The most affordable holiday destinations from the UK are the ones where both bills stay low: the package that gets you there and what you spend once you land. This shortlist covers 11 places for departures from October 2026 into 2027, from under four hours’ flying to long-haul.
Each pick is judged on independent resort-cost data, the entry rules a British passport holder faces today and, where we have them, our own package prices.
Quick answer
The best-value holidays from the UK for 2026–27 are Portugal’s Algarve, Bulgaria, Morocco and Tunisia, all under four hours away. Greece out of season and Poland for short, walkable city breaks also fit. Turkey and Egypt’s Red Sea add mid-haul sun, and Bali, Thailand and Goa lead long-haul. The Algarve was the cheapest resort in the Post Office’s 2025 worldwide barometer. Our flight-inclusive packages are ATOL-protected (ATOL 10713).
Affordable holiday destinations compared: flights, entry rules and prices
Each from-price is per person for two sharing, flying economy with return flights from the UK, in the cheapest month we currently sell. Your dates, departure airport and room type change the price.
| Destination | Flight from London | UK passport entry | Best weather | Our package from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal (Algarve) | 2h 55m to Faro | No visa, 90 days in any 180 (Schengen). | May to October. | Ask for a quote. |
| Turkey (Antalya coast) | 4h 15m to Antalya | No visa for up to 90 days in any 180. Passport valid 150 days from arrival. | May, June, September, October. | Check prices & availability |
| Bulgaria (Black Sea) | 3h 20m–3h 35m to Burgas (summer route) | No visa, 90 days in any 180 (Schengen). | June to September. | Check prices & availability |
| Morocco (Fez, Marrakech, Agadir) | 3h 35m–3h 45m to Marrakech | No visa for up to 90 days. Passport valid 3 months beyond arrival, and check it is stamped. | March to May, September to November. | £386pp, 7 nights with breakfast in Fez, January 2027. |
| Poland (Kraków, Gdańsk) | 2h 20m–2h 30m to Kraków | No visa, 90 days in any 180 (Schengen). | May to September. | No package on sale. |
| Tunisia (Hammamet) | 2h 55m–3h 15m to Enfidha | No visa for up to 90 days. Passport valid for the whole stay. | Spring and autumn. | £300pp, 7 nights all-inclusive, January 2027. |
| Greece (Athens, Crete) | 3h 35m–3h 45m to Athens | No visa, 90 days in any 180 (Schengen). | April to June, September and October. | £420pp, 7 nights with breakfast in Athens, January 2027. |
| Egypt (Red Sea) | 5h 20m–5h 30m to Hurghada | Visa normally needed: US$30 cash on arrival or an e-visa. Passport valid 6 months from arrival. | November to March. | Ask for a quote. |
| Bali (Indonesia) | No direct flight, one stop | Visa on arrival IDR 500,000 for 30 days, plus the IDR 150,000 Bali tourist levy. Passport valid 6 months with 2 blank pages. | April to October. | £1,189pp, 11 nights with breakfast, November 2026. |
| Thailand | Direct or one stop to Bangkok | No visa for up to 30 days. Complete the Thailand Digital Arrival Card within 3 days before arrival. Passport valid 6 months. | November to April (Andaman coast). | £1,379pp, 10 nights, October 2026. |
| Goa (India) | Direct from Gatwick on some dates, otherwise one stop | Visa needed before travel (Indian e-Visa). | November to March. | £1,279pp, 10 nights, June 2027 (monsoon season). |
What makes a destination affordable in 2026?
Two numbers decide what a week away really costs. The first is the package: flights, hotel and transfers. The second is daily spending in resort, which can outweigh a low package price in an expensive place.
The Post Office Travel Money barometers measure that second number. They price the same eight items in each resort. These are a three-course meal for two with wine, a coffee, a local beer, a cola, a glass of wine, water, suncream and insect repellent. That lets you compare the Algarve with Bali on like-for-like spending, converted into sterling.
The exchange rate moves the basket every year, which is why resort rankings shift between editions. Flight length matters too. A three-hour flight leaves more of a seven-night break for the beach and less of it in airports.
For five-star hotels within a fixed total, see our guide to luxury holidays under £3,000 from the UK.
Portugal: the Algarve for low resort prices
In the Post Office’s 2025 Holiday Money Report, the Algarve’s basket cost £58.95. Its three-course meal for two with wine, at £40.33, was the cheapest of the 47 destinations surveyed. The Algarve also topped the Post Office’s 2026 Family Holiday Report, up from third a year earlier.
Lisbon is a different story. It placed 16th of 50 in the Post Office’s 2026 City Costs Barometer, at £358 for a two-night break, after costs rose by more than 20%. For a cheaper Portuguese week, base yourself on the coast rather than in the capital.
- Stay in Faro, Olhão or Tavira for local restaurant prices, rather than in the big resort strips.
- Eat the prato do dia, the fixed-price lunch dish sold in most local cafés.
- Use the regional train along the coast instead of hiring a car for the whole week.
Turkey: all-inclusive value on the Turquoise Coast
Turkey earns its place on the strength of its all-inclusive hotels. Marmaris made the top ten of the Post Office’s 2026 Family Holiday Report. The coast from Antalya to Belek is lined with large resorts where meals, drinks and children’s clubs sit inside one price.
- Book a resort with its own beach, so you are not paying for sunbeds elsewhere.
- Take lira for markets and taxis, and use a card with no foreign transaction fee for everything else.
Bulgaria: Black Sea beaches for less
Bulgaria has used the euro since 1 January 2026, and the lev stopped being accepted at the end of that January. Older guides that tell you to order lev are out of date.
Sunny Beach came sixth in the Post Office’s 2025 worldwide barometer, with the basket at £71.46, and second in the 2026 Family Holiday Report. Quieter towns such as Pomorie and Nessebar sit a short drive from Burgas airport and suit couples better than the Sunny Beach strip.
In winter, Bansko in the Pirin mountains is Bulgaria’s main ski resort and a lower-cost alternative to the Alps.
Morocco: medinas, riads and souks
Morocco gives you three different holidays on one short flight. Marrakech and Fez are medina cities built for walking, while Agadir is a beach resort with a long, flat promenade.
Riads are the value choice in the cities. These courtyard guesthouses inside the old walls range from simple to luxurious, and even a modest one puts you within walking distance of the souks, saving on taxis. Our Fez holiday uses Riad Fes, inside the medina.
Bargaining is expected in the souks. Start well below the first price, agree the figure before anything is wrapped, and walk away politely if it does not move. Carry small notes in dirhams, because change for large notes is hard to find.
Poland: city breaks at Eastern European prices
Kraków and Gdańsk are short-flight city breaks, but they are no longer Europe’s cheapest. No Polish city made the cheapest ten in the Post Office’s 2026 City Costs Barometer, and Gdańsk and Warsaw were among seven cities where costs rose by more than 20%.
Kraków works best as a three- or four-night stay. The old town and Kazimierz, the former Jewish quarter, are walkable. Day trips to the Wieliczka salt mine and the Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial both leave from Kraków. Book memorial tickets well ahead, as guided entry slots sell out.
In Gdańsk, the Baltic beaches at Sopot are a short train ride from the old town.
Tunisia: Hammamet beaches and Roman sites
Our Tunisia holiday is based at Riu Palace Hammamet, with private airport transfers included.
Budget for the hotel tax, which Tunisia charges per person per night at 8 dinars for 3-star and 12 dinars for 4- and 5-star hotels, for up to ten nights. It is payable on arrival at the hotel. Hammamet’s medina and the marina at Yasmine Hammamet are both reachable by taxi, and a day trip to the Roman amphitheatre at El Jem is the classic excursion.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office advises against all travel to some southern and border areas. Hammamet is not among them, but check the current FCDO advice for Tunisia before you book any excursion.
Greece: Athens and Crete out of season
Greece in summer is rarely a bargain. In winter, Athens becomes one of Europe’s better-value city breaks, with the Acropolis and museums open, short queues and hotel rates well below their July level.
Athens placed 19th of 50 in the Post Office’s 2026 City Costs Barometer, at £373 for a two-night break. That is more than Lisbon, so the saving in Greece comes from travelling out of season rather than from low day-to-day prices. Our Athens city break is based at Hotel Grande Bretagne, facing Syntagma Square.
Crete follows the same logic. Chania’s Venetian harbour and old town stay open all year, and a stay there out of season costs less than the same week in August.
Egypt: Red Sea reefs and all-inclusive resorts
Hurghada and Sharm el Sheikh are built around all-inclusive resorts. Many have a house reef you can snorkel from the hotel jetty.
Flying into Sharm el Sheikh for fewer than 15 days, you get a free entry stamp rather than paying for a visa. That stamp only covers the South Sinai resorts, so a day trip to Luxor needs a full visa.
The FCDO advises against all travel to North Sinai. The Red Sea resorts are not in any advised-against area.
Long-haul destinations that are cheaper once you land
Long-haul costs more to reach, but some destinations cost less day to day than Southern Europe.
Bali
Bali placed fourth in the Post Office’s 2025 worldwide barometer, with the basket at £66.88. Ubud, in the rice terraces inland, has plenty of villas with private pools. Legian and Seminyak put you on the beach. Our Bali nature and beach retreat combines four nights in Ubud with seven in Legian.
Thailand
Phuket came ninth in the same report, at £76.10. Street food and local restaurants keep daily costs low across Thailand, and island-hopping by ferry is cheap once you are there. The cost to watch is the season: on our Thailand package, January costs about 80% more than October.
Goa
Goa has no Post Office figure, so judge it on beach-shack prices and the package. Our Goa getaway at Kenilworth Resort & Spa is on Utorda Beach in South Goa, where the beaches are quieter than in the north. As with Thailand, the season drives the price: on that package, January 2027 costs over a third more than June.
When is the cheapest time to go?
On our short-haul packages to Tunisia, Morocco and Greece, January is the cheapest month, about 15% below April. November and December also cost less than April, and November undercuts March too.
Easter, the summer holidays and October half-term are the dearest weeks for families.
On our Bali package, July, when UK school holidays coincide with Bali’s dry season, costs about two-thirds more than November.
If you are not tied to school terms, look at November rather than October. On our Tunisia, Fez and Athens packages, November costs about 10% less than October for the same 7 nights.
How to keep the cost of an affordable holiday down
- Travel in the shoulder months. A month either side of peak season, the same hotel often drops to a lower rate band.
- Stay within walking distance of town. A cheaper hotel that needs a taxi every evening can end up costing more.
- Fly from your nearest airport. A train to London and a night at an airport hotel can cancel out a lower fare.
- Buy travel insurance when you book. That way cancellation cover is in place for the weeks before you fly, not only for the trip itself.
- Book flights, hotel and transfers as one package. One company is then responsible for every part of the trip, so a changed flight time does not leave you paying for a missed transfer.
