Top 10 best value family holiday destinations
The ten resorts that came out cheapest for the 12 items we surveyed combined this year were:
Destination |
Total cost |
% rise/fall since July 2022 |
1. Marmaris, Turkey |
£114.70 |
+33.3% |
2. Algarve, Portugal |
£120.01 |
+10.6% |
3. Sunny Beach, Bulgaria |
£120.73 |
+41.0% |
4. Costa del Sol, Spain |
£136.29 |
+7.0% |
5. Kos, Greece |
£144.41 |
+2.9% |
6. Paphos, Cyprus |
£151.73 |
+5.0% |
7. Rhodes, Greece |
£152.31 |
+6.5% |
8. Funchal, Madeira |
£155.31 |
+24.1% |
9. Sliema, Malta |
£159.73 |
+2.2% |
10. Corfu, Greece |
£164.09 |
+22.7% |
Post Office Family Holiday Report Beach Barometer 2023: Prices were supplied by TUI together with input from selected national and regional tourist offices of participating countries (Marmaris, Algarve, Madeira, Costa del Sol, Paphos, Porec and Sliema). Prices are based on 14 July exchange rate for a £500 online transaction.
Lowest and highest cost destinations by item
And here’s a list of the 12 essential items for family holidays we compared costs for.
We’ve included where we found them to be cheapest and most expensive this year.
Item |
Lowest cost destination |
Highest cost destination |
Bucket and spade |
Rhodes, Greece (£3.50) |
Poreč, Croatia (£9.19) |
Inflatable lilo |
Puglia, Italy (£4.38) |
Lanzarote, Canary Islands (£13.13) |
Mask and snorkel set |
Marmaris, Turkey (£6.75) |
Ibiza, Balearic Islands (£21.88) |
Sun cream |
Algarve, Portugal (£8.31) |
Crete, Greece (£17.50) |
Insect repellent |
Marmaris, Turkey (£2.11) |
Crete, Greece (£10.50) |
Ice cream (eg Mars/Magnum) |
Marmaris, Turkey (£0.68) |
Corfu, Greece (£3.06) |
Sun lounger (half-day hire) |
Marmaris, Turkey (£0.00) |
Ibiza, Balearic Islands (£17.50) |
Water ride (pedalo or similar) |
Funchal, Madeira (£5.25) |
Paphos, Cyprus (£26.25) |
Bottle of beer/lager (in a café/bar) |
Sunny Beach, Bulgaria (£1.62) |
Corfu and Rhodes in Greece (both £3.94) |
Bottle/can of Coca-Cola (in a café/bar) |
Sunny Beach, Bulgaria (£1.16) |
Majorca, Balearic Islands and Poreč, Croatia (both £3.06) |
Glass of wine |
Algarve, Portugal (£1.97) |
Crete, Greece (£5.25) |
Three-course family meal including wine/soft drinks |
Sunny Beach, Bulgaria (£55.85) |
Ibiza, Balearic Islands (£109.38) |
Help and hints for happy family travels
Travel money: don't wait until the airport
To get the most favourable rate of exchange you can, keep an eye on prices for the months leading up to your trip. When the currency you want is at its lowest, that’s the time to buy. Of course, you don’t know whether it will keep on getting lower, but one thing is for sure: buying your foreign currency at the airport is hugely expensive.
Why not order your travel money online with us, ready for collection at any of our branches convenient to you? Or you could have it delivered to your door. And don’t forget that you can buy euros at over 7,000 branches without needing to order.
Safe, convenient holiday spending
If you prefer not to carry cash, there’s our simple and secure prepaid multi-currency card, the Travel Money Card. Just load funds onto your card in any of 22 different currencies. Pay anywhere you see the Mastercard® symbol, including with contactless. And you can track your family holiday spending and move money between currencies easily using our free travel app.
Protecting you against more than the sun
Travel insurance is hugely important if you’re going away. If anything goes wrong, your travel insurer is there to help put it right, with everything from emergency medical issues to lost and damaged belongings. Plus, if you buy it with Post Office, you’re covered from the moment of purchase, so you’ve got it to fall back on if something beyond your control prevents you from going away.
Remember to check the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) travel advice for the country you’re visiting as travelling against it can invalidate your cover.