Not only is Portugal one of the few ‘popular tourist destinations’ open to travel-restricted Brits, it is among the cheapest in the eurozone. In fact, the region of the Algarve IS the cheapest.
This has come in Holiday Money Report 2021, an analysis of 46 well-known destinations by the UK Post Office (click here).
The Algarve ranks third in the top 10 for ‘cheapest holiday destinations’ behind Sunny Beach in Bulgaria, and Marmaris in Turkey.
The Portuguese island of Madeira is another region taking the 10th slot.
The ranking compares the cost of a selection of “typically touristic items” (a three-course dinner for two in a restaurant – including wine; a bottle of beer; a glass of wine; a can of Coca-Cola; a large bottle of water; a cup of tea; sun protector and insect repellent).
The cheapest place for these items (Bulgaria) will see tourists spending €32.14. In Turkey, the outlay would be €43.12; in the Algarve €51.17.
Funchal, Madeira, would see holidaymakers spend almost another €20 for the same eight items (€72.02). But costs can reach €96.07 in Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt – another destination barred to British holidaymakers but potentially open to travellers from other countries.
Another major plus in this report is that Holiday Money clearly sees Portugal as “a destination of major global reference”. It says British tourists put the country on a par with Greece and Spain (two places on the complicated UK ‘amber list’ which requires travellers to quarantine on their return, and which British politicians are now saying ‘means the same as red: ie do not travel there…”)
Both countries however have said they are more than ready for tourism this summer. The latter even dispenses the need for travellers to present a negative PCR test for Covid-19.
