A weekend abroad is cheaper than staying in the UK

Anyone wanting to get away from it all can do more cheaply by jetting off abroad than staying in the UK, according to new research.

Digital current account Loot.io ranked 20 of the most popular city breaks across Europe by price, and found that it can be cheaper to go abroad than to stay in the UK.

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The survey cited the cost of flights being at an all time low, and the impact ‘social bragging’ on Instagram has had on those under 30.

The data looked at travellers aged between 16-30 - over 1,200,000 transactions were used to rank 20 of the most popular European cities based on a number of categories, including cost of flights, accommodation, the average price of drinks, the average price of food and entertainment costs.

Bulgarian capital Sofia came out as the cheapest location for a weekend getaway, costing just £122.45 per person, thanks to low-priced flights and accommodation as well as cheap food, drink and entertainment.

Sofia was closely followed by Prague (£188.57) and Berlin (£191.07). Surprisingly even after flights all three cities came out as cheaper than London, where the cost to spend an average weekend hit £293.08. Total costs for other UK cities, excluding flights, included Manchester (£244.64), Birmingham (£201.91) and Edinburgh (£185.71).

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Amsterdam (£369.55) was found to be the most expensive city to visit, closely followed by Reykjavik (£364.85) in part down to expensive alcohol prices, but also high accommodation and entertainment costs.

In terms of the average amount people spent on a weekend’s entertainment, Vienna was the most expensive (£111.38) closely followed by Amsterdam (£108.87) and Athens (£103.16). Whilst those in Sofia got the cheapest thrills, with the average cost of a weekend’s entertainment costing just £18.12.

Ollie Purdue, founder and CEO of Loot commented: “Travelling abroad has never been so affordable and it’s no wonder young Brits are flocking overseas to spend their weekend away. Surprisingly, our analysis shows that it can actually be cheaper to go abroad for the weekend, rather than stay at home.”

CityTotal cost for 2 night weekend getawayAmsterdam, Netherlands£369.55Reykjavik, Iceland£364.85Dublin, Ireland£324.93Vienna, Austria£324.84Stockholm, Sweden£324.59Paris, France£322.84Dubrovnik, Croatia£320.41Venice, Italy£315.65London, UK£293.08Lisbon, Portugal£292.79Athens, Greece£285.35Seville, Spain£284.37Manchester, UK£244.64Brussels, Belgium£219.56Birmingham, UK£201.91Warsaw, Poland£196.85Berlin, Germany£191.07Prague, Czech Republic£188.57Edinburgh, UK£185.71Sofia, Bulgaria£122.45