The Cost of Cheap Winter Sun Holiday Bargains

Over the past few years the winter sun holiday getaway has been gaining in traction on the back of Christmas anti climax. The Florida, “shop till you drop” has until recently been the ultimate pick me up with bargain winter vacations on offer, however with a USA holiday now not the bargain destination it once was, what ARE your options for spot of December sunshine?

Let’s face it in the UK it seems there is doom and gloom in every direction, the weather, the media, and people on the street and with Christmas just around the corner, it can all get a bit to much and the need to escape arises!

This time last year we couldn’t have predicted such a bleak outlook to the end of 2008. Shopping whether abroad or at home forms a major part of the attraction for Brits, with many seeking out destinations offering maximum spending power.

According to recent report on the BBC, “the pounds steep falls have led some currency experts to speculate that it could fall below the $1.50 level”, the land of plenty just offer enough bang for the buck any more. Not being able to afford to stay where they like, dine out where they like and fill their suitcases with cut price jeans is a holiday turn off. So if a spot of State-side shopping is out of the question, just where can you go for some family fun and escapism on the cheap with a bit of affordable shopping thrown in for good measure?

So, we’ve neglected to include winter ski holidays in this instance as let’s face it at the rate we’re going it might be worth staying at home for that! So these are the contenders for bargain winter sun holiday hotspots 2008 for a typical family of four travelling for a weeks holiday on the 6th of January with flights, economy car hire and a self-catered 2 bedroom apartment.

Sunny Spain - £512
£216  Flights
£46    Car Hire
£250  Holiday Apartment Rental

Well, it might seem a bit passé to some, but I confess (like a fair number of UK travellers) have a soft spot for good old Spain. You can fly a family of four on the 6th January from London to Malaga with Monarch and return a week later for the whopping grand total of just £216. If you compare it with the cost of flights on the same dates to Florida of £1670, you understand why at half the price all in, Spain is still such a big hit with holiday makers.

Fun Florida - £2073
£1670  Flights
£103    Car Hire
£300    Holiday Apartment Rental

Florida is the priciest option but with a poor pounds to dollar exchange rate and don’t forget if your heading to Florida and want to include a trip to Disney the expenses just keep on racking up. Florida rentals are relatively cheap but unless you’re planning on familiarising yourself thoroughly with your villa this may come as little solace.

Designer Dubai - £2289
£1220  Flights
£74    Car Hire
£995  Holiday Apartment Rental

If Marbella doesn’t quite cut it for you in the shopping stakes and you fancy a spot of designer indulgence, Dubai is the place to head for. With in excess of 50 notable shopping malls, it doesn’t have the Dubai Shopping Festival for no reason! Dubai is for serious shoppers seeking luxury brands and whilst Primark aficionados might be less at home, as far as Dior and Louis lovers are concerned, there are big savings to be had! It is also commonplace to ask for “the best price” so there is bargaining power to be had when spending and with American style customer service to book rest assured you’ll be well looked after. You may not travelling as far as the USA but it is a mid-haul holiday so flight prices whilst they don’t beat Spain , are nearly £400 cheapper than those flights to Florida. Apartments rentals in Dubai don’t come cheap at nearly 4 times the price you’d pay in Spain.

Exotic Egypt - £1386
£968  Flights
£136    Car Hire
£282  Holiday Apartment Rental

Egypt offers super cheap snorkelling and scuba diving so watersports are the main attraction given big brand shopping is fairly thin on the ground as are the theme parks but haggling for gold jewellery, Egyptian carpets, lamps and ornaments and you could find yourself some real shopping bargains not in the stores back home! Flights to Hurghada are also not cheap even with Easyjet but once you’re on the ground spending will be at a minimum with eating out a relatively cheap experience.

“Just because the pound to dollar exchange rate isn’t in our favour at the moment, doesn’t mean that we should give up on our winter breaks” says online property expert, Chintan Mahida. “Instead it’s a great opportunity to come out of our comfort zones and explore some travel alternatives and save a few pennies in the process.” Ryanair this year added new winter routes to Ibiza, Fuerteventura, Tenerife, Agadir (Morocco) and as you can see they don’t even have to be that different as there will always be Spain to fall back on!