Rising costs of accommodation, travel and meals abroad mean that a holiday in the UK is no longer the best holiday it used to be – but has the balance shifted in favor of going abroad? Research from the Guardian Money shows that for some British holidaymakers, traveling abroad will not be expensive.
Our photo of vacations in the United Kingdom, France and Spain found that for a family traveling from London, a trip across the English Channel could come in less than a holiday in Devon. A flight to Spain would cost significantly more, but the promise of better weather will be worth the money for some.
Prices for stays in the United Kingdom are rising, but figures show that the typical price for a summer holiday in France and Spain has risen faster.
Data provided by the comparison website Trivago show that the average price of accommodation – including hotels and self-catering facilities such as villas – in France in June to August this year was 126 British pounds per night, compared to 106 British pounds during the same period in 2019. This is an increase of almost 19%. In Spain, the average price rises by 16% – from £ 106 to £ 123 per night. However, in Malaga on the Costa del Sol, average prices jumped by 34%.
These figures do not make the UK figure look so bad: a typical 12% increase – from £ 98 in 2019 to £ 110 this summer – according to Trivago, which lists millions of accommodation options on its website.
It may come as no surprise to see families reconsider their plans to go abroad after airlines canceled hundreds of flights. Who? Rory Boland of Travel
Some data provided to the Guardian Money by hotel technology provider allora.ai show that average UK hotel prices for the summer of 2022 have risen by about 10% compared to last summer as hoteliers struggle with the same problems the living expenses of households.
While accommodation costs have clearly risen, the consumer authority Who? found that the average price of flights to continental Europe has fallen since 2019. The average price of a summer holiday flight from the UK to mainland Europe this August – booked in March this year – has been found to be £ 92 compared to £ 182 in 2019. When Which? He compared six routes from London Stansted to destinations, including Venice and Barcelona, and found that all six were “significantly cheaper” in 2022.
This can help you take your vacation in the sun a little further.
However, like Rory Boland, the editor of Who? Travel said: “It may come as no surprise to see some people and families rethink their plans to go abroad after airlines canceled hundreds of flights and consumers faced widespread airport disruptions.
As always, this is not a clear picture.
The Guardian Money decided to do its own price test based on a family of four. We evaluated the trips to three different sea destinations: Brixam in Devon, Le Touquet in northern France and the region of Malaga in Spain.
As fuel prices rise, driving distances can play a role in your holiday decision. Photo: Neil Hall / EPA
We found comparable properties in Brixam and Le Touquet for almost the same price (£ 765 and £ 778 per week, respectively).
Because the fuel prices of the pump are so high, the distance you will drive has become an important factor in calculating the cost of travel. In our price test, you would pay more to drive from London to Devon and back than to get to northern France and then home.
Fortunately, there are many websites that can help you plan your budget for this part of your trip. RAC’s online mileage and fuel calculator can help you determine how much a trip to the UK will cost in terms of fuel. For those who go further, sites like ViaMichelin allow drivers to write their destination in France, Spain or anywhere, and offer a route and calculate the approximate price of fuel for the trip, plus the cost of all tolls.
There are also many websites that will help you find the cheapest gas stations on your route, such as plein-moins-cher.fr (which covers France) and fuelflash.eu.
Holidays in the United Kingdom
“With raging inflation, most holidays in the UK are more expensive due to higher energy costs at the hotel or villa you may be staying in, as well as higher catering costs, which make food and drink more expensive.” when you eat at a restaurant, ”says Paul Charles, CEO of PC Agency.
He added that there is also a strong demand for holidays in the UK and it is from the beginning of the pandemic that is raising prices. “However, you need to balance the higher costs for the UK with the fact that you will usually have cheaper travel costs and will not book a flight.”
Who? says you can save money by checking out “lesser known” places. He asked members to rate the seaside towns and said those with an average hotel price of £ 100 a night or less included Llandudno in North Wales, Filey in North Yorkshire, Lynmouth in Devon, Berwick-upon-Tweed in Northumberland and Tynemouth in North Tyneside.
The budget player Premier Inn – with average prices of £ 66 per night – was rated as one of the best big chains by Who? members.
Who? says Filey, North Yorkshire, has an average hotel price of £ 100 a night or less. Photo: Richard Saker / The Observer
Travel blogger Sally Akins says that sometimes you can get a better deal or upgrade a room if you book by phone instead of online. “So use a comparison website to narrow down your choices and then call to make your final reservation,” she says.
Blogger Julie Falconer (A Lady in London) says that when it comes to food and drink, markets, street food stalls, food trucks or having a picnic lunch at the supermarket can save you a lot compared to eating out.
Ferry to France
The large number of ferry comparison and booking websites – including Direct Ferries, Compare Ferries, Ferrysavers, AFerry and Ferryonline – has made it easier to search for offers and compare prices.
For many people living in the UK – especially in the South East of England – who want to load their car and go to France, ferry crossings from Dover to Calais and Dover to Dunkirk are usually the cheapest ways to get there. However, depending on where you live and where you travel in France, some may choose to sail from New Haven, Portsmouth, Poole or Plymouth.
“Dover-Calais is the cheapest way to cross the English Channel right now,” said Niall Walsh of Direct Ferries.
You can use ferry and booking comparison websites to plan a trip. Photo: Christopher Furlong / Getty Images
In our price check, the cheapest return voyage on this route was £ 184 – however, Dover to Dunkirk was £ 3 cheaper for our chosen trip, so it may be worth considering both options.
The stated price for crossing the Eurotunnel on those dates was much higher: £ 429.
“Late / early morning sails are usually cheaper than day trips,” says Walsh.
We asked Direct Ferries for the price of the cheapest round trip this summer (Dover-Calais or Dover-Dunkirk) for a car with a family of two adults and two children. The answer was £ 143, which is the Irish ferry Dover-Calais, which departs on 27 July and returns on 3 August.
Regarding accommodation, Carolyn Boyd, an expert on French travel, said: “There are ways to find self-catering accommodation at reasonable prices if you adopt your own French holiday options by booking ski apartments or gîtes de France, even village rest. ” She has written a number of articles for the Guardian, including one entitled France on a Budget: An Expert Guide to a Vacation Like the French.
“There are also a lot of business accommodations that are cheap in the summer, so look for aparthotels like Adagio or Citadines,” she added.
Boyd, who writes a newsletter called France Traveler, says she has found on her last few trips that eating out is cheaper in France than in the United Kingdom.
“Look for bigger dishes at lunch when the du jour menu is cheaper (fixed price for two or three dishes, often only 25 euros for three dishes), and then you can enjoy bread, cheese, sausages , fruits, etc. evening, bought from the morning market / local shops. And northern France is ideal for lovers of Breton breadcrumbs / crepe, as crepes offer really filling, healthy dishes for only 6 euros. Part of the reason I love Brittany! ”
Flying to Spain
For those who have some flexibility on when to go, sites like Skyscanner have calendar tools that will show you the prices of your chosen trip for each day of the month.
We were quoted £ 554 for our four return flights, but we could have paid less if we had chosen different dates. Prices seemed very volatile: a little over a few minutes after we were offered £ 554, the price went up to £ 574.
Who? found that a group of four could expect to pay up to £ 192 to book standard seats together for certain flights – but of those surveyed, 95% of short-haul passengers who did not pay extra said they still got seats together. However, if you are traveling with young children, you probably won’t want to risk being separated.
Who? found that the average cost of flights to continental Europe has decreased since 2019. Photo: Steve Parsons / PA
As for car rental, as a result of increased demand and lower stock prices have risen. Who? says that the later customers book, the more they will pay – he recommends booking your rental car two months in advance.
Spain has a pretty good result when it comes to the cost of eating out, according to the latest annual report on holiday money from the Postal Service, which looks at prices in 36 destinations around the world.
It says the typical price for a three-course dinner for two (including a bottle of homemade wine) is £ 41.90 on the Costa del Sol in southern Spain. That’s more than £ 29.20, which you would normally pay in the Algarve region of Portugal, but much less than £ 71.95 and £ 73.64 …
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