Holidaymakers who think twice about trip destinations could be rewarded with savings of up to £450, research suggests.

A survey carried out by Post Office Travel Money revealed that although people perceive countries like Spain and Turkey to be best value, money actually goes a lot further in countries such as Portugal and Bulgaria.

Based on a one-week summer break for two, including the cost of meals and drinks out, Bulgaria was a better deal than Spain, offering this package for £955 compared to a bill of £1,088.

Meanwhile, Croatia emerged as a surprisingly dear destination with a one week holiday likely to cost two people a hefty £1,361.

The same length of stay would cost just £904 in Portugal.

Many of the holidaymakers surveyed wrongly believed that heading to Turkey or Spain from the airport was their best bet, with only 15% in the know about the benefits of vacations in Bulgaria, whose capital Sofia is easily accessible from Stansted or Heathrow.

Andrew Brown, head of Post Office Travel Money said: “We always advise people to take all holiday costs into account when choosing a destination and this research shows why that is so important.

“In tough times, it is hard to stay loyal when there are big savings to be made by swapping to a destination that is over a third cheaper.”

Passengers can once again fly to Iceland from London Stansted after Wow Air and Iceland Express introduced services to Reykjavik – the country’s capital.

Britons who fancy a holiday in the island country – which takes approximately three hours to fly to from the UK – could use one of many bus services to Stansted to ensure they get to the airport on time without having to worry about navigating through traffic.

Stansted’s airline, route and marketing manager, Paul Haynes, said: “We’re delighted Iceland Express has returned to Stansted and welcome Wow Air onto our network.

“Iceland has always been a popular destination and these new services are not only great news for Iceland’s tourist industry but will be a boost for Icelanders looking for convenient connections to London and wider East of England for both business and leisure travel.

“With afternoon and evening departures the services offer flexibility to passengers and we wish both airlines every success with their new Stansted connections.”

For those not in the know, Iceland is situated in the North Atlantic Ocean and is renowned for its geysers, glaciers, whale watching, geothermal Blue Lagoon and erupting volcano Eyjafjallajökull.

The news of the new flight service to Iceland comes after it was revealed by BAA that the popularity of southern European countries such as Spain and Greece as holiday destinations is on the decline.

In May, the number of passengers flying from Heathrow to Greece fell by 11.3% compared to a year ago, while passengers to and from Portugal and Italy fell by 11.4% and 9.2% respectively. A 2.5% decline was recorded in passengers flying to and from Spain for a holiday.

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More pensioners travel more often now than they did when they were younger, a study has shown.

Gatwick Airport revealed the holiday trends of over 70s as it launched its bid to find Britain’s Oldest Traveller.

The study revealed that 55% of respondents have started travelling more than ever before, with having extra time (71%) and money (17%) highlighted as the main reasons.

Gatwick found that while most older travellers opt for a ’staycation’ (86%), 48% like to go Spain, 25% enjoy France and 19% go to Italy.

Researchers quizzed 1,000 people for the survey, which also revealed that 30% of ‘OAT’s’ would like to have special assistance to make navigating airports and planes easier.

In 2011, Gatwick helped 381,000 passengers with reduced mobility, which represented a double-digit growth on the previous year.

Gatwick Airport’s Head of Terminal Operations, Paul Fitch, said: “At Gatwick we provide support and special assistance at every step of an airport journey – from the moment people enter our doors to the moment they leave. From customised transport and dedicated seating right through to specially trained staff, we’re dedicated to making the airport journey easier and more enjoyable for everyone.”

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May is looking to be a great month for booking cheap last-minute holiday deals, agents and operators have confirmed.

Prices for short-haul breaks in May are dropping in the six week run-up to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations and booking now should secure the best bargain.

Although you do run the risk of the holiday selling out, it’s been shown that the ‘grab-and-go’ method will probably work out as the cheapest option. And flights are available from most major UK airports, such as Heathrow and Luton.

Mark Atwell, managing director at Dealchecker, said: “In this market, booking at short notice will usually secure the best deal.

“To be exact – you’ll get the cheapest price on a package holiday if you can hold off booking until one month before.”

For example, if you’ve booked a seven-night break to Spain in May around five months ago it would cost on average £300, whereas if you book it now, it’s available for £200.

This actually comes as a surprise with many not expecting the bigger companies to drop their prices.

Maria Whiteman, chief executive at Directline Holidays, said: “I didn’t expect short-haul prices to drop in May because most operators – especially Thomas Cook – dramatically slashed capacity in expectation of a tough year.

“In fact, there are some amazing prices in May, some made possible by bedbanks working with local carriers offering cheap flights.”

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Despite the country’s purse strings remaining tight, UK holidaymakers are planning on spending a record amount on their trips abroad this year.

The average tourist will spend £3,890 on overseas breaks in 2012, with Spain being the the most popular destination, taking in £1.8 billion from UK holidaymakers.

The country, which includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea and the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, is a popular choice for Britons due to its sandy beaches, top temperatures andshort flight times from airports such as Heathrow and Stansted.

The Visa Europe Travel Report added that other top spots for breaks for Britons were France, the USA, Italy and Australia – however a new trend is also arising.

Remote destinations are becoming increasingly popular, according to the report, with more people eager to visit St Helena, in the South Pacific Ocean, Comoros in the Indian Ocean and Guinea in West Africa. These destinations have shown the biggest year on year increase in expenditure.

Despite the increasingly tough economic climate, British holidaymakers still spent a record £12.4 billion on their visits overseas, which was a 2% rise from the previous year.

This all-time high amount of spending was due to 137 million holiday transactions made by Britons last year, ranging from their initial trip booking, eating and drinking out when on holiday to airport transfers.

A new airline connecting Iceland’s main airport at Keflavik with 12 destinations in the UK, Germany, France, Denmark, Poland, Spain and Switzerland is to be launched in June.

WOW Air has already unveiled its aircraft and is currently hiring cabin crew, for which it said it received a large number of applications.

The Icelandic airline will operate two Airbus A320s, which seat up to 168 passengers and are to fly from Stansted Airport to Keflavik three times a week. Prices for a one-way ticket start from £68 and include 20kg of baggage allowance per passenger.

Gudmundur Arnar, chief marketing officer at WOW Air, said the airline had already seen a high demand for the service from London.

He said: “We are a new and fresh business and will focus on passenger comfort. We believe customers will feel it is a fun experience travelling with us, while also enjoying low fares to one of the world’s most fascinating destinations.”

Iceland has become increasingly popular among Britons, with its tourism industry noting a 12% rise in UK visitor numbers last year. The figure surged by 53.7% in January as UK tourists rushed to the remote island to witness the best Northern Lights display in five decades.

WOW Air will also fly to Copenhagen, Warsaw, Krakow, Berlin, Stuttgart, Cologne, Zurich, Basel, Paris, Lyon and Alicante.

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Falling car hire and villa rental prices across Europe could convince more people to opt for self-catering holidays, a survey has suggested.

It is thought that because it can now cost up to 40% less to rent a car in some European destinations than it did two years ago, an increasing number of people will opt for self-catering holidays rather than expensive hotel breaks.

A study by TravelSupermarket revealed that car hire rates across popular European holiday destinations such as Malaga, Alicante, Murcia, Palma, Tenerife and Faro have fallen considerably since 2010, with bargains to be had this Easter, Whit week and in August.

Holidaymakers can save up to 26% on car hire during Whit week across eight European destinations, while prices have fallen by 34% in Spain since 2010. In Malaga, for example, it costs £63.89 to rent a small car for eight days, which equates to less than £8 per day.

Self-catering holidays in Greece could become considerably cheaper as villa rental prices could fall by as much as 20%.

Holidaymakers can save even more money by leaving the car at home prior to departure and taking a bus to the airport, before hiring a car when they get to their destination.

Experts say that prices have fallen considerably because people are booking their holidays later than usual to get the best deals and because of economic uncertainty in eurozone countries such as Spain, Portugal and Italy.

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People who want to escape the miserable UK winter weather without breaking the bank might want to consider holidays to Spain or Sri Lanka, Post Office Travel Money suggests.

It discovered that holiday spending money went further in these countries, with a basket of holiday items costing less than £28 in Sri Lanka and £38 in Costa del Sol. The same items cost as much as £113 in Barbados and £115.69 in Brisbane.

Holidaymakers could make further savings by taking the bus to the airport, which would ensure that they do not have to fork out for for long-stay parking for the duration of their trip.

Spain and Sri Lanka were not the only destinations where a holidaymaker’s money went that little bit further. It cost just £39.57 to buy the eight items in Prague, while they would set a holidaymaker back £39.65 in Bulgaria, £44.03 in Cancun, Mexico, and £45.57 in Budapest.

At the other end of the spectrum, the items would cost £113.03 in Singapore, £108.29 in Auckland and £108.07 in Costa Rica.

Post Office Travel Money went on to reveal that these items were 40% cheaper on the Costa del Sol than they had been five years ago, which is partially to do with the fact that sterling has strengthened against many major currencies over the last 12 months.

However, Cyprus was the only eurozone destination where prices have fallen despite the fact that the pound has strengthened against the euro of late. Turkey, meanwhile, is now 60% more expensive than Spain despite traditionally being one of the cheapest holiday destinations in Europe.

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Beleaguered eurozone countries with struggling economies are likely to benefit from the high numbers of British tourists this year, a survey has shown.

Flights are likely to embark from Stansted, Luton and Heathrow airports for destinations such as Spain, where 11% of Britons will spend their holidays this year, and Italy and Portugal, to where 3% and 2% of British tourists will travel respectively.

However, the research from TravelSupermarket shows that there has not been a sharp rise in the number of visitors from the UK to North African countries following the Arab Spring in 2011. And this trend looks set to continue throughout this year, as most Britons remain reluctant to take a holiday to the potentially volatile region.

Of the 5,000 British adults questioned in the poll, just 2% went to Egypt in 2011. This drops to just 1% when respondents were asked whether they would be going there in 2012. Holidays to places like Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey taken by Britons are also set to decrease over the next 12 months.

Other destinations around the world are likely to benefit from the drop off of UK visitors to North Africa, such as Sri Lanka, Mexico, Malaysia and Argentina. Meanwhile, 30% of Britons are planning a domestic holiday this year, compared with 40% who holidayed at home in 2011.

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Spain is the most popular family-friendly holiday destination among Britons, according to a survey compiled by travel organisation Abta.

Britons aged between 35 and 44 named Spain as their favourite family-friendly holiday destination, and with the availability of cheap flights from UK airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton, it is not hard to see why.

The UK, which finished in second place, was particularly popular with tourists aged over 55, while America took bronze, thanks largely to its theme parks and hospitality.

France and Greece rounded off the top five, finishing fourth and fifth respectively.

The results of the survey were revealed at the annual Abta convention in Palma, Majorca, in Spain – to the great delight of the locals no doubt.

Mark Tanzer, Abta chief executive, said: “For many years Spain has been our favourite overseas holiday spot. One of the main reasons for this has been the amazing welcome and facilities that Spain and its people offer to families.”

Ignacio Vasallo, Spanish Tourist Office director, added: “We are delighted to see that even in tough times families continue to see Spain as their preferred holiday destination.”

Italy, meanwhile, missed out on a place in the top five and had to settle for sixth place, while Turkey was seventh, pipping neighbours Cyprus in eighth, while Portugal and Australia rounded off the top 10.

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