THE best destination for an affordable last-minute beach holiday has been named as a poplar stretch of coast in Turkey.
Mediterranean hotspot Antalya is the number one destination for “Best Bargain Beach Breaks” this year, thanks to the price of package holidays and the cost of a beer.
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Travel Supermarket compiled a list of destinations by looking at the average cost of seven-night holidays, including the price of sun loungers or parasol hire, and a bottle of beer from the beach bar, per day.
Antalya took top spot, and impressed with its warm September weather and local scenery, as well as its prices.
Travel Supermarket found seven-night deals for £422 from their report, making it the obvious choice for Brits still looking for late getaways this year.
They claim that, for that price, holidaymakers can enjoy a seven-night room-only package holiday, including seven days’ worth of sun loungers and a cold beer each day.
Read More on Holiday Deals
All of this can be found “on the glorious Turkish Riviera”, where the average daily maximum temperature remains as high as 31 degrees in September.
Another Turkish holiday spot – Dalaman – was close behind on the list, with its weather just as appealing.
Holidaymakers can get find the same room-only deals, with the same extras as mentioned before for the average price of £426.
The deals found in Turkey are a fair bit cheaper than those found elsewhere, with Greece’s best offerings third on the list, but with a bit of a price jump.
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Corfu, described by Holiday Supermarket as “an ideal late summer destination,” has September temperatures of 28 degrees.
Yet its package holidays will set travellers back an average of £475 per person, more than a £50 increase on those deals found in Antalya.
Meanwhile, Spain is home to the fourth and fifth placed destinations on the list: Fuerteventura and Costa Blanca.
Holidaymakers can secure a package deal to Fuerteventura, for £488, while Costa Blanca has average prices for week-long holidays of £501.
Six on the list was Crete, where the average per-person price for UK tourists is £518.75.
The 10 cheapest pints in the world
These 10 countries have the cheapest pints in the world
- Uzbekistan – 70p
- China – 90p
- Madagascar – £1
- Vietnam – £1.02
- Ukraine – £1.06
- Belarus – £1.07
- Philippines – £1.25
- Colombia – £1.28
- Azerbaijan – £1.29
- Kazakhstan – £1.34
Source: How to Order a Beer in Any Country in the World by Fraser Metcalf
Bourgas, in Bulgaria, came just behind in seventh by a matter of pennies, with £518.78 the average price of a week-long beach break.
Lanzarote was eighth on the list with £520 average price package breaks.
And the ninth and tenth placed destinations were both found in Cyprus, with Larnaca and Paphos rounding out the top 10.
Travellers can find package holiday deals in those places for an average price of £532 and £538 respectively.
What it’s like to visit the Turkish Riviera
The Sun’s Jane Atkinson visited Antalya and stayed at the all-inclusive resort of Cullinan Belek.
She said: “The tick box for my friends and me includes decent food and cocktails, but also a bit of relaxation and exercise, too.
“After a lot of searching, we opted for the “Turkish Riviera”, in the south of the country, which includes the resorts of Antalya, Bodrum and Belek.
“Within ten minutes of landing in Antalya Airport we were at our hotel for the next three nights, the new, all-inclusive resort of Cullinan Belek.
“And it has an instant wow factor, with the glitzy, flower-filled reception pumping posh scents through the air-conditioning system.
“Our room was amazing. We had two king-size beds in adjoining rooms.
“There were Etro products in the shower, fluffy dressing gowns, buttons to control the blackout curtains and a massive pile of fruit.
“A large balcony, with day beds to sprawl on, stretched between the two rooms, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and the resort’s 1km of white sandy beach.
“One hundred of the 600 rooms are swim-up — and there are eight pools, 11 restaurants plus numerous bars and food outlets to choose from. This was top-notch fancy.
“Food is a big focus in this hotel, from posh patisserie kiosks with fancy cakes to a chocolatier dishing out bags of almonds and chocolates.
“That evening we went to the Mare Main restaurant and sat outside overlooking one of the pools.
“We tucked into steaks, fresh fish and salad plus a large amount of wine before heading to the amphitheatre to watch an amazing acrobatic show.
“It was so good in fact that even Simon Cowell would have been impressed.
“We rounded off our final evening with cocktails in the Azure Pool Bar, vowing we would have to do a trip like this again.”
Meanwhile, this holiday destination has five-star holidays for cheaper than other have three-star stays.
And here are a load of ways parents can save money during the summer holidays.
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