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When dreaming of bargain winter sun, most would look to the shores of South East Asia or the colourful cities of India.
But the South African city of Cape Town has been named as the best-value long-haul destination.
Cape Town beat the likes of Kenya, Egypt and Vietnam in Post Office Travel Money’s annual long-haul holiday costs barometer thanks to a weaker South African rand and a fall in local prices.
Surprisingly, Tokyo came second, followed by Hoi An in Vietnam, Bali in Indonesia and Mombasa in Kenya.
The report compared the cost of 10 typical tourist staples – including meals, drinks, sun cream and insect repellent – at 32 popular long-haul resorts and cities.
The South African city of Cape Town has been named as the best-value long-haul destination
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Cape Town beat the likes of Kenya, Egypt and Vietnam in Post Office Travel Money’s annual long-haul holiday costs barometer thanks to a weaker South African rand and a fall in local prices
A three-course meal for two with a bottle of wine costs just £33.31 in Cape Town, while the typical price for a cup of filter coffee is £1.63 and bottle of local beer £1.81.
At the other end of the table, Sydney, Australia, was the most expensive city, with tourist staples costing nearly three times more for UK visitors than in Cape Town, with a three-course meal for two with a bottle of wine costing £117.
Sydney was revealed to be even more expensive than New York, which came 30th, while all four Australian cities surveyed (Cairns, Melbourne, Darwin) appeared in the 10 most expensive list.
Sydney, Australia, was the most expensive city, with tourist staples costing nearly three times more for UK visitors than in Cape Town
Thankfully, a surge in sterling’s value against most long-haul currencies means that Britons planning winter sun holidays can expect to pay less than a year ago in over half of the destinations surveyed.
Laura Plunkett, Head of Travel Money at Post Office, said: ‘Our research revealed wide variations in the cost of tourist staples across the 32 destinations we surveyed.
‘This means holidaymakers could save themselves a lot of money and make a big difference to the overall cost of their winter sun trip by doing some basic holiday homework before booking to find out where meals, drinks and other staples are going to cost the least.’
Cheap and cheerful: In Tokyo (second), the 10 tourist staples analysed for the study came to just £64.07
Laura Plunkett, Head of Travel Money at Post Office, said: ‘Our research revealed wide variations in the cost of tourist staples across the 32 destinations we surveyed.’ Above – Hoi An, the third cheapest city
In Sydney, the basket of tourist staples came to a wallet-emptying £164.92Â