IF you want to get the most for your money when booking a holiday, you should opt for a trip to Turkey.
The Post Office's latest Holiday Money Index has found you can get more than £200 more when buying Turkish lira than if you went pre-pandemic.
The Travel Money Index, the first for 2021, has analysed the best foreign currency when exchanging the pound, so Brits can see where their money goes the furthest.
The Turkish lira came out the best for UK travellers, with an extra 20.5 per cent compared to last year – meaning an extra £85 if buying £500 – and an extra 71.8 per cent compared to March 2020 – meaning an extra £210 if buying £500.
Close behind was Mauritius, with £111 more per £500 pre-pandemic, followed by the Thai Baht, getting 21 per cent more (working out to £88).
Jamaica, Kenta, Barbados, Poland and Denmark all made the top 10, with the Euro also making the cut, with nearly an extra £50 per £500 of travel money when compared to March 2020.
The one to avoid is Sweden, with Brits getting £10 less than compared to pre-pandemic.
Commenting on the study, the Post Office explained: " A year-on-year rise in the value of sterling helps to explain the upturn in sales of some currencies.
"The Post Office Exchange Rate Monitor shows that holidaymakers will get almost 14 per cent more cash for their pounds in Mauritius and over 13 per cent more in Thailand at a time when these long-haul favourites are just opening up to UK visitors again.
"The biggest year-on-year sterling gain of 20.5 per cent has been against the Turkish lira.
"Sales of the currency surged by 112 per cent after Turkey was taken off the government red list."
The latest study also looked at the cheapest long haul destinations when it came to buying food and drink such as coffee, beer, cans of Coke, bottles of water and a three-course meal for two.
Jamaica took the top spot costing just £52.82 on average, compared to New York at £88.22 and Barbados at £95.69.
Commenting on holiday costs in long haul destinations now open to British visitors, Nick Boden added: “The strength of sterling is a real bonus but it is also important to consider the cost of living in individual countries.
"When you combine the two, Jamaica and Mauritius look like winter sun winners according to our barometer of resort costs.
"Prices for meals and drinks are 79 per cent higher in Barbados than in Jamaica.
"Similarly, when you compare costs in the most popular US destinations, visitors to Orlando in Florida will pay around a third less than in New York.”
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