Hanoi is the best value destination in the world for a city break, according to TripIndex Cities, an annual TripAdvisor cost comparison study.

TripIndex Cities compares the cost of a three-night break during the summer travel months of June to August in 40 key tourist cities around the world, taking into account typical costs for two people. These include; a four-star hotel for three nights, a visit to three attractions, lunch each day, a taxi to and from dinner each day, plus the cost of dinner itself.[i]

It found that a three night trip for two in Hanoi will only set you back an average of £474, excluding flights, nearly three times less than the price of a break in the world’s most expensive destination, Cancun, Mexico, which comes in at an average of £1,306.

The study was conducted ahead of the summer travel period by independent research firm, Ipsos.

Head to South-East Asia for a bargain

When looking at the on-the-ground cost of a three-night city break, the 2015 TripIndex Cities report shows that travellers can find the best value in South East Asia, as four of the top ten cheapest destinations are located here; Hanoi, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Manila take first, fourth, seventh and ninth places respectively.

However, when factoring in the cost of flights, short haul destinations will often balance out the total costs so Brits should also consider visiting the European destinations featured in the best value list; Warsaw, Lisbon and Berlin, which place second, sixth and tenth respectively.

London taxis second most expensive in world

The 2015 TripIndex Cities report places the UK capital fourth in the most expensive destinations league table after Cancun, Zurich and New York City. The total cost of a three-night break in London comes out at £1,215.

The most notable expense in London is the cost of a taxi. At £23 for a two-mile round trip, London is revealed as the second most expensive destination in the world to grab a cab, almost twenty times more expensive than in Punta Cana where a two-mile return taxi journey costs just £1.20. Zurich has the highest taxis costs at £30 for a two-mile round trip.

“TripIndex Cities helps travellers to see where their pound goes the furthest, but even in the most expensive cities travellers can still find a great deal by using TripAdvisor’s price comparison tool to unearth and book a great deal on flights and hotels,” commented TripAdvisor spokesperson, James Kay.

Recommended value hotels and popular attractions in the five most expensive and best value destinations:

For travellers planning a trip to one of the five most expensive or five best value TripIndex Cities destinations, TripAdvisor has identified highly-rated value hotels with availability to book on TripAdvisor this summer, as well as top-rated attractions in each destination[ii].

Top five most expensive TripIndex Cities 2015 destinations:

1.    Cancun, Mexico – Average nightly summer hotel rate: £241

Recommended value hotel available to book on TripAdvisor: The Westin Lagunamar Ocean Resort Villas & Spa – Average nightly summer rate: £191

Three top-rated tours and activities: Can Cook in Cancun, Alma’s LDS Tours and Cancun Scuba Center

2.    Zurich, Switzerland – Average nightly summer hotel rate: £194

Recommended value hotel available to book on TripAdvisor: 25hours Hotel Zurich West – Average nightly summer rate: £133

Three top-rated tours and activities: Free Walk Zurich, Italian Food Tour Zurich and Museum of Art (Kunsthaus Zurich)

3.    New York City, USA – Average nightly summer hotel rate: £214

Recommended value hotel available to book on TripAdvisor: The Leon Hotel – Average nightly summer rate: £157

Three top-rated tours and activities: CityRover Walks NY, Streetwise New York Tours, Famous Fat Dave’s Food Tours

4.    London, UK – Average nightly summer hotel rate: £202

Recommended value hotel available to book on TripAdvisor: The Hide London – Average nightly summer rate: £104

Three top-rated tours and activities: Tally Ho! Cycle Tours, Shoreditch Street Art Tours and Mind the Gap Tours

5.    Punta Cana, Caribbean – Average nightly summer hotel rate: £211

Recommended value hotel available to book on TripAdvisor: Iberostar Punta Cana – Average nightly summer rate: £140

Three top-rated tours and activities: Outback Adventures – Outback Safari, Macao Surf Camp and HorsePlay Punta Cana

Top five best value TripIndex Cities 2015 destinations:

1.    Hanoi, Vietnam – Average nightly summer hotel rate: £56

Recommended value hotel available to book on TripAdvisor: Hanoi La Siesta Hotel & Spa – Average nightly summer rate: £49

Three top-rated tours and activities: Hanoi Street Food Tour, Hanoi Free Tour Guides – Private Tours, Vietnam Awesome Travel – Day Tours

2.    Warsaw, Poland – Average nightly summer hotel rate: £57

Recommended value hotel available to book on TripAdvisor: Boss Hotel – Average nightly summer rate: £44

Three top-rated tours and activities: Room Escape Warszawa, Orange Umbrella Free Tours, Warsaw Behind the Scenes

3.    Sharm el Sheikh – Average nightly summer hotel rate: £66

Recommended value hotel available to book on TripAdvisor: Oonas Dive Club Hotel – Average nightly summer rate: £50

Three top-rated tours and activities: Nabq Tours & Excursions, Kite Junkies, Sheikh Coast Diving Center

4.    Bangkok, Thailand – Average nightly summer rate: £61

Recommended value hotel available to book on TripAdvisor: Bangkok Loft Inn – Average nightly summer rate: £22

Three top-rated tours and activities: Empire Tailors, Chef LeeZ Thai Cooking Class in Bangkok and BKK Tours

5.    Mumbai, India – Average nightly summer rate: £78

Recommended value hotel available to book on TripAdvisor: Hotel Regal Enclave – Average nightly summer rate: £65

Three top-rated tours and activities: Grand Mumbai Tours – Day Tours, Bravo Bombay and Be The Local Tours and Travel

-Ends-

For more information, please contact James Kay / 020 3194 2237 / jkay@tripadvisor.com

Full list of destinations included in the study is available upon request.

Notes to editors:

TripIndex at a glance

From the least expensive to the most expensive (green and orange indicate least and most expensive destinations for each item respectively):

Cheapest:

Rank	Destination	Lunch & soft drinks for two (per day)	Dinner & bottle of wine for two (per day)	Taxi (2 mile round trip) (per day)	Tours & Activities for two (per day)	Hotel room rate(per night)	Total (three days)
1	Hanoi, Vietnam	£10.33	£29.34	£2.65	£59.13	£56.41	£473.48
2	Warsaw, Poland	£12.75	£46.57	£12.94	£30.59	£56.54	£478.17
3	Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt	£9.35	£33.67	£3.75	£64.25	£65.83	£530.55
4	Bangkok, Thailand	£10.63	£38.53	£6.72	£60.13	£61.29	£531.90
5	Mumbai, India	£13.50	£40.36	£3.21	£47.23	£78.15	£547.35
6	Lisbon, Portugal	£23.01	£35.69	£16.38	£36.52	£83.89	£586.47
7	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	£15.25	£44.89	£4.22	£72.86	£59.92	£591.42
8	Marrakech, Morocco	£30.45	£51.03	£2.59	£47.40	£67.02	£595.47
9	Manila, Philippines	£9.62	£19.81	£7.47	£71.88	£90.67	£598.35
10	Berlin, Germany	£14.89	£44.15	£16.02	£49.37	£76.25	£602.04

Most expensive:

Rank	Destination	Lunch & soft drinks for two (per day)	Dinner & bottle of wine for two (per day)	Taxi (2 mile round trip) (per day)	Tours & Activities for two (per day)	Hotel room rate(per night)	Total (three days)
1	Cancun, Mexico	£19.67	£57.64	£8.69	£107.98	£241.33	£1,305.93
2	Zurich, Switzerland	£39.90	£97.92	£29.85	£57.62	£194.19	£1,258.44
3	New York, USA	£27.57	£82.59	£16.80	£70.56	£214.09	£1,234.83
4	London, UK	£31.16	£70.60	£22.58	£78.72	£201.79	£1,214.55
5	Punta Cana, Caribbean	£18.38	£55.13	£1.20	£103.01	£211.45	£1,167.51
6	Paris, France	£33.95	£64.56	£10.91	£64.05	£174.88	£1,045.05
7	Tokyo, Japan	£28.48	£56.50	£17.95	£82.23	£157.89	£1,029.15
8	Toronto, Canada	£19.92	£61.25	£15.51	£53.25	£183.15	£999.24
9	Dubai, UAE	£34.51	£107.93	£6.59	£92.67	£86.83	£985.59
10	Singapore, Singapore	£39.84	£95.69	£5.63	£50.67	£133.24	£975.21

Methodology

The TripIndex Cities 2015 destination list is comprised of 40 key cities within the top 40 most searched for countries by global TripAdvisor users over the past 12 months.

TripIndex Cities prices out the daily cost for the following items in each destination, multiplied by three to represent the cost of a three-day city break for two people. Within each establishment selected to the study and where the item was available, the prices of the following were identified by telephoning the establishment and asking for prices of:

·          Lunch:             Meal and soft drink

·          Dinner:             Starter, main meal and bottle of wine to share

·          Taxi:                 Return taxi journey of two miles each way

·          Tour/Activity: Cost of a tour/activity

·          Hotel:               Accommodation in a 4-4.5 star hotel

Research was conducted by Ipsos and prices were collected through telephone and web search.  Prices in each market were taken in local currencies between 27 March 2015 and 5 May 2015 and currency conversion rates were taken from xe.com on 10 May 2015.

Lunch for two: Prices specify the average cost of a traditional or common main meal for two people with a soft drink. Four restaurants with mid-range prices were contacted via telephone and/or email in each market.

Dinner for two: Prices specify the average cost of a traditional or common two-course meal (starter and main) for two people with a bottle of house (or cheapest available) white wine. Four restaurants with mid-range prices were contacted via telephone and/or email in each market.

Return taxi journey: Prices specify the approximate cost of two taxi journeys of two miles each (representing an evening’s return transportation).  Data was taken from local authorities and recognised taxi companies in the area. Taxi companies were identified using web search and contacted via telephone in each market.

Tours & Activities for two: Prices specify the average cost of a tour/activity for two people in each destination. The average price was calculated from all bookable tours and activities (excluding multi-day tours) on TripAdvisor via Viator.

Hotel room rates: Room rates specify the average cost of one night’s stay in 4 and 4.5 star hotels in each destination between 15^th June – 31^st August 2015, aggregated from booking partners, including online travel agencies and direct hotel suppliers.

[i] Please see methodology for more details.

[ii] Recommended highly rated value hotels in the five best value destinations have a minimum of 15 reviews, currently have availability between June 15 and August 31, 2015 and are less than or equal to the average nightly rate for each destination. Hotel pricing is based on TripAdvisor data for June 15 through August 31, 2015, aggregated from booking partners, including online travel agencies and direct hotel suppliers.

Recommended highly rated value hotels in the five most expensive destinations have a minimum of 15 reviews, currently have availability between June 15 and August 31, 2015 and are at least £50 per night less than the average nightly rate for each destination. Hotel pricing is based on TripAdvisor data for June 15 through August 31, 2015, aggregated from booking partners, including online travel agencies and direct hotel suppliers.

Recommended attractions are the top-rated attractions in each destination on TripAdvisor with a minimum of 20 reviews.