Holiday Spending Calculator

LONDON, January 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

One of the first things we do when we go on holiday is make a note of the prices. A pint is how much? Less than 50p for a bus ticket? We love nothing more than going off on holiday and discovering that not only can we top up our tan but we also get to brag about the prices of things being extraordinarily cheap. Alternatively if a destination gets a reputation as being really expensive, it can ruin its reputation as one of the world's must-visit destinations.  

Of course the only way we can really know how expensive another city is, is through what other people tell us about it or by visiting the place for ourselves. If at that point we find it to be a little too pricey for our tastes there isn't a whole lot we can do about it.

Happily NatWest have just launched their Holiday Spending Calculator that allows users to compare how expensive some of the world's most popular holiday destinations are. Want to know how much a beer in Buenos Aires is (it's 53p, in case you were wondering) or a meal for two in Marrakech is (£34), you can find it here.

You simply choose an item from a list - ranging from more expensive items like hotels and theatre tickets, to everyday staples like bread, milk and wine - and pick a city to see how much it costs there. You also get a handy summary list of each item, revealing the most expensive place to purchase your essential holiday items, to the cheapest. So, for instance, if theatre is your thing then you might like to choose a destination based on how expensive a night out is. In this particular case New York tops the table (at £198) with Chiang Mai in Thailand coming in at the cheapest at just £9.

Of course none of this is worth much without some context and the Holiday Spending Calculator is there to provide it. You can compare prices in London to each destination, so you can finally find out if the capital really is as costly as you think it is. You might even be pleasantly surprised. Think getting a taxi around London is pretty expensive? The average journey clocks in at £12, but in Berlin it's £15. Although, for movie buffs the German capital is way cheaper, cinema tickets for two cost £22 in London but just £14 in Berlin.

If you are going on holiday soon, or on a tour around some of the world's most popular cities and want to know how hard a visit will hit your bank balance then the Holiday Spending tool will sort you out. It even comes with a shopping basket feature where you can add up all you would potentially plan to purchase on holiday and get a neat total at the end. Happy holiday planning.