TOP TOURISM DESTINATIONS WHERE YOU GET THE MOST SUN FOR YOUR MONEY
Do you want to maximise your sunshine hours on your upcoming summer holiday whilst keeping costs low?
Sambla collated a list of the Top 50 most visited countries based on inbound tourism numbers, and used either their capital city, or popular tourist spot, to calculate and compare their average daily hours of sunshine between July to September, with the cost of staying within two-miles of the vicinity in a three-star hotel.
The price of sun hours are calculated on a week’s holiday for all rankings, and that you get seven average days of sun for the stated price of hotels or flights.
The holiday destinations with the lowest average hotel price per solar hour
| # | Destination | Avg Sunshine Hours per Day | Avg Hotel p/n (per couple) | Avg Cost / Sunshine Hours per Day (per couple) |
Avg Cost / Sunshine Hours per Week (per couple) |
| 1. | Egypt (Cairo) | 11.4 | £48.81 | £0.53 | £3.68 |
| 2. | Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) | 8.0 | £47.08 | £0.72 | £5.04 |
| 3. | United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi) | 12.0 | £71.15 | £0.73 | £5.08 |
| 4. | Albania (Tirana) | 10.3 | £64.65 | £0.77 | £5.40 |
| 5. | Mexico (Cancun) | 10.3 | £65.31 | £0.77 | £5.41 |
| 6. | Bulgaria (Sofia) | 8.8 | £65.92 | £0.92 | £6.42 |
| 7. | Cyprus (Paphos) | 12.0 | £101.35 | £1.03 | £7.23 |
| 8. | India (Delhi) | 6.1 | £53.27 | £1.07 | £7.48 |
| 9. | Brazil (Rio de Janeiro) | 5.8 | £51.77 | £1.10 | £7.68 |
| 10. | Uruguay (Montevideo) | 5.3 | £48.96 | £1.13 | £7.94 |
| 11. | Macau | 6.5 | £62.04 | £1.17 | £8.22 |
| 12. | Aruba (Oranjestad) | 9.7 | £93.62 | £1.19 | £8.30 |
| 13. | Latvia (Riga) | 7.0 | £80.81 | £1.41 | £9.86 |
| 14. | Poland (Warsaw) | 8.4 | £98.73 | £1.45 | £10.13 |
| 15. | Croatia (Zagreb) | 7.9 | £94.19 | £1.47 | £10.26 |
| 16. | Slovakia (Bratislava) | 8.2 | £98.35 | £1.47 | £10.30 |
| 17. | South Africa (Cape Town) | 6.8 | £87.58 | £1.57 | £10.96 |
| 18. | Lithuania (Vilnius) | 7.1 | £1.57 | £1.57 | £11.01 |
| 19. | China (Beijing) | 7.2 | £94.19 | £1.59 | £11.16 |
| 20. | Turkey (Istanbul) | 9.3 | £124.23 | £1.63 | £11.39 |
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Cairo, Egypt
Our study places Cairo as the ideal holiday destination to maximise your budget per sunshine. Egypt’s capital benefits from an average of 11.4 hours of sunshine per day, and costs as little as £48.81 for a one-week stay based on two people sharing. In fact, Cairo has the second cheapest accommodation in our study, and the third highest amount of daily hours of sunshine, topped only by Paphos and Abu Dhabi. Tourists looking to holiday in Cairo this summer can expect to spend an average of £3.68 per week on sunshine hours, or 53p per day.
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Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur
Second on our list, coming in at over 6,000 miles away is Kuala Lumpur. This vibrant and bustling city offers tourists an average of 8 hours of daily sunshine in the summer months. Flights aside, a stay in Malaysia’s capital city will only set you back £47.08 per night, calculating the average cost per sunshine at £5.04 a week, or 72p a day.
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UAE, Abu Dhabi
Taking third place is Abu Dhabi. Our study shows accommodation available at an average of £71.15 per couple per night. Although this cost per night is slightly higher than other destinations in our study, Abu Dhabi’s average daily sunshine of 12 hours places it high in the ranking of maximising your money for sunshine. Abu Dhabi has the highest average of sun hours in our study, tied with Paphos, bringing the total cost per sunshine at £5.08 a week, or 73p a day.
Top 10 holiday destinations with the lowest average price per solar hour
| # | Destination | Avg Sunshine Hours per Day |
Avg Hotel p/n (per couple) |
Avg Return Flight (per couple) |
Avg Cost / Sunshine Hours per Day (per couple) |
Avg Cost / Sunshine Hours per Week (per couple) |
| 1. | Albania (Tirana) | 10.3 | £64.65 | £356.15 | £1.48 | £10.35 |
| 2. | Bulgaria (Sofia) | 8.8 | £65.92 | £342.92 | £1.71 | £11.98 |
| 3. | Slovakia (Bratislava) | 8.2 | £98.35 | £191.85 | £1.95 | £13.65 |
| 4. | Cyprus (Paphos) | 12.0 | £101.35 | £543.69 | £1.96 | £13.70 |
| 5. | Croatia (Zagreb) | 7.9 | £94.19 | £211.54 | £2.01 | £14.10 |
| 6. | Poland (Warsaw) | 8.4 | £98.73 | £243.08 | £2.04 | £14.28 |
| 7. | United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi) | 12.0 | £71.15 | £874.15 | £2.21 | £15.49 |
| 8. | Turkey (Istanbul) | 9.3 | £124.23 | £290.62 | £2.26 | £15.83 |
| 9. | Romania (Bucharest) | 8.6 | £116.77 | £306.77 | £2.38 | £16.65 |
| 10. | Lithuania (Vilnius) | 7.1 | £90.88 | £357.85 | £2.60 | £18.23 |
To take our study one step further, we researched the cost of a one-week return flight to each destination from all London airports, between July to September.
When considering this extra metric, Cairo falls off the Top 10 ranking and doesn’t appear again until position 11. In its place is Tirana, Albania with a strong leading first position of £10.35 per week of 71.9 sunshine hours.
Top 10 holiday destinations with the highest average price per solar hour
| # | Destination | Avg Sunshine Hours per Day |
Avg Hotel p/n (per couple) |
Avg Return Flight (per couple) |
Avg Cost / Sunshine Hours per Day (per couple) |
Avg Cost / Sunshine Hours per Week (per couple) |
| 1. | Japan (Tokyo) | 4.7 | £161.42 | £2,643.08 | £15.54 | £108.79 |
| 2. | Italy (Rome) | 9.4 | £1,092.54 | £225.69 | £14.68 | £102.79 |
| 3. | Chile (Santiago) | 5.4 | £75.96 | £3,040.92 | £13.32 | £93.24 |
| 4. | South Korea (Seoul) | 4.9 | £153.69 | £2,079.08 | £12.56 | £87.91 |
| 5. | Belgium (Brussels) | 5.8 | £465.15 | £293.69 | £10.85 | £75.92 |
| 6. | Thailand (Bangkok) | 5.3 | £104.73 | £2,086.62 | £10.47 | £73.27 |
| 7. | Argentina (Buenos Aires) | 5.5 | £95.58 | £2,064.15 | £9.80 | £68.62 |
| 8. | South Africa (Cape Town) | 6.8 | £87.58 | £2,720.62 | £9.68 | £67.73 |
| 9. | Uruguay (Montevideo) | 5.3 | £48.96 | £2,112.00 | £9.29 | £65.01 |
| 10. | Singapore | 5.7 | £128.92 | £1,766.92 | £9.09 | £63.63 |
On the other end of the spectrum we’ve looked at the popular holiday destinations that offer you the least amount of sunshine hours for your money. Tokyo tops the chart with an average of just 4.7 hours of sun per day during the summer months, and a very high cost of return flights from London. This results in an average cost of £108.79 per week of sunshine hours, or £15.54 a day.
Rome also appears high on our list. Despite having more reasonably priced three-star hotel options, one accommodation peaked in the summer months, bringing the average cost of a one-week stay two miles from the city centre to £225.69 a night. Couples looking to holiday in the Italian capital this summer can expect to pay an average of £102.79 for 66 hours of weekly sunshine.
Methodology
The average number of sunshine hours were collated from various sources. Hotel prices were sourced from Trivago and are an average price of how much a week at a three-star hotel located a maximum of 2 miles* from the centre costs per couple during the period 01/07-29/09 2024.
Flight prices were sourced from SkyScanner and are based on direct flights from all London airports, unless a stop is necessary**. Prices were taken from SkyScanner’s ‘best’ route and account for a 1 week return flight during the period 01/07-29/09 2024. Flights do not include suitcases, insurance or other optional add-ons.
