Vietnam has emerged the most affordable beach holiday destination and French Polynesia the most expensive, in a new ranking that breaks down how much it costs to soak in the sun at seaside destinations around the world.
After whittling down an initial list of 900 destinations, travel website TravelBird calculated the cost of spending a day at the beach at 250 coastlines around the world, looking at the average cost of sunscreen, water, beer, ice cream and lunch.
The result is the 2016 Beach Price Index, a ranking created to serve as a budgetary guideline for holidaymakers looking at booking a beach holiday.
While the beaches of Vietnam and India dominate the lower end of the list, for example, the luxurious beaches of French Polynesia and Seychelles emerged the costliest destinations, setting sun worshippers back between $55 and $60 a day for the privilege of soaking up the tropical rays.
Because on La Plage de Maui in Tahiti, a bottle of sunscreen purchased from the resort, local pharmacy or supermarket averages about $22, a bottle of beer about $8, and lunch about $25.
That compares to Cua Dai Beach, Hoi An in Vietnam, where both sun protection and beer costs about $2, and lunch $8. The report also breaks down the daily costs of visiting what they consider to be the top surf beaches, family beaches, most romantic and most relaxing beaches for would-be visitors.
For instance, surfers headed to Tamarindo Beach in Costa Rica, ranked the top surfing destination, are advised to budget about $28 for the day, while a day at the top-ranked family beach, Tulum in Mexico, averages about $29.
Here are some of the results:
Top five most expensive beaches around the world
1 La Plage de Maui, Tahiti, French Polynesia
2 Mareto Plage Publique, Moorea, French Polynesia
3 Anse Vata, Noumea, New Caledonia
4 Anse Georgette, Praslin, Seychelles
5 Anse Soleil Beach, Seychelles
Top five cheapest beaches
1 Cua Dai Beach, Hoi An, Vietnam
2 Ho Coc Beach, Ho Coc, Vietnam
3 City Beach, Nha, Vietnam
4 Long Beach, Phu, Quoc, Vietnam
5 Varkala Beach, Kerala, India
Top five surf beaches
1 Tamarindo Beach, Costa Rica
2 Watergate Bay, Newquay, UK
3 Cote des Basques, Biarritz, France
4 Uluwatu, Bali, Indonesia
5 Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia
Top five family beaches
1 Tulum Beach, Mexico
2 Phra Nang Beach, Ao Nang, Thailand
3 Coronado Beach, California, USA
4 Plaka Beach, Naxos, Greece
5 Palolem, Beach, Goa, India
Top romantic beaches
1 Whitehaven, Beach, Whitsunday Islands
2 Kailua, Hawaii, USA
3 La Plage de Maui, Tahiti, French Polynesia
4 Cayo Coco, Cuba
5 Ile Sainte Marie, Madagascar
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