Why now is the perfect time to take a holiday in Europe

Updated
2014 cheap holiday destinations, europe cheaper due to strong pound, holiday money, currency
2014 cheap holiday destinations, europe cheaper due to strong pound, holiday money, currency


Things are looking up for UK holidaymakers visiting Europe this year as the pound has strengthened year-on-year against 12 leading European currencies including the euro, Turkish lira, Swedish kroner and Croatian kuna - meaning you'll get more with your holiday money.

A Post Office Travel Money report revealed that nowhere in Europe does sterling offer holidaymakers more bang for their buck than in Turkey.

The slide of the Turkish lira means UK tourists will now get almost 40 per cent more travel cash for their pounds than last January. This means that if you change £500 into lira, you will have the equivalent of over £142 more to spend when you arrive in Turkey.

Furthermore, at around £20 on average for two people, meal prices will be 37 per cent lower in the Turkish resort of Marmaris than a year ago, according to the report.

This has contributed to an overall fall of 30 per cent to just over £36 for a basket of eight tourist items, which includes drinks and suncream. As a result, Turkey is now the third cheapest European holiday destination and has moved ahead of Spain and Bulgaria.

By contrast, higher meal costs in the Costa del Sol – up 16 per cent year-on-year – have contributed to a nine per cent increase in the cost of the tourist staples to just under £39. This made Spain the only European holiday destination to register a significant price rise.

Portugal's Algarve is likely to be cheapest for UK holidaymakers looking for a bargain. At just over £35, typical holiday items cost 22 per cent less than a year ago.

There are sizeable price falls in the resorts surveyed in Bulgaria (Sunny Beach, £38), Greece
(Corfu, £48) and Cyprus (Paphos, £46) too, while the cost of meals and drinks in city break favourites Prague and Budapest make the Czech Republic (£36) and Hungary (£41) cheaper this year as well.

Sterling is currently 11.6 per cent stronger against the Czech koruna, which will make Prague even better value for city break tourists than in 2013.

Elsewhere in Europe, tourists will find that the UK pound stretches further than a year ago - except in Iceland. They may be better advised to visit Norway to see the best Northern Lights in a decade because sterling is worth 17 per cent more against the Norwegian krone compared with over eight per cent less against the Icelandic krona.







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