Marmaris overtakes Sunny Beach as cheapest family destination in annual survey

Marmaris in Turkey has overtaken Sunny Beach in Bulgaria as the best-value destination across the 16 featured in the Post Office’s annual Family Holiday Report.

 

The 17th edition of the report, produced in partnership with Tui, found that prices had risen in 13 of the destinations.

 

The research, which compares the cost of a basket of 10 items, found the total in Marmaris to be £128.99, representing a rise of 10.3% since July 2024, while the total in Sunny Beach rose 17.2% year on year to reach £129.47.

 

Laura Plunkett, head of Travel Money at the Post Office, said: “The collapse of the lira makes Turkish resorts like Marmaris a natural choice for families. However, visitors should be aware that while sterling is worth a third more than last July, local prices have increased dramatically because of the currency’s collapse.

 

“Thankfully, once the positive exchange rate is applied to those local prices, British visitors will only have to pay around 10% more than a year ago and this increase is much lower than in many other destinations.” 

 

The items featuring in the comparison were a cup of coffee, a bottle of beer or lager in a café or bar, a bottle or can of cola in a café or bar, a glass of wine, a 1.5 litre bottle of mineral water in a shop or supermarket, suncream, insect repellent, two children’s pizzas or “pasta snacks”, a two-course lunch for two adults and a three-course family meal including wine or soft drinks.

 

Ibiza was found to be the most expensive destination of the 16 surveyed. Although the Balearic island registered the lowest price increase of 5.9% year on year, its basket total of £242.79 was almost twice the cost of Marmaris’.

 

The cheapest destination in the Eurozone remains the Algarve. Prices rose by 15.5% from last July, but its tally of £143.56 meant it held onto third place in the rankings.

 

Paphos in Cyprus is closing the gap, with a price drop of 1.2% meaning the basket total stood at £144.44 this year.

 

The biggest price increase was recorded in Majorca, which registered a rise of 21.4%. The basket cost stood at £201.68. 

 

Apart from Paphos, the other two destinations to record price drops were Lanzarote and Crete.  

 

Lanzarote moved up the table into fifth place, from seventh last year, because of a 2.1% fall in costs to £151.61, while the 7.8% fall in Crete (£166.07), meant it rose to seventh place from 15th a year ago.

 

Plunkett said: “Once again, we found big price variations in the destinations surveyed, particularly comparing those in the Eurozone.

 

“For example, prices in the Algarve are almost £100 lower for the same 10 items surveyed than in Ibiza.

 

“This makes it vitally important for holidaymakers to do their homework and take enough travel money to cover costs in the resort they are visiting.”

 

This year’s rankings, in order from cheapest to most expensive, read as: Marmaris, Sunny Beach, Algarve, Paphos, Lanzarote, Costa del Sol, Crete, Kos, Rhodes, Puglia, Sliema, Corfu, Funchal, Porec, Majorca and Ibiza.

 

Consumer research conducted for the Family Holiday Report found that over three-quarters (78%) families were planning trips abroad this year.

 

Of those, nearly three-quarters (74%) broke their budget by 42% on their last holiday, spending £323 extra on the average budget of £766 they had set.

 

Food and drink was the primary reason for the over-spend. Over 90% said they spent an average of £378 on eating out, buying drinks in bars and restaurants and shop-bought food and drinks.   

 

Parents said pressure from their children for holiday treats also led to overspending and set them back an average of £202.

 

Nine in 10 parents spent an average of £39 on ice cream, while other “budget-busters” were water or theme park visits (£60), pedalo rides (£49) and beach gear such as buckets and spades, swimming masks and snorkels and lilos (£54). 

 

The Post Office and Tui found that spending on children’s beach items could amount to between £179 and £290 on a week’s holiday for a family of four, depending on the destination.