Do you mind things being more expensive than at home?

[wapl]

When I was growing up, pretty much anywhere you would go overseas, was cheaper than the cost of living in the UK. So you would feel good about eating out et cetera.

Now lots of places are very expensive compared to the UK, even compared to London. We were shocked how expensive Majorca had become in certain areas. Other places like the Caribbean are either the same or a lot more expensive than London. We are thinking of going somewhere for a week where everything will cost at least twice UK prices.

How do you feel about things costing more on holiday than in the UK?

Never really given it much thought. If I want to go somewhere, it costs what it costs. If it's cheaper, happy days, more expensive, we're on holiday, don't care and will have budgeted accordingly.
I've been to Barbados several times. First few times it cost similar to being at home, I believe it's a bit more expensive now but it wouldn't put me off going back.

I don’t mind if I am aware and can budget for it .I do hate being ripped off though so I shop around. It makes me think home prices are not too bad 😂

The places you've listed are islands which are always going to be more expensive than the mainland. Mainland Spain is still cheap

Slight variations don‘t trouble me, but I live in the Eurozone so prices in other Eurozone countries will stay pretty stable by comparison with the UK, where the exchange rate will always play a role. The countries I holidayed in which were so expensive that we simply didn’t eat out in restaurants were Norway and Switzerland. We either prepared our own food if we had kitchen facilities, or got street food / takeaways.

I’m glad things were cheaper in my 20s so I could enjoy lots of travel without having a high salary.
i don’t mind now as I earn a lot more and I want people to be paid properly for goods and services.
But I do feel for those that now can’t have the experiences I had.

It is a factor for me. We want to go to Denmark, but are aware it can be pricey when there. We often find half board works out better value and go with that, even though it gives less choice.

We were shocked how expensive Majorca had become in certain areas.

Those are presumably the areas that cater to people from London/Frankfurt/Stockholm, often with yachts. Portals Nous, Port Adriano, Puerto Andratx, and a few places in the centre of Palma. You can often spot them by the extremely un-Spanish "Discretionary service charge of 12.5%" added to your bill. Or Nikki Beach, which has one of the funniest reviews I've ever seen on TripAdvisor.

But you can still get a cafe con leche for €2 in Palma and a 3-course lunch with a drink for under €20 in most towns. The existence of high-end/high-price places doesn't mean that everywhere has become more expensive, it just means that the "more money than sense" demographic has discovered the place.

We used to live in Cyprus.
The cost of things in our nearest village, and in Asia Nepal for example, were extremely different. Basically a tourist tax. But those restaurants etc have May-October to make money for the year.

Then there's places like the water parks... our annual passes cost the sane as 2.5 day tickets there...

It doesn’t stop me doing anything and I pretty quickly recalibrate to the prices after a day or so so that they become normal. But I do love it when you go someone noticeably cheaper and it’s wahaaaaay, let’s go wild!

@samarrange thank you for the link, that is immense 🤣

It makes me feel good! Because it means the costs that apply to us for all of the rest of the year don't feel so expensive. It does mean we're more likely to choose self catering holidays rather than eat out a lot.

I live in central Portugal where you can get a 3 course lunch with wine and coffee for €13 so everywhere seems massively expensive by comparison!

I was shocked when I went to Bilbao and everything was so cheap!

If you go to tourist hotspots ( what ever the nationality of the tourist) things are going to be more expensive.

I travel solo a lot have learned if I go away neighborhood away from the centre things can be much cheaper. Travel in Europe is often much more cheaper and reliable than the UK so it's easy to move round.
There have been some nice surprises with the cost of things. Me and a few friends went to Japan and I was expecting a wipe out of my bank.account and it was quite cheap. Away from the cities it was cheaper than the uk for accommodation and food.
Australia was expensive. So is Norway, Denmark and also parts of Turkey. ( But so worth it)

Thank you for that link, @samarrange.😀

Funny that you mention Bilbao, my brother and sil were there before Easter and they just could not spend their money. Ate and drank their way around together with foodie tours and all sorts.They kept sending me pics of their bills it was so inexpensive!

@aizenI honestly couldn’t believe it.

It's definitely a determining factor for me when choosing a holiday destination. I'm a good cook, so really resent paying restaurant prices here in UK, so never eat out really. I most definitely don't want to go on holiday and pay more than I do in UK. I very nearly booked a family trip to Iceland once as flights were cheap but when I researched food prices nipped that idea swiftly in the bud. The cheapest kebab (the cheapest of takeaway food) was about £15 for a small sandwich. As I have 3 dc spending money wouldn't have stretched very far. OTOH I don't mind paying £££ for cultural experiences.

Interesting.

We’ve been to a couple of countries recently where the price varied hugely depending on how touristy the location was and who it was aimed at.

Croatia - Dubrovnik prices are off the charts, well beyond London. But sleepy village (even one that does have tourists but nowhere near Dubrovnik levels) - actually remarkably cheap.

Vietnam - fancy coffee shop in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh, clientele are rich trendy locals and the odd tourist - London prices. Regular coffee shop - dirt cheap.

In the UK, food and drink costs are high ish but I find entrance costs for attractions are huge compared to many other countries.