The most expensive holiday destinations

This can't be right! I had a really nice couple of weeks on the Cote d'azur (Juan les pins/Antibes) in France last year and it worked out considerably cheaper than staying home in Madrid, Spain. Ok, I didn't have to fly there or hire a car - but I must say that the prices of food and drinks in the local supermarché were noticably lower than Spain and much better quality with a wider variety, and there were less incidental costs too (parking, entry to clubs, that kind of thing)... I think the makers of this report must have carefully selected the products and services which they include to fit their own agenda!

Cyprus is fairly well priced for what you are getting, Monarch & Easyjet fly there for around 60 pounds out of season! It was the first structured society in europe and much history is there..St Lazarus, Kiteon etc..

Cyprus is country which is gaining in popularity year on year as people begin to learn about the excellent resorts which grace this Mediterranean island. Great weather, food and some great beaches make this island well worth visiting. Below we look at 10 reasons to visit Cyprus.

1. Cyprus beaches are among the best in the world for their pure white sand and gorgeous coastline. Many of them are quiet and unspoiled, far from tourist attractions, and are the perfect place to kick back and relax.

2. Nea Paphos, also known as New Paphos, is a must-see for history lovers. The ruins of the ancient city built circa the 4th century BC are the remains of a city destroyed by the elements (an earthquake in this case). It was once surrounded by tall walls. The mosaics at the Odeion, which is at the heart of the city, are a fascinating sight. Excavation is still underway in search of more discoveries of the old world. The city also has an open air theatre, which was restored in 1970. The area is tourist friendly and even has toilet facilities near the entrance to the complex.

3. Try a Cypriot mezze meal. A mix of Greek and Turkish flavors, a mezze offers the diner a whole range of dishes and numerous courses that never seems to end. Meat, salad, and fruit are staples of the meal. Some of the delicacies that could be included are haloumi, meatballs, mousaka, kebabs, Greek salad, chicken, fish, olives, pita breads, Greek dips, stifado, and kleftiko.

4. The Tomb of the Kings is another beautiful piece of ancient history that is open to modern day visitors. Recognized as a World Heritage site, the area contains tombs and chambers from the Hellenistic and Roman eras, dating back to the 3rd century BC. Contrary to the name, there are no kings buried here. Instead, the seven tombs were made for upper class people of that time.

5. For a country steeped in history, the museums are a must-see. The Archaeological Museum in Ano Paphos hosts 18th century artifacts, tools, jars, and old coins as well as Roman pottery and statues. The Byzantine Museum hosts copies of scriptures, documents and vessels from the 13th to the 14th centuries. The Ethnographical Museum showcases coins and axe heads as well as a beautiful garden featuring a unique rock tomb.

6. Visit the Troodos mountains in the wintertime to ski or in the summertime or springtime to hike, mountain bike, and have picnics. Take a look at some of the monasteries and churches that rest at the foothills.

7. Bargain prices for everything from visiting sites to accommodation to food and wine are one excellent reason to visit Cyprus. The value for money here is incredibly good, making it the perfect tourist destination for families, backpackers, or budget travelers.

8. For those tired of the cold, the warm (hot, even) climate of Cyprus is a welcome break. Summertime temperatures can be pretty high and it does get rather humid, so if moderation is your thing, springtime is the best time to visit.

9. See the ruins of places mentioned in the Bible. Salamis was the landing site for Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark when they sailed from Antioch to Cyprus to preach the Gospel.

10. As one of Europe's oldest wine producers, a trip to Cyprus must include tasting the local wines, particularly those made by the smaller wineries.

Have just returned from 10 days in Normandy and we couldn't get over the cost of things - apart from diesel, which was slightly cheaper than here.  I paid 6 Euros for 3 postcards & stamps, that's nearly £6.  Also, four of us stopped at a bar one afternoon for two cokes and two small beers and it cost nearly 15 Euros.  We have been going to France off and on for the past 15 years and are beginning to feel it's not worth the cost of the crossing as everything is just too expensive. The only thing we found reasonably priced in the supermarkets was wine, everything else was much, much more expensive than here.

I have skied in France for the last 10 years and noticed over the last 2 years how ridiculously expensive everything has become. This is due to the poor exchange rate not prices going up. However, the French do not seem to realise that to keep people coming because of that they will have to drop their prices or offer more"specials". This year the big ski resorts we visited were charging 20e-22e for a pizza! 7e for a beer and not even a pint and 3-4e for a coffee so small it went in 3 sips. This was at the time when the euro had reached 1e to the GBP. So £20 for a pizza!! we walked out of 1 restaurent on the slopes it was so expensive 6e for a coffee. We also skied in Switzerland this year and it worked out cheaper with the exchange rate than France for the first time ever. This also impacted on the cost of your ski hire and ski passes etc making it an expensive holiday. This year the slopes were nearly empty whereever you went so if the French don't take note they will all go bankrupt.

Personally I think it is a silly article. Figures

and statistics can be juggled any way one wants with the view to achieve

results desired.

If you can’t afford to go skiing because of

higher prices – stay at home or pick a chepear destination.

We have eaten in France for as little as 12 Euros

per person and that included starter, main dish, sweet, cheeses and drinks. A

beer or cider in St. Tropez will be more expensive than in Biarritz or St.

Malo.

A coffee in London often costs almost £4.00, in most places –

daylight robbery. With the excuse that they serve a jug of it (it is only extra water and no extra coffee) charges are inflated.

A coffee in Italy is below 1 Euro (around 84

pence). However, if you sit in San Marco square in Venice, the same coffee will

cost you £10+ per person.

What about wines, beers, soft drinks? It is still cheaper to shop at supermarkets in France than it is in UK. 

This article has not consider the law of average

and Switzerland is more expensive than France, anyway (apart from the petrol).

Having just returned from a week in Paris I would agree with some of the research. Drinks are certainly more expensive when purchased in acafe or bar. €2.80 for an espresso is on the high side but €9.80 for a latte is outrageous.

Supermarkets are much th same price as the UK but there are no Tesco's so don't expect the BOGOF offers.

Using the Metro is a deep joy and they could teach London Undergrind a whole heap of stuff - especially on pricing. Great value!

Like maxy44 says, statistics can prove anything - take our own governments stats on education, unemployment, welfare, NHS etc etc. - but it was quite a bit more expensive than I budgeted for. Mind you, I'd still go again.

Did you know that a 20 pack of Embassy Regal at Glasgow airport is OVER £8.00 from WH Smith? That's £2.00 more than the norm. And you haven't even left the UK!!

No @Maxy44, it is simply not true that it's cheaper to shop in French supermarkets than in the UK.  In fact, it's so much cheaper in the UK for basic staple goods that it is cost effective to order it on the www and have it shipped out to the Limousin and the quality will be better.  Limousin beef is at its best just decent supermarket meat - try Scottish steaks for comparison.

No, @annharris, it is not principally an exchange-rate phenomenon because the rest of the Eurozone has remained relatively competitive; prices in France have become higher relative to the rest of their currency zone.  This is a result of restrictive employment practices and taxation in France and minimal competition or entrepreneurial spirit on the French high street.

Allow me to repeat that I am reporting from the coal-face! I'm a permanent resident of France, work in Paris (at a senior level in an airline) and in London twice a month: and I came here from 7 years in Madrid and Milan.  Obviously, I don't need to defend this survey: it's properly carried out and it is price related, and so objective (it's not the ubiquitous 'quality of life' where the drabness of Vienna and Geneva manage to score improbably well, and which would see France near the bottom every time but only in my opinion, since it's a subjective measure).

I agree with other comments that this "survey" is rubbish. If you shop around carefully, you can buy your fuel cheaper than the UK, get great food at reasonable prices.

The holiday park I run serves beer at €2 a glass and you can get a three course meal with aperitif for around €15. With the exchange rate around £1 = €1.20, that is very attractive and all withing driving distance.

A cursory glance reveals the 'survey' is complete tosh. France is not more expensive than Norway, Thailand is not more expensive than Cyprus, Mexico is not more expensive than the USA and so on.

I am not an occasional traveller. I am a travel journalist and I know what I am talking about.

Donna, please, this survey is GREAT material for a Lovemoney article - you could have torn into it, exposing all the flaws and mistakes and informing readers how to be wary of such commercially-motivated 'studies' - but you just reported the survey's 'findings'!!

Are you on the side of companies which (accidentally or intentionally) mislead the public - or are you on the side of your readers, showing them how to be economically smart, regardless of the (potentially harmful) mis-information targeted at them?

I am totally surprised. Who participated in this survey?I have lived in England , France and Switzerland and travelled widely. I live in Switzerland but am British. I lived in France for 17 yerars and UK for 8 years .Yes Japan is the most expensive , but  France, no way:Scandinavia ( I am frequently there as well)and Switzerland where I have lived many years is much more expensive than France and UK. In fact London is as expensive as Zurich. Many Swiss , given the chance shop and even live in France, Italy or Germany because it is cheaper

There  must be a  study sampling problem. For the people who had bad experiences I can only fault the travel agent; France is full of wonderful great value hotels and B&Bs. If the travel agent was French, they would know exactly where to go for a great  good value holiday, Given a choice between France, UK and CH , I would take France any in for value for money. As an Englsihman I would hesitate to take a holiday in the uk based on value for money.

 Salutations à tout le monde

Oh my gawd, is it, merde tu as un probleme tres grand en le Royaume-Uni.

I live in France, why, 'cos I cannot afford to live in the UK, yes our petrol is dear almost as dear as the UK but our diesel is only about 85p a litre (mmm only!!) my council tax is £200 per year, my electric is about 10c per unit the uk is about 12p, a hotel in France is normally about €40 for 3 one in the UK is about £60 for 2, 2 coffees in our Intermarche Bistro (grand cooffe creme avec lait chaud) is €2.40.

  Seems that there is one country not on the list, the UK. I think that as the costings have been done "for the Rest" its about time that the people in the glass house stopped chucking things n'est pas.

  OK not everything in France is rosy, sure we have no road fund tax, our TV licences are cheaper than the UK, our weather is better, our houses cheaper, we are not so crowded, there is not so much polution, our roads not overloaded and not falling to pieces, our beer is €5.00 a case, cheap wine.

Oh I am supposed to listing the bad points, sorry, yep toll roads, paying for some medical, no appealing against pure revenue earning inaccurate radar traps, everything closing down at 20:00 hours, slowness to bring in sewerage systems, to name a few.

  So, please, where is the UK on the list as we along it seems with many other contributors feel that the UK must also be listed....

Me and my hubby visited Paris last weekend and were astounded at the high prices of everything. I haven't been in years and was in for a shock!  Buying a coke in a restaurant cost 3 euros, just a meal alone cost us 40 euros and that was just one drink each with a main course.  To go on the hop on hop off bus tour would cost us 24 euros each thar's 48 euros combined!  The people in Paris are much more friendly though and public transport is a dream, lovely city and would visit again with bags of cash!

Surely the comparison is pointless anyway, because people want different things from a holiday, so most will be prepared to pay what it takes to get the attributes they enjoy from a destination. For example, we love camping in France [very easy and cheap] and enjoy the vast range of lanscapes, climates and culture there, regardless of price. I would not, however be persuaded to holiday in Dubai despite the [alleged] low cost or even if I was paid to go.

We have found most Eastern European countries to be very good value and not too crowded. Croatia, in particular has spectacular, beautiful scenery,is friendly and delicious home grown produce can be bought on the roadside. In contrast, Italy is a total rip-off, charging even to set a foot upon a beach. Nevertheless Italy-lovers are more than happy to pay. 'You pays yer money and you takes yer choice'....No?

I agree with the comment that different people need to know different price comparisons to decide which holiday will be cheaper than another.  I also think that most people have an area of the world in mind before they start. 

If Lovemoney has access to all these surveys, why don't you put everything onto a database and let people select the items they want - museum entry, beer prices, supermarket costs, aquapark tickets etc - in the area they are considering?  The comparisons would make a good deal more sense then.