TripIndex reveals which winter sun destinations offer the best value family breaks

A study¹ conducted by Ipsos Loyalty on behalf of TripAdvisor compared 29 popular winter sun destinations around the world. It examined the costs of a week’s stay in a two bedroom holiday rental, one week’s car hire, basic self-catering groceries and dinner at a restaurant including drinks for a family of four this winter's travel season (15 December 2014-31 March 2015).

It found:

• A week’s holiday for family of four in Fuerteventura, Canary Islands is more than seven times cheaper (£525) compared to the most expensive destination for a winter sun break, Turks and Caicos (£3,952)
• The Caribbean emerged as the most expensive part of the world, with five of the ten most costly destinations
• Tenerife is the cheapest destination to get around with a hire car. One week’s hire for a family of four for comes in at £89.
• Goa offers the best value for getting a bite to eat and drink. A dinner for four costs £21 with £1 for two soft drinks and £3 for two pints of beer.

Best value TripIndex Winter Sun destinations:

	Destination	Holiday rental	Car Hire	Dinner for four	Beer for two	Soft drink for two	Loaf of bread	Pint of milk	TOTAL
1	Fuerteventura, Canary Islands	£378	£94	£43	£5	£3	£1	£0.43	£525
2	Tenerife, Canary Islands	£431	£89	£43	£5	£3	£0.87	£0.38	£574
3	Goa, India	£352	£228	£21	£3	£1	£0.40	£.031	£606
4	Grenada, Caribbean	£342	£202	`£55	£4	£2	£0.98	£0.71	£606
5	Sharm el Sheik, Egypt	£403	£156	£36	£3	£10	£0.46	£0.6	£608
6	Marrakech, Morocco	£314	£150	£51	£13	£4	£0.68	£0.35	£633
7	Lanzarote, Canary Islands	£506	£91	£38	£6	£3	£0.88	£0.35	£645
8	Sri Lanka , Sri Lanka	£433	£186	£22	£4	£2	£0.67	£0.49	£648
9	Orlando, Florida	£652	£145	£43	£6	£3	£1	£0.37	£850
10	Mauritius	£658	£224	£37	£7	£3	£0.29	£0.47	£930

Prices over £1 have been rounded to the nearest pound. 

¹Technical Note The TripIndex Winter Sun study is based upon online and phone research conducted from 6 to 22 October 2014 by Ipsos Loyalty. It looks at 29 popular winter sun destinations around the world which commonly see temperatures of at least 20C or higher between December and March. The sample for car hire was sourced from internet searches. Groceries prices were sourced from internet searches and telephone inquiries with staff members. The sample for dinner, beer and soft drinks was sourced from the TripAdvisor website and based on the most popular ranking according to TripAdvisor’s popularity index for each destination during the fieldwork period. Three to five establishments were sampled for each item in order to work out the average price. Prices were sourced for the winter holiday period 15 December – 31 March 2015, and were collected in the local currency of each destination. Exchange rates were taken from www.xe.com and converted into GBP (£) on 22 October 2014. All holiday rental prices were provided by TripAdvisor. Holiday rental: Prices specify the average cost of a week’s stay in a two-bedroom holiday rental as listed on TripAdvisor, in the listed destination between 15 December and 31 March 2015. Car hire: Prices specify the average cost of one week’s family car hire including basic insurance cover from globally known car hire companies (where available) in each destination. Evening meal for four: Prices specify the average cost of a traditional or common two-course meal (starter and main course) for four people (prices averaged from three mid-range restaurants in each destination). Beer for two: Prices specify the cost of a pint of beer for two people (prices averaged from three mid-range restaurants in each destination). Soft drink for two: Prices specify the cost of a bottle of cola for two people (prices averaged from three mid-range restaurants in each destination). Groceries – Pint of milk and loaf of bread Grocery costs specify the cost of a standard loaf of sliced white bread (or the closest substitute) and a pint of full fat fresh cows’ milk (or the closest substitute). Prices averaged from three leading supermarkets in each destination.