Prices in Spain and Portugal have plummeted by 20% and 15% respectively, according to the new Post Office Holiday Costs Barometer.
Despite the Sterling falling against the Euro this year, holidaymakers taking trips to southern Europe may find that their holiday cash stretches further than expected.
Portugal took the top spot in the seventh annual Post Office Travel Money barometer as the cheapest place, thanks to low prices for meals and drinks, however for 10 items it cost just 16p less in the Algarve (£46.34) than it did in Torremolinos on the Costa del Sol (£46.50) and only 80p less than in Javea on the Costa Blanca (£47.14).
Falling prices in the Costas – down by 19% year-on-year in the Costa del Sol and 20% in the Costa Blanca – helped Spain to move into second place just behind the Algarve in Portugal.
Sunny Beach in Bulgaria, which cost (£47.32) for 10 items, fell to fourth place in the table because of a 3.4% rise in local resort prices, but still remains within 98p of top-placed Albuferia in the Algarve. Another popular Spanish destination, Mallorca, came in at fifth place (£55.46) where prices have fallen by 8.8% in one year.
Other places where Prices in Orlando, Florida and Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt have also fallen by 21.2% and 17% respectively.
Andrew Brown of Post Office Travel Money said: “The pound may be worth less in Europe than a year ago but fierce competition means that lower prices in several of the resorts we surveyed can easily offset the falling value of sterling. Taking some time to check out resort costs and add them to package prices to find the best overall deal will pay dividends this summer. This really is the year to do some ‘sterling’ work before booking a holiday: be prepared to swap destination or switch to a cheaper resort within the same country.”
Barometer prices were uniformly high in Italy. Tuscany (£94.92) and Sorrento (£101.79) were the most expensive European resorts surveyed – over twice the price of the four best value destinations.
