Revealed! The cheapest long-haul holiday destinations
As storms and rain replace the recent heatwave, no doubt thoughts will turn to booking that winter sun holiday.
Thankfully, then, the Post Office has just released its annual Long Haul Holiday Report, which details the cheapest far-flung destinations for soaking up some winter sun.
See also: Best sunny destinations for late summer holidays
See also: Spain is 'world's best holiday destination'
The good news? Local prices have dropped in 40 per cent of the destinations – which has helped to cushion the impact of the weaker pound. Also, sterling has rallied in the past three weeks, which means the year-on-year dip in exchange rates is lower than it was post-Brexit. Good news when looking for a great value getaway.
The report looks at 10 typical tourist staples, like meals and drinks, in 34 resorts and cities worldwide.
Cape Town emerged as the cheapest for the first time. It knocked Bali off its three-year-long reign at the top after prices rises in the Far Eastern favourite.
Using prices researched by long haul holiday specialist Travelbag, Cape Town proved the clear winner in the ninth Post Office survey. At £48.89 for a 'basket' of 10 tourist items, the South African city was significantly cheaper than runner-up Bali (£62.56), where the cost of eating out has ballooned by over 50 per cent in the past 12 months. As a result, tourist prices are now 28 per cent higher than in Cape Town.
Cancun (£74.26) is up to sixth place in the Post Office chart of best value long haul resorts on the back of a relatively weak Mexican peso, just behind Kenya's Mombasa coastline (£69.41, 4th) and Colombo, Sri Lanka (£70.61, 5th), and ahead of Phuket, Thailand (£75.72, 7th). Mexico's most popular resort has led a Latin-American charge in which Lima, Peru (£78.52), a new introduction to the 2016 survey, has entered the top 10 in eighth place, while Tamarindo (£87.03) in Costa Rica was 12th placed in the Post Office barometer of tourist costs.
Dubai is again the most expensive for tourist staples surveyed at £199.34 – four times the price of Cape Town, while Oman is the second most expensive.
Washington DC (£142.22) was most expensive of six US destinations surveyed – 78 per cent higher than Orlando, which, at £79.76 for the 10 items, saw it enter the best value top ten in ninth place.
The three Latin America destinations eclipsed the six Caribbean resort areas surveyed for the report. Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic was cheapest in 15th place with a cost of £91.24 for the 10 tourist staples. St Lucia, Jamaica, Barbados and Antigua were far more expensive. At £157.60, English Harbour in Antigua was 73 per cent pricier than Punta Cana.
Grand Baie, Mauritius (£83.70) made the Post Office top 10 for the third consecutive year – proof that the island's claim to offer 'affordable luxury' is well placed. Prices in Grand Baie are down 16 per cent on the costs that UK holidaymakers would have faced five years ago.
Andrew Brown of Post Office Travel Money said: "Costs may be higher in long haul holiday resorts this year for UK travellers but the good news is that local price cuts in many of the most popular ones will help to lessen the impact of the weaker pound.
"More than ever before, it will pay dividends to do some holiday homework before booking to find out where meals and drinks are cheapest. This can make a big difference to the overall cost of a holiday."
