8 May 22, 2022The Sunday TimesTravel Summer escapes
Where will your hard-
earned cash go furthest
this summer? Katie Gatens
has crunched the numbers
T
he first restriction-
light year of travel
has been two years
in the making, but
just as we were
starting to dig out those dusty
cases, the biggest cost-of-living
crisis in a generation struck.
But don’t despair. It’s still
possible to get a great deal this
year if you do your homework.
Exchange rates are especially
volatile right now, but sterling
is faring well against some
currencies, including the
Turkish lira, Hungarian forint
and Croatian kuna. In these
countries you will get more for
your money compared with
two years ago.
Sweden may be expensive
on the ground, but sterling has
risen in value against the krona
in the past year — so now is as
good a time as any to book that
Stockholm city break.
And while there may be
rising inflation in the UK, it’s
not the same picture in some
holiday resorts around the
world. According to Post Office
Travel Money’s Worldwide
Holiday Costs Barometer —
which measures eight assorted
tourist expenses, from
sunscreen to a three-course
evening meal for two — tourists
will get, on average, 25 per
cent more for their money in
the Mauritian resort of Grand
Baie compared with two years
ago and 17 per cent more in
Corfu, in Greece.
Eschewing the priciest
resorts and cities altogether is
an obvious way to make your
money work harder. The cost
of a G&T isn’t going to be the
same at a chichi Croatian
beach club as it is in the cool
(and underrated) capital of
Zagreb. Based on all of these
factors, we’ve pulled together
some belt-tightening-friendly
holiday options where you can
escape the economic gloom.TURKEY
The country has worked
tirelessly to tempt back tourists
after the challenges
of the past two years. Now
there’s a certificate for Covid-
safe hotels and restaurants,
plus mandatory vaccination
for workers in tourism — as
well as no entry restrictions.
And the pound has soared
against the Turkish lira,
meaning you’ll get more than
double this year what you did
in 2019. According to the Post
Office’s Worldwide Holiday
Costs Barometer, in the resort
of Marmaris on the Turkish
Riviera prices are 43 per cent
cheaper than in 2019. Jet2
also reckons it’ll be a big year:
it has already upped its flight
volume to resorts including
Marmaris, Bodrum and
Antalya.
Take me there Seven nights’
all-inclusive at the Green
Nature Resort and Spa inMarmaris from £589pp,
including flights
(onthebeach.co.uk)HUNGARY
It has always been a cheap
destination for tourists — in
Budapest you can get a five-
star hotel for hundreds of
pounds less than an equivalent
in Paris, Barcelona or Madrid.
Recent exchange rates mean
that you’ll get about a fifth
more for your money now than
you would have pre-pandemic
— in other words it’s looking
like a good time for a Budapest
spa weekend. In summer
months, though, you’re better
off getting out of the capital
with a cycling holiday through
northern Hungary to the
underappreciated wine
regions of Tokaj and EgerSTRETCHERS
POUND
WALLET FRIENDLY
Marmaris in Turkey
is great value