We’re mega, ultra, big fans of making global life affordable (Wise plug wassup) so we partnered with Nicky Kelvin, travel expert from The Points Guy UK. Why, you ask? Oh I’ll tell you. Because they’re all about maximising your travel and getting the most out of your money when you’re jet setting all over the world. They’re on a mission to help you save money on air travel, hotels and more.

74% of Brits still want to get a holiday in the diary this year but with prices rising, value’s never been more important. So we’re here to help you make genius travel choices by saying goodbye to more traditional destinations and giving some new ones a big old smooch.

We’ve taken things like flight, hotel and the cost of meals and drinks into account.

LET’S DO THIS.

Take your money further

When I say “traditional destinations” there is no shade being thrown. But UK holiday makers and shakers tend to go for Spain, Greece, France and Italy. Well, no more. Nicky Kelvin is throwing Albania, Bosnia and Slovenia into the mix for this summer's bookings.

Of the 74% of Brits wanting to go away this year, 50% of them (what a number, am I right?) want to make cheaper choices. And fun fact: 41% of people only really take flight costs into consideration and bypass what the day to day costs will be. Even more fun fact: only 18% of people take exchange rates into consideration. Tut tut tut.

Hear me out:

A flight to Albania is typically 45% more than a flight to Spain, but when you touch down, Albania is 87% cheaper. A meal out is 65% less and more importantly beer is 35% less.

Because people of the UK clearly have their priorities in order, 42% of us say that food is our biggest priority when away. I’ve never been so proud to live here. So let’s trade French croissants for Albanian byrek.

"A good deal on flights is often the difference between booking a holiday and not - but flights are just one part of your holiday spend."

Here are the numbers:

We’re lucky enough to have many a wonderful destination within a few hours away from the UK, and cities like Belgrade and Sofia are often overlooked despite their fabulous weather, crazy interesting history, beautiful scenery and delicious food.

Fancy Portugal? Pick Porto over Lisbon. Not only will it be kinder to your wallet, the mediaeval buildings, seafood and sun will have you going “omg what a find.”

Have we inspired you to stretch your money further and get Wise about your holidays? Fabulous.

Methodology

• Data based on cost-of-living, and costs of beers and meals statistics collected from Numbeo.com in March 2023
• Hotel and flights data were collated from information available on Kayak.com in March 2023, all prices given are average prices for August
• Polling conducted by Censuswide, 1000 Brits asked about their travel plans for 2023, conducted in February 2023