Spain offers best value for money holiday items

Britons will be better off in Benidorm and Bulgaria than Brighton or Brittany this Easter, according to new research.

Spain offered best value for money for 10 typical holiday items in a table of 14 popular tourist destinations compiled by Post Office Travel Money.

While the 10 items, including cigarettes, beer and suncream, came to just £42.15 in Spain, they were £77.01 in Brighton and as much as £92.81 in Miami, Florida, which was the most expensive destination. Bulgaria, where the items totalled £43.50, was the second cheapest destination while in Brittany, northern France, the items were as much as £81.48.

The cost of the items in some of the destinations was higher than last year, with Brighton up by 10 per cent.

A three-course evening meal with house wine in the Sussex resort, for example, now costs around £45.30 compared with £23.58 in Spain.

Corfu in Greece was 10 per cent less than 2010, with the 10 items now costing £58.87. Turkey was down 13 per cent to £79.58 while Egypt, although comparatively expensive at £78.30, was 12 per cent lower than last year.

Post Office Travel Money head Sarah Munro said: “While Spain is undoubtedly best value overall, the healthy price fall in Greece means that this traditional favourite can once again be considered a good bet for wallet-watching holidaymakers.

“In fact, the eastern Med looks a good choice all ways round as prices have fallen significantly in Turkey after 2010’s sharp rises.

“A combination of the weaker Turkish lira and lower charges by Turkish restaurants and bars have brought prices back to the levels UK holidaymakers came to expect during the noughties.”