21 of the best affordable holiday destinations for 2025

Average prices Coffee £1.50, evening meal £15, beer £2.50

Make it happen

Crystal Ski arranges packages here, with a choice of comfy apartments and classic mountain hotels to choose from, including transfers from Turin

• Read our full guide to Italy

2. Vilnius, Lithuania

According to another Post Office Travel Money report, the City Costs Barometer, Lithuania’s capital ranks in the top ten cheapest European city breaks. The survey compares 38 cities, taking into account costs such as cups of coffee, local beers and three-course dinners for two. Further helping Vilnius’s case for economy are direct Ryanair flights from the likes of Manchester and Stansted, €1 airport buses and a host of budget-friendly attractions headlined by the funicular (£2.50 return trip) up to Gediminas Tower — all that remains of an ancient castle (£6.50 to enter) — for glorious views. It’s free to roam the baroque-accented old town too, meaning you can consider splashing out on some ambitious fine-dining at the Nordic-influenced Amandus.

Average prices Coffee £2.50, evening meal £17.50, beer £3.50

Make it happen

Expedia has three-night city-break packages for under £200pp to the trendy Artagonist Art Hotel, which has rooms with rainfall showers in the old town

3. Laos

The insurance comparison website HelloSafe has concluded that Laos offers the lowest average daily budget for one traveller among 136 countries it weighed up — with an average spend of just £10 on food, accommodation and local transport entirely possible. It’s certainly possible to find high-quality hotels in this underrated southeast Asian country for £40 a night, while many beautiful Buddhist temples cost about £1.50 to enter. Getting around used to be a drag, but buses now travel on better roads thanks to Chinese investment, and the 2021 opening of a north-south railway has enabled quicker connections — a two-hour transfer from Vientiane, the multicultural capital, to atmospheric Luang Prabang, for instance. It’s easy too, to subsist on bargain-priced street food, with larb, a minced meat salad, the staple snack.

Average prices Coffee £1, evening meal £5, beer £2

Make it happen

A great-value stay in Luang Prabang’s Unesco-listed old quarter close to Phou Si hill, the Sadakham Hotel is peacefully located with spacious, modern rooms and free bikes to borrow

• Best backpacking routes in southeast Asia
• Read our full guide to Asia

4. Penang, Malaysia

A large island where pure shores and rainforests sit alongside Buddhist temples and hawker street food, Penang off Malaysia’s northwestern coast has lots of beach hotels happily available in three-figure, flight-inclusive package deals from the UK. At just over £5, the Penang Hill funicular is similarly economical.

Average prices Coffee £2.50, evening meal £6, beer £3

Make it happen

Cruises also call at Penang, including P&O’s memorable, great-value springtime journey from Singapore to Cape Town (also included on this list) via Mauritius and Réunion

• Best islands in Malaysia

5. Czech Republic

It’s always nice — for Brits, at least — when the pound soars in value against another currency, meaning lots more bang for the same buck. That’s the case with the Czech koruna, against which sterling rose by more than 12 per cent from 2023 to 2024. It’s started to drop slightly since then, but still offers incredible value. As such, you’ll be able to afford more walnutty trdelnik pastries in saintly Cesky Krumlov, extra pints in Pilsen, an additional wine tour in student-powered Brno and a bonus castle visit in Prague. In general, try to limit your time in the capital — which is predictably the most touristy Czech destination — in favour of exploring the rest of this underappreciated, frequently fairytale Central European country.

Average prices Coffee £2, evening meal £11, beer £1.50

Make it happen

Not only is the art deco-style Hotel Majestic Plaza great value, but its two interconnecting buildings are just a few minutes’ walk away from focal Wenceslas Square and the on-site restaurant serves traditional Czech fare

• Best things to do in Prague
• Best affordable hotels in Prague

6. Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo has a reputation for being expensive — and it certainly can be, especially compared to other parts of Asia — but it’s also great at catering to travellers of every budget. Its capsule hotels, for example, provide horizontal cubicles at prices comparable to a bed in a hostel dorm room but with considerably more privacy, while a piping hot bowl of ramen in a typical restaurant costs as little as £1.50. There’s also plenty to see without spending a penny, from the busy crossing at Shibuya to the Buddhist temple at Senso-ji.

Average prices Coffee £2.50, evening meal £11.50, beer £3

Make it happen

Small-group tours are a great way to outsource planning. Arranging trips to the country since 2000, InsideJapan Tours is the market leader; available every month except December, its Must-See Japan option starts in Tokyo

insidejapantours.com

• Best hotels in Tokyo
• Best things to do in Tokyo

7. Jerez, Spain

Home of sherry wines, Jerez is a vibrant Andalusian city that’s managed to escape most of the tourist hordes of nearby Seville, which means prices here are comparatively modest too. At restaurants such as Tabanco Plateros, for example, you can get a flight of five sherries with matching cheese and charcuterie for about £9. And of course you can take advantage of the menu del dia, a set lunch menu that generally costs about £13 for two courses plus wine. Touring and tasting through the bodegas in the city is an essential part of any visit here, but otherwise this is a laid-back place where people-watching from a terrace café is greatly encouraged.

Average prices Coffee £1, evening meal £15, beer £2.50

Make it happen

Surprisingly affordable, Hotel Villa Jerez was built in the Fifties as a private property; these days, it’s a classy, 18-room retreat on Jerez’s leafy fringes that offers an infinity pool and lovely gardens

• Read our full guide to Spain

8. Turkey

Despite sterling’s well-documented struggles, it has gained ground on some other faltering currencies. Easily the biggest leap concerns Turkish lira; in June 2025, for example, you could get almost six times as much for each pound as you could in 2021. Even allowing for soaring inflation, that means huge savings. The obvious places in Turkey to splash this bonus cash are buzzy, beach-speckled Turquoise Coast resorts such as lively Marmaris, busy Bodrum and quieter Dalyan.

Average prices Coffee £2, evening meal £10, beer £2.50

Make it happen

A long-time Turkey specialist, Simpson Travel sells packages to well-appointed hotels and good-value villas along the beach-studded coastline, from cosmopolitan Kalkan to sleepier Bozburun

• Read our full guide to Turkey

9. Lisbon, Portugal

The Post Office’s Travel Money department produces an annual City Costs Barometer charting the best-value European centres. In the most recent edition, Lisbon came fifth. Aiding the Portuguese capital’s status as western Europe’s most wallet-friendly option (along with Porto) are numerous bars serving filling petiscos (small plates) such as octopus salad.

Average prices Coffee £2, evening meal £16, beer £2.50

Make it happen

Airbnb can set frugal travellers up in chic Alfama properties, such as this air-conditioned loft with River Tagus views near the twice-weekly Feira da Ladra flea market

• Read our full guide to Portugal

10. The Gambia

Mainland Africa’s smallest country packs plenty in. Spellbinding sandy beaches are the Gambia’s most famous attribute, with Cape Point the most Instagram-worthy, but there’s much more to relish: bird, hippo and chimp-watching cruises in River Gambia National Park, leopard-patrolled wetlands and mysterious stone circles. Nevertheless, and despite some excellent beachfront hotels, winter sun packages to this West African country are absurdly cheap. With the shared GMT zone, you needn’t even worry about jet lag.

Average prices Coffee £1.50, evening meal £14, beer £2.50

Make it happen

Tui’s package holidays to the Smiling Coast of Africa — so called for its friendly locals — include cheap Holiday Beach, a hotel that serves local cuisine beside the sand in lively Kololi

11. Bali, Indonesia

This volcanic, tropical Indonesian island can be startlingly affordable — especially if you travel in its shoulder seasons of April to June or September to October, when the weather is usually getting gradually drier or wetter. High-quality budget hotels proliferate, most of Bali’s beaches are free and activities tend to be a bargain: less than £30 for cookery classes or guided sunrise treks up Mount Batur. Taxis are also cheap, as is zooming around on a rented scooter. Food-wise, stick to classic streetside snacks such as nasi jinggo (rice and side dishes such as sambal-fried peanuts, all wrapped in banana leaves) or dine in the affordable restaurants of Canggu and Ubud.

Average prices Coffee £1.50, evening meal £5, beer £2

Make it happen

All-inclusive resorts are a great way to avoid hidden costs — and you can get a week for about £1,300pp in October at the sports-mad Grand Mirage Resort on picturesque Nusa Dua beach

• Best hotels in Bali
• Best hostels in Bali

12. Belize

In the pint-sized Central American country of Belize you’ll find jaguar-filled jungle, marvellous Mayan ruins, caves, coffee farms, Caribbean beaches and, to enable splendid snorkelling and diving, a portion of the world’s second-longest barrier reef. Alongside some eye-wateringly expensive resorts for dot-com squillionaires come excellent boutiques in chilled-out beach towns. A good bet is Placencia, from which a two-dive outing will set you back as little as £125.

Average prices Coffee £2.50, evening meal £12, beer £2.50

Make it happen

Solo travellers keen to swerve single supplements are directed towards G Adventures’ year-round Solo-ish Belize small-group tour, which combines cooking, sacred caves and Caye Caulker’s soft sands

• Best hotels in Belize

13. Jamaica

According to the Post Office’s 2024 Long Haul Holiday Report (the most recent edition), Jamaica remains the best-value destination in the Caribbean. That ranking was based on prices surveyed in the north-coast hub of Montego Bay, a destination for beach-goers, snorkellers and rainforest explorers. The reggae-loving Caribbean island also lays on waterfalls galore, with Viator tours starting from about £30. Even Jamaican rum is inexpensive at the airport duty-free.

Average prices Coffee £3, evening meal £17, beer £2.50

Make it happen

A typically economical Montego Bay option is the well-run Iberostar Waves Rose Hall Beach resort, where all-inclusive guests can combine seaside time with a pool and spa visits

• Read our full guide to the Caribbean

14. Bolivia

Sightseeing trips are shockingly cheap in this landlocked country. Three-day tours in cross-country vehicles to the epic Salar de Uyuni salt flats (that are turned by rains into a surreal mirror from January to April) can be priced as low as £130. Voyages on Lake Titicaca, taking in floating villages, start at £10, while Amazon jungle lodges tend to be more affordable than anywhere else in South America. In fact, the only expensive thing about Bolivia is getting there in the first place.

Average prices Coffee £2, evening meal £4.50, beer £2.50

Make it happen

Taking in Cordillera Real peaks, pre-Columbian ruins and the Salar de Uyuni flats, a two-week tour with Exodus will deliver all the highlights; it operates once a month from May to September

• Best places to visit in South America

15. Brittany, France

Crêpes, together with their savoury, buckwheat counterpart galettes, are a key reason why Brittany is so doable on a budget. Always on hand and never expensive, crêperies allow you to save up for splashier seafood dinners. Also helping to cut costs are direct ferries from Portsmouth and Plymouth, and an abundance of self-catering accommodation such as holiday parks. While here, spend your days on sandy shores or admiring standing stones older than the Pyramids.

Average prices Coffee £2.50, evening meal £13, beer £4.50

Make it happen

To keep things in the affordable camp, Eurocamp offers lodge-style stays at 24 holiday parks around Brittany. Some are splashy, shouty and family-friendly; others, set in woodland and equipped only with a pizzeria or shop, suit more tranquil breaks

• Read our full guide to France

16. Hoi An, Vietnam

Frugal travellers are thrilled by large portions of southeast Asia, including Cambodia, Laos and the original backpacker destination, Thailand. But, according to 2024’s Post Office Long Haul Travel Report, Vietnam brought some of the best value of all. Indeed, the city of Hoi An was named the year’s third-cheapest long-haul destination. Because everything else is so cheap, it’s possible to stay in top-notch hotels and still subsist on £100 a day, including sunscreen, cocktails, coffees and a three-course dinner for two. Local draught beers are especially cheap, while renting a moped will cut taxi costs and help you get to the nearby beaches. Cua Dai’s stretch of white sand is only a couple of miles to the east.

Average prices Coffee £1, evening meal £4, beer £1

Make it happen

Spend a day in Hoi An with Wendy Wu Tours’ Vietnam at a Glance. A ten-night trip, especially worth it for first-timers and those seeking to really pack everything in, its price includes international flights, taxes, transport, entrance fees, all meals, and stays in four-star hotels

• Best hotels in Vietnam
• Best Vietnam tours and holidays

17. Bamburgh, UK

Among more than 121 seaside towns investigated by the consumer body Which? in 2025, Bamburgh came out top with four out of five stars for value for money (none got the maximum score). Dramatically overlooked by its namesake Norman castle, Northumberland’s most memorable resort also scored full marks for the quality of its sandy beach and, unsurprisingly, for that scenery. On days out, visitors can go dolphin-watching in the Farne Islands or cross the causeway to mystical Lindisfarne.

Average prices Coffee £3.50, evening meal £16.50, beer £3.50

Make it happen

Ten minutes’ walk from the castle and coast, the Sunningdale is one of those properly run, fairly priced British B&Bs that offers tremendous value for money

• Best things to do in England
• Read our full guide to the UK

18. North Macedonia

North Macedonia delivers canyons, mountainous national parks and Ottoman-era villages announced by narrow minarets. The standout sight is beach-lined Lake Ohrid, below a clifftop church, with the possibility of biking jaunts, kayak hire or waterside wine tasting. Just as enjoyable is kayaking through the quiet, spellbinding Matka Canyon and looking for lynx around the forests and waterfalls of Mavrovo National Park. Despite all of that, few tourists come, meaning absurdly low prices for Brits, further helped by the absence of the euro.

Average prices Coffee £1.50, evening meal £8.50, beer £2

Make it happen

First Choice sells packages to the simple but superbly staffed Villa Veron — a few minutes’ walk from the beaches and restaurants of Lake Ohrid — for less than £500pp

19. Egypt

Avoid peak season (December to February) and holidays in Egypt can be extremely cost-effective. From £2 shakshuka breakfasts to 50p fava bean falafel wraps, meals sell for a song. Cross-country trains are not only more sustainable than flying but far cheaper — 12-hour Cairo to Aswan services in first class can start from about £40, for example. Shop around for well-reviewed excursions — a Nile sunset cruise or a Luxor tour — and consider the Luxor Pass; it’s both decent value and mightily convenient. As for the Red Sea, skip pricey hotspots such as Sharm el-Sheikh in favour of more authentic Dahab.

Average prices Coffee £1, evening meal £5, beer £1.50

Make it happen

Combine Cairo, the Pyramids of Giza, temples and an overnight felucca cruise down the Nile on this good-value Egypt Express group tour that departs year-round

• Best hotels in Egypt
• Best all-inclusive hotels in Egypt

20. Mombasa, Kenya

Rather overshadowed by the country’s safari offerings, Kenya’s stunning coast ranked as the fifth cheapest in the Post Office’s 2024 Long Haul Travel Report. A string of gorgeous, pearl-white beaches await in and around the city of Mombasa, as do plenty of other cost-efficient options: an old town with elegantly carved wooden doors, diving in the Mombasa Marine National Park and Reserve, crocodile farms and giraffe-filled wildlife sanctuaries. Use Ubers to get around and visit in October, November, March or April for the best rates.

Average prices Coffee £2.50, evening meal £5, beer £2

Make it happen

Beside the long, pale-sand Nyali beach just north of Mombasa stands the nautical-themed Voyager Beach Resort, with its three pools, three restaurants and thatched, three-storey blocks

21. Cape Town, South Africa

Once again ranked first for value in the Post Office’s Long Haul Travel Report for 2024 — with local holiday costs plummeting by 12 per cent in 12 months — South Africa’s most popular city is another place where prodigious Ubers are a cheaper bet than taxis. There’s no charge to walk up Table Mountain (though cable car return tickets from £16.50 will tempt) and a staple “Gatsby” (a long sub with salad, fries and, often, masala steak) provides stodgy fuel for a song. In July and August, many Cape Town restaurants offer special deals, perhaps helping you afford a Winelands tour or trip to see the penguin colony at Boulders beach.

Average prices Coffee £1.50, evening meal £11.50, beer £2

Make it happen

Azamara’s upmarket, country-intensive voyages include a two-week exploration of South Africa’s coast, beginning and ending in Cape Town. You may find great value with Mundy Cruising

• Best hotels in Cape Town
• Best things to do in Cape Town

Additional reporting by Imogen Lepere