Cape Town voted best value for money holiday spot for UK tourists

An annual report by the UK’s Post Office has found that Cape Town is the BEST destination in the world for British holiday makers to get good value for their holiday money.

The Post Office Travel Money Holiday Money Report looks at the destinations set to offer holidaymakers in the UK their best value for money in the year ahead, the PO said in a statement.

Forty destinations were surveyed, with a vital barometer being what the cost of eight specific items were in each holiday spot.

The items, based on what an average British tourist is likely to buy on holiday, are: 

• a three-course meal for two with wine,
• bottle of local beer,
• glass of wine,
• can of Coca-Cola,
• large bottle of still water,
• cup of coffee,
• suncream and
• insect repellent

The prices were cross-checked by PO researchers… and South Africa came out cheapest, with Turkey in second position. Taking several factors into account, the Post Office Travel Money named four destinations as its Holiday Hotspots this year: Egypt, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa!

The Post Office said: “Despite the rising cost of living, holidays remain a priority for UK travellers.” But with times being tough, tourists like to choose a beautiful destination where their money will go that little bit further.

Cape Town currently offers the best value for money, with a drop of 7.5% in costs to £51.44 (thanks to the pound/rand exchange). Previous leader, Marmaris in Turkey falls to second in the list.

“While sterling’s fall against most foreign currencies has seen a rise in costs in 80% of resorts and cities surveyed for 2023, South Africa remains amongst a handful of destinations where sterling’s value will help a tourist’s holiday money to stretch further,” said the Post Office.

“Sterling is 15.7 per cent stronger against the South African rand than 12 months ago and prices in Cape Town are the lowest across the 40 destinations featured in this year’s Post Office barometer of costs.”

Portugal’s Algarve is in fifth and again cheapest in the Eurozone, with costs a third higher than last year. The Algarve has the cheapest coffee and wine out of any of the destinations (including Cape Town).

The Post Office survey says that most UK consumers will be holidaying in Europe in 2023. A third (32 per cent) are planning a holiday to Spain, while 14 per cent will travel to Greece, 13 per cent to Italy, 12 per cent to France and 10 per cent to Portugal but only seven per cent to Turkey.

Reykjavik in Iceland remains the most expensive destination surveyed, with total costs of £198.42 for those eight essential barometer items, almost four times more expensive than Cape Town! This is followed by the Seychelles and Barbados.

Best value holiday destinations in 2023

Here are the top 5 best-value destinations for 2023 according to the Post Office’s Worldwide Holiday Costs Barometer’s findings.

Data relates to exchange rates on 16 March 2023
^˅ Arrows denote price rises or falls compared with last year

Read more here.