18 August 2015: Sheffield offers the best value UK city break over the August bank holiday weekend, according to TripIndex UK Cities, an annual TripAdvisor cost comparison study.

TripIndex UK Cities compares the cost of a three-night break over the August bank holiday weekend in the 20 most popular UK cities[i], taking into account typical costs for two people. These include; a four-star hotel for three nights, a visit to four highly rated attractions, lunch each day, a taxi to and from dinner each day, plus the cost of dinner itself[ii].

The study found that a three night (four day) trip for two in Sheffield will only set you back an average of £614, less than half the price of a break in the UK’s most expensive destination which will come as no surprise, is London. An average weekend break in the capital comes in at an eye-watering average of £1,331 – that’s almost £380 per day.

Stark North/South divide – North still best for a bargain

The results of the 2015 TripIndex UK Cities report reveals a clear north / south divide when comparing overall costs. Sheffield, Liverpool, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Leeds, Chester and Glasgow all feature in the top ten best value cities, finishing first, second, third, sixth, seventh and eighth respectively. By contrast, six of the ten most expensive cities are situated in the South of England – London, Cambridge, Bath, Brighton, Bristol and Oxford.

However, when it comes down to the cost of individual items, there are some instances where the south triumphs over the north for value. For example, visiting an attraction in Oxford is cheaper than any other UK city – the four best rated attractions in Oxford on TripAdvisor are all free of charge. And, while London is the most expensive city overall, it’s actually the cheapest destination for lunch at £18 for two.

Eating out – a pricey lunch doesn’t always equal a pricey dinner

The results of the TripIndex UK Cities report show that it’s not always possible to judge the cost of dinner based on the price of lunch, and vice versa – Chester and London are both examples of this.

Interestingly, while London is the best value destination for a spot of lunch at £18, the capital is the most expensive for dinner, coming in at £71 for two. The opposite is true for Chester – the Cheshire city is revealed as third best value destination for dinner at £55 but takes the title of priciest destination for lunch coming in at £25 for two.

Price of sleeping at a premium in Scottish capital

When it comes to hotel prices across the 20 cities, Edinburgh has the most expensive average rate for a four-star hotel room, coming in at £232. For the price of one night in a hotel in Edinburgh, travellers can have almost three nights in a Sheffield hotel. However, while the price of a hotel room in Edinburgh during the month of August is far beyond that of any of the other 19 cities, this is largely due to hotels in the Scottish capital increasing their prices for the annual Edinburgh Festival which comes to a close over the bank holiday weekend.

Interestingly, it’s not London which takes the title of second most expensive city to stay overnight. This year’s results show it is in fact Cambridge, with an average hotel rate of £199. London comes in third place at £181 per night.

“For travellers planning a UK break over the upcoming bank holiday weekend, heading north will generally offer the best value for a three-night break. However, as the TripIndex UK Cities report shows, this is not always the case so travellers should always try to plan ahead. Researching dinner options ahead of time, checking advance ticket deals for local attractions, and comparing hotel prices using the PriceFinder tool on TripAdvisor are all great ways to bag and book a great deal in the UK,” 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 UK Cities destinations, TripAdvisor has identified highly-rated value hotels with availability to book on TripAdvisor over the August bank holiday weekend[iii].

Top five most expensive TripIndex UK Cities 2015 destinations:

1.    London – Average nightly bank holiday weekend hotel rate: £180.98

Recommended value hotel available to book on TripAdvisor: The Hide London – Average nightly bank holiday weekend rate: £86.55

2.    Edinburgh – Average nightly bank holiday weekend hotel rate: £231.50

Recommended value hotel available to book on TripAdvisor: Hotel Ceilidh-Donia – Average nightly bank holiday weekend rate: £118.59

3.    Cambridge – Average nightly bank holiday weekend hotel rate: £199.12

Recommended value hotel available to book on TripAdvisor: Regent Hotel – Average nightly bank holiday weekend rate: £141.06

4.    Bath – Average nightly bank holiday weekend hotel rate: £157.06

Recommended value hotel available to book on TripAdvisor: Royal Hotel – Average nightly bank holiday weekend rate: £117.27

5.    Brighton – Average nightly bank holiday weekend hotel rate: £166.80

Recommended value hotel available to book on TripAdvisor: The Granville Hotel – Average nightly bank holiday weekend rate: £107.32

Top five cheapest TripIndex UK Cities 2015 destinations:

1.    Sheffield – Average nightly bank holiday weekend hotel rate: £82.08

Recommended value hotel available to book on TripAdvisor: Whitley Hall Hotel – Average nightly bank holiday weekend rate: £74.49

2.    Liverpool – Average nightly bank holiday weekend hotel rate: £113.30

Recommended value hotel available to book on TripAdvisor: Staybridge Suites – Average nightly bank holiday weekend rate: £107.71

3.    Newcastle Upon Tyne – Average nightly bank holiday weekend hotel rate: £107.44

Recommended value hotel available to book on TripAdvisor: Staybridge Suites Newcastle – Average nightly bank holiday weekend rate: £95.60

4.    Birmingham – Average nightly bank holiday weekend hotel rate: £89.64

Recommended value hotel available to book on TripAdvisor: Birmingham City Centre Hotel – Average nightly bank holiday weekend rate: £67.98

5.    Cardiff – Average nightly bank holiday weekend hotel rate: £105.39

Recommended value hotel available to book on TripAdvisor: Lincoln House Private Hotel – Average nightly bank holiday weekend rate: £78.99

-Ends-

For more information, please contact Hayley Coleman / 020 3194 2150020 3194 2150 / hcoleman@tripadvisor.com

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	Hotel	Lunch	Taxi	Dinner	Attraction	TOTAL for weekend	TOTAL per day
1	Sheffield	£82.08	£18.62	£12.30	£49.97	£11.00	£613.80	£173.97
2	Liverpool	£113.30	£22.06	£9.90	£59.96	£11.00	£751.59	£216.22
3	Newcastle Upon Tyne	£107.44	£22.48	£8.20	£66.40	£12.00	£758.63	£216.52
4	Birmingham	£89.64	£20.30	£11.96	£62.16	£36.40	£792.20	£220.46
5	Cardiff	£105.39	£21.16	£11.30	£65.85	£21.00	£793.42	£224.70
6	Leeds	£100.11	£22.44	£9.32	£67.90	£30.00	£818.96	£229.77
7	Chester	£125.33	£25.40	£10.60	£55.19	£22.00	£828.76	£238.52
8	Glasgow	£120.01	£21.10	£11.74	£67.61	£19.50	£839.83	£239.96
9	Nottingham	£105.38	£20.38	£11.20	£54.24	£49.90	£859.00	£241.10
10	Oxford	£172.19	£23.56	£12.60	£62.33	£0.00	£910.54	£270.68

Most expensive:

Rank	Destination	Hotel	Lunch	Taxi	Dinner	Attraction	TOTAL for weekend	TOTAL per day
1	London	£180.98	£17.58	£23.00	£71.38	£85.00	£1,330.78	£377.94
2	Edinburgh	£231.50	£22.68	£12.15	£66.75	£41.90	£1,268.42	£374.98
3	Cambridge	£199.12	£25.34	£14.50	£67.75	£30.00	£1,147.69	£336.70
4	Bath	£157.06	£22.10	£13.80	£64.79	£58.00	£1,105.93	£315.75
5	Brighton	£166.80	£23.86	£14.60	£62.45	£47.00	£1,092.04	£314.71
6	Manchester	£128.56	£17.90	£12.94	£66.80	£68.00	£1,048.23	£294.20
7	Belfast	£112.98	£19.92	£11.00	£66.29	£62.00	£975.77	£272.19
8	Bristol	£107.67	£23.18	£21.04	£59.20	£53.20	£949.48	£264.29
9	Aberdeen	£111.65	£20.66	£10.48	£66.84	£51.30	£932.06	£260.93
10	York	£152.83	£21.78	£13.46	£62.29	£18.18	£921.33	£268.54

Methodology

The TripIndex Cities 2015 destination list is comprised of the 20 most searched for UK cities by TripAdvisor users over the past 12 months.

TripIndex Cities prices out the daily cost for the following items in each destination, multiplied by four to represent the cost of a four-day city break for two people (hotel prices are multiplied by three to demonstrate three nights). Within each establishment selected for 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 (burger and chips)

·          Dinner:             Starter, main meal and bottle of wine to share (salad, steak and chips)

·          Taxi:                 Return taxi journey of two miles each way

·          Attraction:       Cost of visiting an attraction each day

·          Hotel:               Accommodation in a 4-4.5 star hotel

Lunch for two: Prices specify the average cost of a burger and chips with a cola. Five restaurants with mid-range prices were contacted via telephone and/or email in each city.

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

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 city.

Attractions for two: Prices specify the total cost for two people visiting the four best rated attractions on TripAdvisor (two museums and two sights & landmarks) in each destination (representing visiting one attraction per day).

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 28^th August – 31^st August 2015, aggregated from booking partners, including online travel agencies and direct hotel suppliers.

Research was conducted by TripAdvisor and prices were collected through telephone and web search.  Prices were collected between 8 July 2015 and 31 July 2015.

[i] Based on the 20 most searched for UK cities by TripAdvisor users over the past 12 months.

[ii] Please see methodology for more details.

[iii] Recommended highly rated value hotels in the five best value destinations have a minimum of 15 reviews, currently have availability between 28 August, 2015 and 31 August, 2015 and are less than or equal to the average nightly rate for each destination. Hotel pricing is based on TripAdvisor data for 28 August, 2015 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 28 August and 31 August, 2015 and are at least 25% less per night than the average nightly rate for each destination. Hotel pricing is based on TripAdvisor data for 28 August, 2015 through 31 August, 2015, aggregated from booking partners, including online travel agencies and direct hotel suppliers.