Planning a holiday as affordably as possible is no mean feat – add in an entire family to arrange transport, accommodation and food for, and you’re looking at a sisyphean task. There are plenty of ways to go about your search for the ultimate budget-friendly family escape. You could start by location, looking for the cheapest nicest city breaks or affordable holiday destinations that are easy to get to with reasonably priced hotels and jam-packed with activities to entertain young ones. You could look into family-friendly all-inclusive resorts, a holiday concept that has had a renaissance of late, allowing large groups to book package deals that mean once you arrive, you don’t have to worry about extra costs or hidden fees.
Sometimes, the hard work makes the final reward all the sweeter. Researching which destinations can actually give you the most pocket-friendly outcome can be extremely rewarding. The Post Office has just unveiled its Family Holiday Costs Barometer for 2024, a report that looks into the average local price of standard items to give travellers the best idea of how affordable each destination truly is.
According to the Post Office Travel Money Family Holiday Report, “overspending is at a record high: 73 per cent of parents bust their budget by an average of 55 per cent on their last holiday with kids”. The Post Office worked with TUI airline and regional tourist offices to analyse average costs of purchases such as a cup of coffee, bottle of beer, glass of wine, suncream, two children’s lunch meals, a two-course meal for adults and a three-course family meal.
Sunny Beach in Bulgaria came in first place, where a bottle of beer costs £2.07 and a glass of wine £2.76, while a two-course lunch for adults in Marmaris in Turkey comes in at £17.91 and a three-course family meal (with wine) is on average £63.61. Destinations that Traveller readers might find more appealing that made the list include the Algarve in Portugal which came in third place, despite prices having risen by 18.4 per cent over the last year – although prices still remain 84 per cent lower in the main Algarve resorts than in Ibiza, the more expensive destination surveyed. Costa del Sol, this year’s fourth place entry, remained relatively stable year over year, with a surprising fall in price by 0.7 per cent versus July 2023, and Paphos in Cyprus came in fifth place after rising by just 4 per cent. “The biggest fall of 7.2 per cent to £155 was in Lanzarote,” the report claims, “helping the Canary Island rise to seventh place from 13th last year.”
“Even though sterling is stronger now than last July, price inflation across Europe means that families need to allow for increases in meals, drinks and other tourist costs in their spending budget,” says Laura Plunkett, Head of Travel Money at Post Office. “Doing some holiday homework before leaving home could help to reduce the chances of busting the budget while abroad.” By researching average costs, families should be able to try to temper the price of their holidays and get more for their money.