Thursday, November 21, 2024

The cheapest long-haul holiday for Brits revealed – 1 hour flight but no jet lag

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The cheapest long-haul destination has been revealed, offering stunning weather and beaches – with no jet lag.

Post Office Travel Money has released its annual Long Haul Holiday Report, naming the most cost-efficient holiday spots for Britons looking to travel further afield.

South African capital Cape Town took the top spot for the best value long-haul destinations, with Britons benefiting from a 12 percent drop in costs since this time last year.

The average flight time from London to the “rainbow nation” is roughly 11 hours, but because the route doesn’t pass into a different timezone you won’t have to spend days readjusting.
British travellers will see their holiday budgets go further now due to local price drops and a decrease in the South African currency, the rand, making it a great choice for an autumn getaway, the foreign exchange provider says.

The cost of ten typical tourist staples, including meals and drinks, was found to be £55.59, more than 14 percent cheaper than in Hoi An, Vietnam, last year’s best-value spot.

The city on Vietnam’s central coast dropped to third on the list this year after prices spiked by over 21 percent to £64.80.

It was pipped to second place by another previous table topper, the Japanese capital Tokyo, which saw prices in its barmoter hospitality basket fall by 13.5 percent to £64.07.

Bali clung on to the fourth spot with £67.70 for the typical staples, with costs dropping about 8 percent since 2023.

Sunseekers will have to pay 14 percent more in Mombasa in Kenya than last year, due in part to a strengthened Kenyan shilling, but it remains in the list of good value spots, despite dropping from runner up last year to 5th.

Santiago, Chile, broke into the top 10 in 9th place, with Britons benefiting from the weaker peso, and Montego Bay, Jamaica, also joined the choice destinations, claiming 10th place.

Eight of the 10 best-value spots saw prices fall, with Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh, between the desert of the Sinai Peninsula and the Red Sea, seeing the biggest drop, with prices falling by 16.4 percent because of the weaker Egyptian pound.

Colombo, Sri Lanka also saw costs decrease by 14.8 percent and bagged 8th place. Delhi in India, saw only a slight drop of 1 percent but retained the 6th spot.

Though prices have increased, many places studied by the firm have seen year-on-year price reductions, boosted by the stronger British pound.

The Post Office says it means British travellers can expect to pay less for holidays this winter in more than half the destinations they tracked.

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.”

Top 10 best value long haul destinations

1. Cape Town, South Africa £52.66 -12.0 percent
2. Tokyo, Japan £64.07 -13.5 percent
3. Hoi An, Vietnam £64.80 +21.1 percent
4. Bali, Indonesia £67.70 -7.9 percent
5. Mombasa, Kenya £68.53 +13.8 percent
6. Delhi, India £74.90 -1.0 percent
7. Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt £76.47 -16.4 percent
8. Colombo, Sri Lanka £78.14 -14.8 percent
9. Santiago, Chile £88.92 -14.3 percent
10. Montego Bay, Jamaica £93.74 -9.4 percent

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