Cyprus-Forum.com

[Svetlana]

The cheap getaway: It STILL costs less to holiday in Cyprus or Turkey than to stay in the UK

Families holidaying in the UK to save money could end up paying more than those jetting to popular foreign hot spots.
British resorts and businesses impose such high prices that it might be cheaper to fly thousands of miles to a resort abroad, a study shows.
So a week at the seaside in this country is more expensive than Bodrum, in Turkey, Greece or Cyprus, which attract millions of families looking for sunshine.
Bargain: A survey has found it is cheaper to fly to Turkey, Greece or Cyprus for a week's holiday than to stay in a British seaside resort
It is also cheaper to visit several East European countries, such as Slovenia, Hungary, Poland and Bulgaria, which offer beautiful cities and new experiences.
Researchers at Tesco Bank looked at typical holiday expenses for one week for a family of four in August, including accommodation, car hire, eating out and family entertainment.
While they did not include the cost of getting to the resort, the price gap is so large for many countries that it would still be cheaper to travel using a budget airline.
The figure for Brighton came out at £2,209 - £390 more than buying the equivalent items in Bodrum.
So even considering that return flights from London Gatwick to Bodrum would cost around £80 via easyJet, it's still a bargain.
Brighton certainly has a great history and many attractions, from the Royal Pavilion and the pier to nightclubs and the Lanes.



But while it offers standard seaside fare of fish and chips and curry houses, Bodrum, on the Aegean Sea, boasts Turkish food as well as sun, sandy beaches and nightlife.
There are also several all-inclusive hotel resorts where the cost of food and drink is included in the package.

John Howells, head of travel money at Tesco Bank, said holiday costs have been impacted by the euro exchange rate.
'With the average cost of a holiday for one week coming in at £2,076, a 2 per cent increase on last year, it is essential holidaymakers are not just looking into the cost of travel but also the expenses they are likely to incur once they are there.
'For instance, car hire and accommodation make up 71 per cent of weekly spend and have risen 6 per cent on last year.'
Meanwhile, lastminute.com has seen a rush of people logging on to look for travel deals after England's elimination from the World Cup on Sunday.
Bookings rose 25 per cent on the previous day in the hours after the final whistle was blown.
The firm's head of travel, Andy Washington, said: 'People want a way of getting over the football blues, and for many a late summer break is the thing they need.'
Lowcostholidays.com, meanwhile, said the number of people visiting its website rose 40 per cent compared to last week.

[Baggieboy]

The latest exchange rate is having a huge positive impact. We were talking to locals twelve months ago and they thought the Brits were being "tight" with their spending money, but I explained that before the euro was introduced our pound was worth around 0.8 Cyp£.

With Cyprus going in at 1.71 euros, combined with our pound almost reaching parity with the euro, our spending money wasn't stretching nearly as far as before - we were actually spending more, but it appeared we were spending less.

The exhange rate is now around 1.23 euros to the £, so our usual holiday spend of around 1500 euros will only cost us around £1,200.

This means we'll do far less self catering and more eating and drinking out. Good news all round.

[vaughanwilliams]

The latest exchange rate is having a huge positive impact. We were talking to locals twelve months ago and they thought the Brits were being "tight" with their spending money, but I explained that before the euro was introduced our pound was worth around 0.8 Cyp£.

With Cyprus going in at 1.71 euros, combined with our pound almost reaching parity with the euro, our spending money wasn't stretching nearly as far as before - we were actually spending more, but it appeared we were spending less.

The exhange rate is now around 1.23 euros to the £, so our usual holiday spend of around 1500 euros will only cost us around £1,200.

This means we'll do far less self catering and more eating and drinking out. Good news all round.

Even better news is the Pound is doing well against the Turkish Lira these days at about 2.37TL to the Pound. If you want to come to Cyprus AND have a cheap holiday, make it North Cyprus.

[Baggieboy]

Thanks for your kind invite Vaughan, but I'll stick with Pernera thanks. We have visited the north(ern end of the island) once and found everyone very friendly and prices low, but our loyalty, friendships, and indeed our hearts are with the south(ern end). For us its not all about price, but it certainly helps when your hard earned cash goes further!

There are many Brits who will happily take you up on your offer though!

[vaughanwilliams]

Thanks for your kind invite Vaughan, but I'll stick with Pernera thanks. We have visited the north(ern end of the island) once and found everyone very friendly and prices low, but our loyalty, friendships, and indeed our hearts are with the south(ern end). For us its not all about price, but it certainly helps when your hard earned cash goes further!

There are many Brits who will happily take you up on your offer though!

There's always a welcome in the TRNC for Brits and anyone else who cares to come.

[bill cobbett]

Thanks for your kind invite Vaughan, but I'll stick with Pernera thanks. We have visited the north(ern end of the island) once and found everyone very friendly and prices low, but our loyalty, friendships, and indeed our hearts are with the south(ern end). For us its not all about price, but it certainly helps when your hard earned cash goes further!

There are many Brits who will happily take you up on your offer though!

There's always a welcome in the TRNC for Brits and anyone else who cares to come.

Got so much of a warm welcome that some tissy "policeman" threatened to put me in hand-cuffs!

My alleged "crime"? Had very inadvertently driven five yards past a hut of some kind at the cease-fire line.

[IMPOSTALIEDUS]

The latest exchange rate is having a huge positive impact. We were talking to locals twelve months ago and they thought the Brits were being "tight" with their spending money, but I explained that before the euro was introduced our pound was worth around 0.8 Cyp£.

With Cyprus going in at 1.71 euros, combined with our pound almost reaching parity with the euro, our spending money wasn't stretching nearly as far as before - we were actually spending more, but it appeared we were spending less.

The exhange rate is now around 1.23 euros to the £, so our usual holiday spend of around 1500 euros will only cost us around £1,200.

This means we'll do far less self catering and more eating and drinking out. Good news all round.

Even better news is the Pound is doing well against the Turkish Lira these days at about 2.37TL to the Pound. If you want to come to Cyprus AND have a cheap holiday, make it North Cyprus.

THANKS VW for bringing that to my attention ,I did tell every one on an earlier thread that there was ways of making money by buying and selling lira ,euro, and pounds , and I would put my money where my mouth was , I sold turkish lira and I bought pounds ,and the exchange was 2.22 this was aprox 1 month ago,2 weeks ago I exchanged back at 2.33 making a profit of 13 kurus this is aprox 5or 6 eur cents per gbp ,i will not tell you how much I made but it will buy me a new car , Holidays in the south are now far more expensive than they were under the old cp pound,

[Gasman]

Published yesterday:

http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_PUBLIC/2-28062010-AP/EN/2-28062010-AP-EN.PDF
(there are tables in the full version)

Comparison of price levels in the EU27 in 2009
Price levels of food range from one to two among Member States
In 2009, the price level1 of a comparable basket of food and non-alcoholic beverages was more than twice as high in the most expensive EU27 Member State than in the cheapest one.

Denmark was nearly 40% above the EU27 average and had the highest price level for food and non-alcoholic beverages in the EU27 in 2009.

Ireland, Finland, Luxembourg, Austria, Belgium, Germany and France were between 10% and 30% above the EU27 average.

Italy, Cyprus, Sweden and Greece were up to 10% above the average, while the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, Slovenia, Malta and Portugal were up to 10% below.

Latvia, Slovakia, Estonia, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Lithuania had price levels for food and non-alcoholic beverages which were between 10% and 30% below the EU27 average, while Bulgaria, Romania and Poland were between 30% and 40% below.

These data come from a report2 issued by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. The results refer to the survey on food, beverage and tobacco prices carried out in 2009 in the 37 participating countries. This survey covered a total of approximately 500 comparable products.


Price levels of tobacco range from one to five
Data are also available for more detailed breakdowns of food products.

For bread and cereals, price levels ranged from 52% of the EU27 average in Bulgaria and 58% in Poland to 146% in Denmark and 132% in Ireland; for meat from 56% in Poland and 58% in Romania to 131% in Denmark and 128% in Austria; and for milk, cheese & eggs from 63% in Poland and 77% in Lithuania to 137% in Ireland and Cyprus.

The price levels for alcoholic beverages ranged from one to two and a half. The highest price levels for alcoholic beverages were registered in Finland (170% of the EU27 average), Ireland (167%), Sweden (138%) and Denmark (135%), and the lowest in Romania (70%), Bulgaria (77%), Spain and Hungary (both 84%).

For tobacco, the price levels were almost five times higher in the most expensive Member State than in the cheapest. The highest price levels were observed in Ireland (217% of the EU27 average), United Kingdom (166%), France (133%) and Sweden (130%), and the lowest in Bulgaria (46%), Romania (47%), Lithuania and Hungary (both 51%).

So, it would seem, it all depends WHAT you spend your money on.

[vaughanwilliams]

The latest exchange rate is having a huge positive impact. We were talking to locals twelve months ago and they thought the Brits were being "tight" with their spending money, but I explained that before the euro was introduced our pound was worth around 0.8 Cyp£.

With Cyprus going in at 1.71 euros, combined with our pound almost reaching parity with the euro, our spending money wasn't stretching nearly as far as before - we were actually spending more, but it appeared we were spending less.

The exhange rate is now around 1.23 euros to the £, so our usual holiday spend of around 1500 euros will only cost us around £1,200.

This means we'll do far less self catering and more eating and drinking out. Good news all round.

Even better news is the Pound is doing well against the Turkish Lira these days at about 2.37TL to the Pound. If you want to come to Cyprus AND have a cheap holiday, make it North Cyprus.

THANKS VW for bringing that to my attention ,I did tell every one on an earlier thread that there was ways of making money by buying and selling lira ,euro, and pounds , and I would put my money where my mouth was , I sold turkish lira and I bought pounds ,and the exchange was 2.22 this was aprox 1 month ago,2 weeks ago I exchanged back at 2.33 making a profit of 13 kurus this is aprox 5or 6 eur cents per gbp ,i will not tell you how much I made but it will buy me a new car , Holidays in the south are now far more expensive than they were under the old cp pound,

Good luck!
As you have done well out of the Lira, perhaps you might spend a few here, sometime.

[vaughanwilliams]

Thanks for your kind invite Vaughan, but I'll stick with Pernera thanks. We have visited the north(ern end of the island) once and found everyone very friendly and prices low, but our loyalty, friendships, and indeed our hearts are with the south(ern end). For us its not all about price, but it certainly helps when your hard earned cash goes further!

There are many Brits who will happily take you up on your offer though!

There's always a welcome in the TRNC for Brits and anyone else who cares to come.

Got so much of a warm welcome that some tissy "policeman" threatened to put me in hand-cuffs!

My alleged "crime"? Had very inadvertently driven five yards past a hut of some kind at the cease-fire line.

Never pays to drive "inadvertently" near any cease-fire line!