Bulgaria is the most affordable destination for family holidays

July 20, 2024

According to a new study, Sunny Beach in Bulgaria has overtaken Marmaris in Turkey as the cheapest destination for a family holiday.

A study compared the cost of ten key items, including meals, drinks and sunscreen, and found that Sunny Beach offered British tourists the best value for money in 2024.

With prices just over £110 for all 10 items, Bulgaria’s most popular Black Sea resort beat out 15 other popular family holiday destinations including the Algarve, Ibiza and Lanzarote to be named the place where tourists get the best value for money in the Post Office Travel Money Family Holiday report.

It came in ahead of Mamaris, winner of last year’s cheapest holiday resort award, by £7. The study found that inflation in Turkey had pushed up the cost of the 10 items by 17.6 per cent last year, causing Mamaris to lose its position in 2023.

While prices in Sunny Beach rose by 9.8 percent over the same period, the report found that there were big savings to be had compared to Turkey. For example, a bottle of beer in Sunny Beach is £1.50 cheaper than in Mamaris, a bottle of sun cream is £4.23 cheaper and a three-course family meal with wine and soft drinks is also £4.23 cheaper.

If a family eats out for seven nights, they will save £29.61 over the course of their holiday.

Mamaris has been pushed out of its place as the holiday destination with the best value for money and is now in second place (iStock / Getty)

Both destinations offer a variety of child-friendly activities in addition to beautiful beaches. Sunny Beach has a long sandy beach, perfect for building sandcastles and splashing in the waves.

Anyone planning a trip to Ibiza should be prepared for significantly higher costs: the average cost of the 10 items is twice as high as that of Sunny Beach. At £229 for the same 10 items, the Balearic island was the most expensive destination of all 16 countries examined, according to the report.

The rankings of the resorts in the table were closely linked to inflation. The report found that prices had risen in three quarters of the holiday destinations. Five of the 16 resorts recorded price increases of more than 10 percent, with Mamaris, Ibiza, Cofu, Madeira and the Algarve being the most affected.

However, prices fell in four destinations. Lanzarote, which was the 13th cheapest destination in 2023, is now the seventh cheapest destination with an average basket value of £155.

Laura Plunkett, head of travel money at the Post Office, said: “Even though the pound is stronger now than it was in July last year, price inflation across Europe means families are having to factor in higher costs for meals, drinks and other tourist expenses into their budgets. Making a few holiday preparations before you go can reduce the risk of breaking the bank while abroad.”

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