Nice photo of Dubai.....jeez, a lot of thought went into the photo of (supposedly) Torremolinos.

at the price of a coffee in Dubai £3.91 & I whinge about Costa Coffee prices.

I cant get into the article but I would say there is no price drop In Majorca on normal holiday things, beer ,meals, coffee etc. are on a par with UK if not more. Also the holidays are definitely dearer than last year. I did buy a belt because I was pleased with the one I bought last year, same make, type , and same shop, last year 5 euros this year 6.8 euros

This is based on daily living costs

It's based on the average price of 8 popular tourist items and the prices based on the exchange rate at the time.
The information is gathered from the various sources participating in the scheme. EG: the tourist offices (regional and local), Hays & Jarvis, Serenity Holidays and Brand USA.

I'm a regular visitor to Torremolinos and I was there a couple of months ago, the prices have been adjusting since 2012 . Last September we noticed the 'offers' for meals, including a three course meal for less than €10 each.
A cup of coffee in the majority of places in Torremolinos has remained stagnant at €1.20 for the last 3 years, despite the hike in the price of a bottle of milk and electricity. The tobacco prices are fixed (nationally) by the Spanish government.

The original article is misleading if it suggests that the whole of the Costa del Sol is cheaper, because it's all about location , location, location, and the prices vary depending on ....
1.Which resort
2.Where you eat/drink,
3.Which supermarket you visit
4.The brand of the items bought.
The survey specifically mentions Torremolinos and Javea (Costa Blanca) IMO, If they had done a price comparison between Torremolinos and Benidorm, I would lay a bet that Benidorm is cheaper than Torrie. I have never seen an English breakfast advertised for less than €4.95 in Torrie, where as in Benidorm you can get one for half that price.

Go down to Puerto Banus/Marbella and have a coffee in a bar overlooking the quay and you'll not get a coffee for €1.20, no way José.
Go into the old part of Torremolinos (El Calvario) where most tourists never venture and you'll sit with the locals and can get a coffee for a euro.
Obviously, the islands have always had a tendency to be more expensive than the mainland, because they have to import certain stuff.

Mallorca is Germany’s 17th federal state, so they don't have to be so keen to adjust their prices when the majority of the tourists have the same currency.

However, I think the whole Post Office exercise is totally useless when you consider the price of flights to get to these places and the Air Passenger Tax, which has recently been hiked up again.
I signed the on-line petition and I wrote to my MP, I got a nice letter back on the Houses of Parliament headed paper with the usual evasive drivel. It was a waste of time, boy George still went ahead and implemented the price hike, but, at least I tried.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/angry-voters-deluge-mps-with-air-tax-complaints-8555804.html

http://www.postoffice.co.uk/sites/default/files/Holiday_Money_Report_Barometer_2013.pdf

Sanji

£4.02 for a bottle of local lager in Corfu I'm surprised at. 70p for 20 Marlboro Lights in Vietnam

Sanji, thank you for the explanation, interesting to see the coffee prices. In Cala Bona/ Cala Millor coffee was anything between 1.3 euros and 1.95 euros. It's enough to make me take to beer

Interesting but not that helpful article. Great summation though Sanji as it definatly depends on location. I know the last couple of years the prices we have been paying in the La Manga area have been more than stated in the article, but it's a holiday and does it bother us that much ? Not really its where we want to be so have four BA flights booked to Alicante later in the year, and on the look out for a nice villa in the area, near Los Belones and Cabo de Palos.

The comments at the end of the article by members of the public are a bit odd, going on a huge rant about how expensive it is in the UK like this is news or something they have only just discovered lol surely for the last 30 years everyone has gone on about how expensive it is to eat out here. Comparable to 30 years ago prices are now a lot more even regarding Spain v UK. Was out today eating home cooked steak pies filled to the brim with meat, fresh chips, parsnips, cabbage, carrots, broccoli and a pint of real ale or glass of wine for £9,95 inclusive was stuffed you just need to know where to go, plus trying to keep the small independent businesses that make a huge effort on quality and service going.

Doe

I think glynis is going to be visiting the Far East forum

Fiona wrote:

I think glynis is going to be visiting the Far East forum :rofl

Fiona wrote:

I think glynis is going to be visiting the Far East forum

D'ya know there's so much assumption on this forum. And I'm only quiet

Good job I know you all