Cheap Holidays: Where Will Your Money Go Furthest?

Finding the best possible deal on your next holiday has become something of a national obsession. Numerous websites now exist to help us compare and contrast hotels, flights, package deals and more – aiming to help you find the holiday of your dreams for less.

One factor that perhaps isn’t considered quite as readily – yet can still save you a lot of money – is the currency in your chosen destination. The reality is that very few of us go abroad with no spending money whatsoever; even most package holiday costs will be bloated with souvenir shopping, buying premium drinks and/or taking excursions while abroad.

Perhaps the reason for this lack of interest in such a potentially frugal topic is just how difficult it is to decipher quite where your money will go furthest. After all, there are an awful lot of currencies out there; in which countries will your spending money go furthest?

It’s just this question that John Lewis Foreign Currency has sought to answer recently, revealing some fascinating opportunities for savvy holiday-makers.

The latest statistics show precisely which countries have seen the greatest increase in the value of £sterling.

Topping the charts right now is Turkey, where exchanging your Pounds for the native Lira will warrant you 14.2% more money than it would have done just six months ago. Turkish holidays already offer some of the best value holidays in Europe. Now, it seems that the weakness of the Turkish Lira is yet another reason why booking a trip to Turkey might be the smartest financial move you’ll make this year.

However it’s not just Turkey that offers impressive gains for those exchanging money. The value of Sterling has also increased by over 8% for those visiting Australia, Mexico and Japan in the last year; though of course these are normally rather more expensive holiday destinations for Brits due to the travel distances involved.

There is more good news; while the gains may not have been quite as impressive as the countries already mentioned, a number of other popular tourist and expat destinations have seen the value of Sterling increase.

The value of Sterling in Canada has increased by 5.4% in the last six months for example. In Portugal, the increase in value is a still-impressive 4.8% and even the United States have seen minimal gains of 1.6%.

Overall, the news for holidaying Brits is tremendously positive. The global value of the Pound means that travellers from the UK are benefitting mightily, with more spending power than ever before.

Of course all these savings come with a proviso; if and when you change any currency back into Sterling, you’ll be on the other side of the equation. For maximum benefit, therefore, consider your budget carefully with the aim of only taking the volume of currency with you that you expect to spend while abroad.