Tips & Advice · 5 min read · November 2026

Strongest pound in a decade? Where your holiday money will really go further

(Hint: not always where you'd expect)

Short on time? Let us summarise this guide for you.

The pound is at its highest against a basket of currencies since 2016, up nearly 6% on the euro and about 3% on the dollar. But your holiday only gets cheaper if that gain beats inflation at your destination. Indonesia (about 7% cheaper), Poland, Taiwan and Egypt (about 5%) and Morocco (3% to 4%) are the real winners. Turkey, Iceland, Hungary and Argentina are dearer, and across the Eurozone the gain runs from about 2% cheaper to nothing at all. Check the real figures before you book.

The pound is stronger than it has been for a decade, but that does not mean your holiday will cost less. Against a basket of major currencies, sterling is at its highest since the Brexit referendum in 2016. Over the past year it is up nearly 6% against the euro and about 3% against the US dollar.

Those headline figures hide a much more varied picture for holidaymakers, creating great opportunities for a bargain if you're able to pick your spot and travel when you want.

But a stronger pound only makes a trip feel cheaper if its gains outpace price rises at your destination. Set the two against each other and some places really are about nearly 10% cheaper in real terms, some are dearer despite the pound's rise, and across most of the Eurozone - where most of us spend our holidays - the gain sits between a modest 2% and nothing at all.

Why the pound is up

Sterling has climbed on a mix of home and overseas factors. At home, relative political stability and talk of closer ties with our nearest trading partners in Europe have helped. Interest rate rises this week - for the first time in three years - will make holding pounds more attractive. Abroad, the dollar has weakened.

The Bank of England's trade-weighted index, which measures the pound against 18 major currencies, reached 86.4 this week, matching its highest reading since June 2016. Against the euro, £1 now buys about €1.20, compared with about €1.14 a year ago.

The real test: sterling against local inflation

The exchange rate is only half the story. If the pound buys 10% more of a local currency but local prices rise 10%, a meal costs exactly what it did last year. A holiday only gets cheaper in real terms when sterling's gain is bigger than local inflation.

Take Poland. The pound buys about 9% more zloty than a year ago, while Polish prices have risen 3.5%. The gap leaves a trip about 5% cheaper. In Turkey the pound has gained 22% on the lira, but prices have risen almost 30%, so right now a trip there is about 6% dearer.

The league table: how far £1 really goes

Indonesia is the cheapest place to be a British visitor in real terms, and Argentina is by far the dearest. Destinations are ranked from biggest real-terms saving to biggest real-terms rise.

The good news: Bali, Poland, Taiwan and Egypt

Indonesia tops the chart. The rupiah has hit record lows against the dollar this year, the pound buys about 11% more of it than a year ago, and inflation is a moderate 3.2%. That leaves a trip about 7% cheaper in real terms, a welcome boost for anyone eyeing an exotic bucket-list break such as Bali.

Poland and Taiwan are both about 5% cheaper. Egypt joins them on the same figure, though with a catch: the pound buys about 20% more Egyptian pounds than a year ago, but inflation near 14% takes a large bite, and resort stays and entry tickets are often priced in dollars or euros, so the gain may feel smaller on the ground unless you go out of your way to pay in local currency.

Morocco, the other big North African sun destination, looks about 3% to 4% cheaper. Its dirham is pegged to a basket of the euro and the dollar, so the pound's gains against both carry through, and inflation is just 0.5%.

A second group of destinations is about 3% cheaper: Czechia, Romania, Thailand and Japan. Romania's gain is the most fragile of the four, because it currently has the highest inflation in the European Union.

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The bad news: where the pound's gain disappears

Turkey is the cautionary tale. The pound has soared against a weakening lira, but official inflation of almost 30% has more than cancelled out the benefit, leaving a trip about 6% dearer. The official figure is also disputed: one independent research group put inflation at around 49% in August, against the official 31.5%, which would make Turkey dearer still.

Hungary is a quieter disappointment. The pound is no better against the forint than a year ago, and services inflation, which is the part visitors feel most, is running close to 5%.

Iceland is not the bargain its cheap geothermal and hydro power might suggest. Inflation is 5.9%, the highest since August 2024, and the pound has not moved against the krona, so a trip is about 6% dearer. Tunisia is about 2% dearer, with prices rising 5.6% against a pound gain of about 4% on the dinar.

Further afield, Argentina has become far dearer, by about 24% in real terms. Argentina's inflation is running above 33% and its peso has weakened only about 6% against the dollar.

Spain, Greece and the USA: same as it ever was

The Eurozone is where most Britons spend their holidays, and there the pound's near 6% rise is largely cancelled out by inflation. Prices across the single currency area were rising at 4% in October, and at more than 5% in Greece, Italy and Cyprus. Real-terms gains range from about 2% in Portugal and France, to about 1% in Spain and Croatia, to roughly nothing in Greece, Italy and Cyprus. Bulgaria, which joined the euro in January, also comes out flat.

Energy is the main driver, with euro area energy prices up almost 21% over the year. Services inflation is lower at 3.3%, so restaurant and hotel prices may be rising more slowly than the headline figure suggests, but there is no sign yet of a big saving.

The USA tells a similar story. The pound is up between 2% and 3% against the dollar, depending on the comparison date, but US inflation is 3.7%. A trip across the Atlantic is therefore somewhere between flat and about 2% dearer.

What it means for your next trip

There are plenty of opportunities for a flexible, canny traveller, but the gains are very unevenly spread. Before you head for Spain or Greece expecting your pound to go further, check where you will really feel the benefit.

• Be flexible on destination. Bali, Poland, Taiwan, Egypt and Czechia offer real savings. The Mediterranean mostly does not.
• Judge a destination by prices, not the exchange rate. A record pound against a currency means little if local prices are racing ahead, as in Turkey and Argentina.
• Know what you pay in sterling. Flights, hotels, parking and transfers booked in pounds before you go are not exposed to local inflation. The gains and losses above apply to what you spend on the ground.
• Book your extras in advance. The savings you can make by buying airport parking before you arrive at the gate eclipse currency movements by an order of magnitude, so if you're looking for a reliable saving on your next trip, start there.

One in ten UK holidaymakers saved £100 on their trip last year by booking airport parking in advance

In Tips October 2026

Notes on method

The real-terms change sets each country's latest annual inflation rate against the pound's change versus the local currency, comparing early November 2026 with early November 2025. Figures are rounded and the pound's rise against the dollar varies by a point or so depending on the comparison date. Inflation is a whole-economy measure, not a tourist basket, so hotel and restaurant prices can move differently. Indonesia's rate is national, not specific to Bali, and Egypt's is the urban rate. Latest readings are September or October 2026 as marked. Morocco's change is an estimate, because no direct November exchange rate was found and the dirham follows a euro and dollar basket. Tunisia's comes from central bank euro and dollar rates. Algeria is not scored: it has an official rate of about 177 dinars to the pound and a street rate near 300, and the latest inflation figure found is from April. Sources: Bank of England and market exchange rates; Eurostat; and the national statistics offices and central banks of each country, as reported by Reuters, Trading Economics and local financial press.