Cheap and cheerful destinations

2012 has dawned with a slew of gloomy headlines. Economic woes and higher taxes on travel threaten but will not kill the Great British love of a sun holiday. Cheapflights’ recent research shows that 83 per cent of us will cut back in other areas to protect that fortnight on a foreign beach.

With this in mind, we’ve looked at where’s cheap and cheerful, a guide to the destinations where visitors are most likely to enjoy a good value, sunny and safe holiday.

The rules of engagement: Cheapflights took the 100 most popular destinations from December and ranked them on several factors – the average cost of return flights, the weather in January and February, recent currency performance, costs on the ground and third-party rankings on safety for visitors. Our Cheap and Cheerful index is the top 25 destinations based on that analysis.

Top of our list is Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, an affordable destination boosted by new, direct flights from Vietnam Airlines (departing from Gatwick). Marrakech in Morocco benefited from being one of the countries that escaped the upheaval during the Arab Spring. Havana, Cuba, rounds out the top three as new hotels and resorts offer more choice for sun-starved Brits and its position as a Band C country (as far as Air Passenger Duty goes) makes it slightly more affordable (an APD rate of £81 rather than £92) than many other long-haul holiday destinations. Looking at the rest of the top ten, it’s India’s* year proving the subcontinent’s legendary affordability.

Sri Lanka (10) regularly steals the top spot in the Post Office Travel Money’s reports for good value, usually vying with Thailand (9). Here, Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, edged ahead of the tear-drop shaped island off the coast of India. The floods in Bangkok last autumn affected visitor numbers, but when the waters receded, deep discounts on flights and accommodation helped numbers to rebound.

Bangladesh (11) is a family-and-friends destination for Brits, but is also favoured by gappers and independent travellers keen to explore this beautiful and unspoilt country. Uganda (12) and Tanzania (14) are also on the radar for gappers and independent explorers. Abu Dhabi (13), benefiting from extra Etihad flights from the UK, and Hong Kong (15), the endlessly fascinating, fast-paced city, inform the middle part of our table, before we head back to the Eurozone with Amsterdam,Alicante, Frankfurt and Lanzarote, rounding out the top 20.

Our final five destinations are an eclectic bunch spanning the bucket-and-spade holiday favourites in the Canary Islands, long-haul hub Kuala Lumpur and popular African destinations South Africa and Ghana.

* Indian destinations in this table are: Mumbai, Delhi, Goa, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Cochin, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, Thiruvananthapuram and Amritsar.