Bargain hunters rejoice: the Post Office Family Holiday Report is in and it reveals the top destinations where you'll get the most bang for your buck.
If you're hoping to save some cash on your family holiday this year, look no further than the Post Office Family Holiday Report 2022.
The report compared 16 European holiday hotspots, analysing the price of 12 typical vacation items, including a bucket and spade, inflatable lido, bottle of beer and a half day's sun-lounger hire. And it found that, for the most affordable fly-and-flop break, you'll need to look outside the Eurozone.
Bulgaria's Sunny Beach resort, on the country's Black Sea coast, is the cheapest of them all – here your holiday essentials will set you back £85.63. Nipping at Sunny Beach's heels is Turkey's Marmaris (pictured below), where the total for the list of items was £86.07. Portugal's Algarve area comes in third place, seeing a jump in price to £108.47.
At the opposite end of the scale, Balearic isle Ibiza was the most expensive of the destinations surveyed. According to the report, you'd need £186.47 to bag your holiday necessities.
Here's a snapshot of the results:
| Item | Lowest cost destination | Highest cost destination |
| Bucket and spade | Marmaris, Turkey (£2.77) | Sliema, Malta (£7.82) |
| Inflatable lido | Marmaris, Turkey (£3.87) | Puglia, Italy (£17.41) |
| Mask and snorkel set | Marmaris, Turkey (£3.32) | Ibiza, Balearic Isles (£17.41) |
| Sun cream | Marmaris, Turkey (£4.15) | Crete, Greece (£14.80) |
| Insect repellant | Marmaris, Turkey (£2.32) | Crete (G) (£7.83) |
| Ice cream (Mars/Magnum) | Marmaris, Turkey (£0.72) | Ibiza, Balearic Isles (£3.05) |
| Sun lounger (half-day) | Marmaris, Turkey (£0) | Ibiza, Balearic Isles (£13.105) |
| Water ride (pedalo or similar) | Funchal, Madeira (£4.35) | Paphos, Cyprus (£26.11) |
| Bottle of beer/lager (café/bar) | Sunny Beach, Bulgaria (£1.01) | Crete, Corfu, Rhodes (£3.48) |
| Bottle/can Coca-Cola (café/bar) | Sunny Beach, Bulgaria (£0.74) | Porec, Croatia (£3.12) |
| Glass of wine | Algarve, Portugal (£1.31) | Crete, Greece (£5.22) |
| 3-course family meal inc wine and soft drinks | Sunny Beach, Bulgaria (£34.11) | Puglia, Italy (£107.92) |
The survey – whose information came from TUI Resort representatives and Marmaris Info – also found that many destinations had seen price hikes. In fact, Brits can expect to pay almost 11% more than they would have for the same items in July 2019.
The Greek island of Crete (Chania, Crete pictured below) has seen the steepest rise (+37.7%). The report attributes this to the rising costs of resort meals and drinks and the pound's drop in value.
Apparently, Brits aren't great at sticking to their budgets either. Three-quarters of the people surveyed said they overspent by around 38% (spending £243 extra) on their last holiday – the biggest budget busters are meals out and beach items for the kids.
READ MORE: How to save money on multi-destination visits to the USA
Lead image: niki_spasov/Shutterstock