surveyed to make the top 10 – Montego Bay’s barometer of £93.74 fell 9.4% on 2023 levels, taking 10th place.
New to the top 10 is Chile’s capital Santiago, where local prices have fallen 14.3% for a basket of £88.92 and 9th place. For the first time this year the report included four Australian destinations – Sydney, Cairns, Melbourne and Darwin – but a trip Down Under is going to hit the budget as all are among the 10 priciest destinations and, at almost £165, Sydney’s basket is the costliest.
Brits looking to take advantage of seriously dropping prices will find Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh down 16.4% to £76.47, with a coffee only £1.38. Colombo in Sri Lanka has fallen 14.8% to £78.14, and St James, Barbados, is down the most, falling 18.5% to £141.29.
Across the pond, New York’s basket of £163.51 is almost as expensive as Sydney, though theme park capital Orlando is a much more wallet-friendly £109.23. Laura Plunkett, head of travel money at the Post Office, said: “Tourists could save a lot of money and make a big difference to the overall cost of their winter sun trip by finding out where meals, drinks and other staples are going to cost the least.
“Think carefully about how to get the most out of your spending money, and get it in advance.”
