Bangkok, Tokyo and Beijing named best value for long-haul city breaks

Bangkok is the cheapest destination for 11 typical tourist expenses such as food and drink, sightseeing, airport transfers and weekend accommodation, according to a report by Post Office Travel Money.

This was largely because of low prices for hotels in the Thai capital, with three nights in four-star accommodation costing the equivalent of just £177 for a double room.

Tokyo was in second place, having the lowest cost of eating out. A three-course meal for two with a bottle of house wine was found to be £40 in the Japanese city - around a third of what it sets visitors back in Singapore.

China’s Beijing - where return bus or train transfers from the airport to the city centre cost just £4 - was in third place.

Travel trade organisation Abta identified long-haul city breaks as one of its key trends for 2017 as the wider availability of new aircraft make longer journeys more attractive.

Andrew Brown, of Post Office Travel Money, said: “Cities in the Far East are looking unbeatable value.

“We advise people considering a long-haul city break to do some advance homework before booking.

“Compare meal and drink prices as these are costs that tourists cannot avoid on a city break trip and over the course of a three-day stay they will soon mount up.”

The most expensive of the 10 destinations researched was Boston in the US where three-night hotel stays cost £668 and a sightseeing bus or boat tour is £31.

Washington DC was the cheapest of the four North American cities in the report, boasting free admission to top art galleries and museums such as the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution.