Spain is Best for Self-catering Holidays

According to a survey from Post Office Travel Money, Spain and Portugal are a steal for self-catering holidays compared to Cyprus. In fact, Cyprus was found to cost double a trip in Spain. The research compared the cost of a basket of 20 items that can be bought in a supermarket for a family of four taking a one-week holiday in 12 different destinations.

The items included in the survey were bread, cheese, butter, eggs, cereal, milk, orange juice, jam, coffee, sugar, tea bags, barbeque briquettes, ham, tomatoes, pizza, water, cola, wine, lager, and a toilet roll. Post Office Travel Money found that the items cost only £56.67 in the Balearic island of Mallorca. However, the same items cost £104.29 in Limassol, Cyprus. Mallorca was followed by Algarve in Portugal at £57.78, Costa Blanca in Spain at £65.31, the Balearic island of Menorca at £66.71 and Mediterranean island of Gozo at £70.12.

The second most costly destination for self-catering holidays was Corfu at £100.31. This was followed by Greek island Crete at £99.18, Tuscany in Italy at £89.09, Brighton (UK) at £89.08. Greek island Cephalonia at £78.99 and the Canary island of Lanzarote at £72.20 were in the middle. Buying bread in Gozo was £3.55 but £13.25 in Tuscany; cheese was less than half the price in Portugal compared to Cyprus; butter was triple in Corfu compared to Mallorca; milk was nearly one-quarter the price in Mallorca than Cyprus; pizza was double the price in Tuscany than Portugal; and the most expensive lager was in Brighton.

Post Office Travel Money boss Andrew Brown says that the variations they found in prices at supermarkets means that families should check local prices before they book. Although self-catering holidays can save money, destinations should be chosen carefully. The best value options are Mallorca and Portugal, he added, while families will spend more in Greece.

This survey follows another from Post Office Travel Money last month about the cheapest places to drive on holiday in Europe. Their annual Motoring on the Continent report found that Andorra has the cheapest fuel, with unleaded costing only £1.13 per litre. This was one-third less than Norway – the most expensive country to drive in.

Andorra was followed by Luxembourg and Spain at £1.21 per litre for unleaded, making a fill up £10 cheaper compared to ten years ago for a 1,000-mile journey. Norway was followed by Italy as the second most expensive country to drive in. Last year, Italy was one of the cheapest. France and Belgium are also among the most expensive, at £1.49 and £1.48 for unleaded respectively.

Brown said when the report was released that their survey shows British holidaymakers aren’t being put off by high fuel prices in some countries this summer. Planning out a driving route could help cut costs if travellers keep petrol prices in mind. He advised holidaymakers going to France or Belgium to fill up before leaving the UK; while they should divert to Andorra and fill up if they are travelling to Spain. Diesel vehicle owners, however, should fill up as soon as they get to the main continent, where prices are much less than in Britain.