Summer holidays: Cheapest and most expensive beach holiday resorts in Europe unveiled with popular destination crowned best value

Bulgaria’s Sunny Beach has narrowly beaten Turkey’s Marmaris in a study assessing Europe’s best value family summer holiday resort. Post Office Travel Money, which conducted the research, urged people booking family breaks to do “holiday homework” to avoid “busting the budget while abroad”.

The report took into account the cost of common tourist expenses in 16 popular destinations. Sunny Beach was found to have the best value overall, with prices such as £1.38 for a cup of coffee, £9.67 for a bottle of suncream, £4.37 for insect repellent, and £59.38 for a three-course family meal including wine and soft drinks.

Marmaris was in second place, followed by Portugal’s Algarve region. The most expensive destination analysed was Ibiza, Spain, where prices were more than double those in Sunny Beach.

Laura Plunkett, head of travel money at Post Office, said: “Even though sterling is stronger now than last July, price inflation across Europe means that families need to allow for increases in meals, drinks and other tourist costs in their spending budget. Doing some holiday homework before leaving home could help to reduce the chances of busting the budget while abroad.”