Going on holiday without breaking the bank is probably easier than it has ever been before because there are lots of resources online to help you pick up a bargain. Whether you are after a chilled weekend retreat, or an adventure in some far flung place, The Money Shop shares a choice of websites that can help make it a reality.
GoEuro Price Index
GoEuro helps travellers compare the cost of travelling by bus, rail or air to destinations in Europe. It also publishes the GoEuro price index, which compares the cost of the most common holiday expenditures, while beer gets its own dedicated price index. In case you were wondering, the cheapest beer can be found in Bratislava, Slovakia, where 300cl costs 35p in a supermarket and £1.93 in a bar. In Switzerland’s Lausanne, 300cl of beer in a bar costs an eye watering £12.20!
Big Mac Index
The Economist created the Big Mac Index as a lighthearted take on the price disparities between countries. It compares the price of Big Macs because no matter where you visit, you will probably stumble across the burger chain. According to the latest index, Malaysia has one of the cheapest Big Macs – but it also has some more unexpected items, designed to cater for local tastes, such as porridge (actually a rice broth) with chicken.
Backpacker Index
The Backpacker Index ranks 56 of Europe’s most popular cities from cheapest to most expensive based on the price of common holiday costs such as accommodation, meals and entertainment. It uses criteria such as ranking accommodation costs based on the price of one night at the cheapest hotel, with a good location, and good reviews. The 2017 edition ranked Sofia as the cheapest city and Zurich as the most expensive.
Hotel Price Index
The Hotel Price Index collates data on how much travellers pay per night for accommodation globally each year. The latest results found that Asia was one of the cheapest places to book a hotel in 2016. UK travellers paid the least for accommodation in Pattaya, Thailand, while Hanoi, Vietnam, wasn’t much more expensive. Hotels in the Caribbean continue to be among the most expensive for the seventh year running.
UK Post Office Holiday Money Report
The UK Post Office’s Holiday Money Report surveys how much tourist staples, such as dinner and drinks, cost in popular destinations worldwide. This year’s report shows that the Algarve in Portugal is the cheapest European destination for the second year in a row. Japan and South Africa are two of the cheapest long-haul destinations.
Flight Comparison Sites
There are tonnes of websites offering price comparison tools to help you book a cheap flight, such as Skyscanner, Kayak and Cheapflights. Use them to set up a price alert, so you can book flights when prices drop. Articles on such sites are also full of tips on picking up holiday bargains.
Nomad List
If you would like to escape for a little longer, then you might want to try out the trend for becoming a digital nomad. If a laptop and good Internet speed is all you need to do your work, then the world is your digital oyster. To help you decide where to work, Nomad List lets you filter countries based on the cost of living, weather, Internet speed… and if they have an official Apple store. So you could surf the net and the waves – now that’s not a bad work / life balance!
