Holidaymakers who do not buy their foreign currency before they set off are being warned that they could lose a lot of money by using bureaux de change in hotels abroad.

Hotels in Spain can offer particularly bad value, with some offering as little as 0.82 euros to the pound compared to a typical tourist rate of around 1.20 euros, according to a survey by foreign exchange company Travelex.

Britons who are going on holiday to the Canary Islands, Corfu, Florida or Turkey might also be advised to buy their foreign currency before they board their airport transfers, as the poll highlighted poor exchange rates in hotels at those destinations too.

Buying holiday money on arrival at all-inclusive holiday resorts can be an especially risky business, the research showed, as such hotels can offer some of the worst foreign exchange rates of all.

Elvin Eldic of Travelex acknowledged that all-inclusive holidays appeal to people because they can represent “the carefree option” and can also make it easier for tourists to budget ahead for a holiday.

“However, not considering their travel money before leaving could prove costly and those withdrawing money to fund activities outside their all-inclusive deals are being badly stung by hotel exchange bureaux charging high commission or offering extremely poor exchange rates,” he added.

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.”

New research suggests British holidaymakers will find it cheaper to take a beach trip overseas than to stay in the capital in the first week of the Games.

According to findings from M&S Money, travellers will have an average of 25% more in their pockets by flying abroad from UK hubs such as Stansted and Luton than spending a week in London while the global sporting event takes place.

An overseas beach break to tourist hotspots will cost £1,298 on average between July 28 to August 4, but spending the same amount of time in the capital is more expensive – at a sum of £1,631.

The survey found that Alicante in Spain is the cheapest destination among the 10 analysed at £927, while those who plan a week’s break to Bodrum in Turkey can expect to spend £1,102.

Bridgetown in Barbados, which would cost £1,836, and Daytona Beach in Florida – setting travellers back by £2,034 – were considered the top two areas that exceeded London’s prices during the same timeframe. The pollster said the capital’s figure was that much because of the large amount needed for spending, equating to £596 per week.

Around 2,000 holidaymakers who planned to go abroad in the next few months were also questioned as part of the research. Results showed that more than half (54%) are planning a staycation, with one in four (25%) citing it as a cost-effective break.

Of those planning to holiday in Britain, a fifth (21%) said they will take a trip to the seaside, compared with 28% of people flying overseas for their beach break. The report concluded that domestic and outgoing travellers have £341 spending money in their budget per person per day, or £287 each week.

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The number of passengers travelling through Gatwick Airport has increased for the 15th consecutive month.

The figures for March show an increase of 3.9%, or 93,400, and are very encouraging, especially given that overall air traffic movements were down 3.5% year-on-year mainly as a result of reductions in charter operations.

Gatwick also posted positive results for the year between March 2011 and March 2012, with 6.9% passenger growth to 33.8 million, and chief executive Stewart Wingate is delighted with the airport’s progress.

“This has been a successful year for Gatwick, having achieved passenger growth every single month despite the economic headwinds being faced in our industry,” he said.

“We have been competing vigorously with other London airports including Heathrow, Stansted and Luton and we have been winning new routes to the UK’s key trading partners, providing direct connections between London and high growth economies.

“In this last year, Gatwick has attracted new routes to South Korea, Turkey, Vietnam, Hong Kong, China and the Caribbean.”

Gatwick was able to offset the fall in long-haul capacity by charter airlines with an increase in short-haul services by budget carriers and the introduction of new carriers from Asia.

Korean Air will begin flying to Seoul towards the end of April and Air China is starting a service to Beijing in May. Hong Kong Airlines also launched a daily service to Hong Kong in March and low cost Italian airline Air One now flies between Gatwick and Milan twice a day.

A new flight route is to be launched from London Stansted to Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport, next month.

The new route will launch on May 5, 2012 through Atlasjet, which will be hoping to encourage the already large number of Britons to continue to visit Turkey.

In theory, the new flight route should reduce the demand on the other direct flights which fly from Stansted or other London airports, such as Luton, giving more people a better chance to be able to book flights on the exact dates they want.

Direct flights are already available to passengers travelling to Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen Airport from Stansted through Pegasus Airlines. However; Atatürk Airport is much closer to the centre of Istanbul, making the airport transfer and the general continuation of passengers journeys shorter.

Sabiha Gokcen is approximately 28 miles from the heart of Istanbul, whereas Atatürk is merely 11 miles out, meaning it would take less than 30 minutes to drive into the centre of the city if traffic should allow.

Atlasjet airline company have been running for over 10 years and fly to various destinations around the Middle East, including connecting flights from Turkey to Iran.

Over two million UK nationals visited Turkey in 2010 and despite tightening up its visa regulations the country remains popular with British holiday makers.

Walking holidays are becoming increasingly common both in the UK and around Europe.

The London to Stansted bus can provide an easy route out of the country before the hike begins, dealing with all the necessary airport transfers.

Two locations in Europe are particularly popular for that holiday stroll: Amalfi in Italy and the Lycian Way in Turkey.

Those in Italy tend towards the Amalfi-Sorrento coastline of wild mountains, old fishing towns which tumble to the water’s edge and the spectacular paths with views for miles.

At the Lycian Way on Turkey’s south coast, a popular hike is from Ovacik to Kilidonya lighthouse.

Demand is also high for routes in France where visitors like to sample local food. A seven-night trip around the Luberon, for example, will set you back £840, although that also covers the return journey to Avignon.

One firm popular with those looking for walking tours is On Foot Holidays, which helps plan routes and the little details to ensure customers need only worry about their legs. It promises to take people “into the heart of a real Europe: local hotels, local food and wine, scenery, culture, history”.

Mark Knowles, of Hampshire-based Walks Worldwide, said Albania is also popular this summer, especially the so-called Accursed Mountain trek. He said he has had to add two extra departure dates to satisfy demand.

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If you like the idea of visiting Greece and Turkey but find yourself swerving them in summer because of the temperature, why not opt for a winter break in one of the destinations instead?

The call comes after strong winds brought temperatures crashing down in both the south-east Europe countries recently.

Temperatures in parts of Greece fell to as low as -21C on Tuesday and Wednesday, suggesting that while you should arrange airport transfers for flights to the country, you can forget about the sun cream for now. Florina, which sits in a part of northern Greece known for its rugged terrain, saw mercury plummet sharply.

The Aegean island of Limnos throngs with tourists in the July and August period, however on Monday its sandy beaches were covered with a dusting of snow. People on city breaks in Istanbul also saw snowfall.

On the other hand, if you’re a sun-seeker there are still plenty of options available. South Africa is currently midway through its summer and temperatures are soaring.

For instance, people enjoying winter sun breaks in Vredendal in the Western Cape saw temperatures soar to a high of 45.4C. It was nearly as hot on the coast too, with 39C recorded at Table Bay in Cape Town.

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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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Many holidaymakers are keeping their spending in check this summer by booking all-inclusive breaks, a survey has indicated.

Britons departing from airports such as Gatwick and Luton are taking advantage of favourable exchange rates in Mexico and Turkey.

A survey by American Express revealed that sales of the Mexican peso increased 168% in the first three months of this year compared with the January-March 2010 period.

The Turkish lire is also proving popular, but currency sales for traditional holiday hotspots such as the United Arab Emirates, New Zealand and Thailand have fallen.

Unrest in Egypt had some effect on sales of the Egyptian pound, but Egypt stayed in fourth place in the currency table, which was headed by the euro, with the American dollar second and the Australian dollar third.

Terry Perrin, director at American Express global foreign exchange services, said: “Not only do Turkey and Mexico offer favourable exchange rates for the pound, they are also well-known all-inclusive destinations.

“The all-inclusive holiday trend has increased in recent years as holidaymakers, especially families, like to plan their spend ahead of time. Therefore, locations like Turkey and Mexico offer the best of both worlds for a lot of Britons.”

These were the top-selling foreign currencies in the first three months of 2011:

1. The euro

2. US dollar

3. Australian dollar

4. Egyptian pound

5. Turkish lire

6. Mexican peso

7. New Zealand dollar

8. United Arab Emirates dirham

9. Thai bhat

10. Canadian dollar

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