Long Haul Holiday Report 2024

How far will your long-haul spending money go?

Each year, the Post Office Travel Money Long Haul Holiday Report highlights the top destinations where UK holidaymakers can get the best value for their money. And this time, Cape Town in South Africa has topped the list, overtaking the likes of Hoi An, Vietnam and Tokyo in Japan. 

The research compared 32 far-flung destinations worldwide. We looked at the costs of common holiday items like a cup of coffee, a bottle of water, suncream and a three-course meal for two. Then we compared the totals to find out which destinations offer the best value.   

Here, we’ve highlighted the key findings from our report, plus shared the top 10 long haul destinations offering great value for money. To dive deeper into the details, simply download the full report.

Key findings

• Cape Town, South Africa   is now the top best-value destination surveyed. Thanks to falling local prices and a weaker South African rand, British holidaymakers are seeing costs drop by 12% compared to last year  
• Tokyo, Japan has climbed to second place, with a 13.5% fall in costs. Meanwhile, last year’s best-value destination, Hoi An in Vietnam, has slipped to third place, after seeing prices rise by over 21%  
• Another Far Eastern destination, Bali, Indonesia, holds steady in 4th place, despite prices being down 8% from last year
• Holidaymakers can expect to pay 14% more in Mombasa in Kenya than they did last year, partly down to the rising value of the Kenyan shilling. But the Kenyan resort remains good value for money, despite slipping from 2nd to 5th place
• Two new holiday hotspots have broken into the top 10 this year. Santiago, Chile, is now in 9th place, benefiting from a fall in the peso, while Montego Bay, Jamaica, secured the 10th spot    
• Out of the 10 best-value spots, prices have dropped in eight. Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, saw the biggest fall, with prices down by 16.4% due to a weaker Egyptian pound  
• Costs are also down by 14.8% in Colombo, Sri Lanka, which is now in 8th place. Delhi in India, has seen a slight dip of 1%, keeping its 6th place spot  
• This year, three more Australian destinations, Sydney, Cairns and Melbourne, joined Darwin on our survey. While all four rank among the 10 most expensive destinations, Sydney has emerged as the most expensive destination in this year’s survey
• Although prices have gone up, many places have also seen year-on-year price reductions, largely thanks to a stronger British pound. This means Britons can expect to pay less for their winter holidays in more than half of the destinations surveyed

Top 10 best value long haul destinations

The destinations that came out cheapest overall for the holiday items we surveyed this year were: 

The Americas and Caribbean

For the first time, a Caribbean destination has made it into the top 10. Montego Bay, Jamaica, has moved up to 10th place, with prices falling 8.1% compared to last year.

Prices in St James, Barbados, also dropped by 18.5%, positioning the Caribbean resort in 26th place in this year’s survey. Cancun in Mexico also experienced a 10.8% price reduction, supported by the pound’s recovery against the Mexican peso.

In  31st place, Samara, Costa Rica, is almost as expensive as Sydney, Australia, after an 11.4% rise in prices over the last year. Costs also rose by 5% in New York, USA, which ranked 30th in this year’s survey. There’s still a big gap between prices in New York and Orlando, with visitors to the Big Apple spending about 57% more on food, drink and other tourist expenses. But prices are on the rise in both cities, even as the British pound recovers against the US dollar.

Help and hints for happy travels

Get more from your travel money

Wherever you’re going on holiday, you’re likely to get a better rate on your travel money if you buy before you get to the airport. To get a favourable exchange rate, keep an eye on prices and buy the currency you want when it’s at its lowest against the UK pound. 

With Post Office, we’ve got ways to get foreign currency to suit your needs. Order online for our best rates and choose Click and Collect or next-day delivery. Or order holiday money from a participating branch if you prefer to do it in person. 

Safe, convenient holiday spending 

If you prefer not to carry cash, there’s also our simple and secure prepaid multi-currency card, the Travel Money Card. 

You can load funds onto your card in any of 22 different currencies and pay with it anywhere you see the Mastercard® symbol. Plus, you can track your holiday spending and move money between currencies easily using our free travel app.

Protecting you on your travels

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.