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Holidays in 2025 up to 11.5% more expensive
The price of package holidays to Bulgaria and Italy have rocketed, but we’ve found three destinations in Europe that are actually cheaper this summer
Package holiday prices for summer 2025 are up 4.2% (£50pp), on average, compared with last year, according to new analysis of more than 8,000 holiday prices by Which? Travel. The steepest increases are for Bulgaria, Italy, Portugal and Cyprus.
Packages to the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria have increased the most, from £1,038pp in 2024, to £1,157pp – an 11.5% increase. This means a couple booking a week's summer holiday now will have to spend £238 more, on average, than they would have last year.
Holidaymakers will also have to find an extra £80pp or more for week-long package holidays to Italy (up 7.4%), Portugal (up 6.8%) and Cyprus (up 6.4%) this summer.
But it’s not all bad news. Some areas of mainland Spain, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands are actually cheaper, on average, this year. Read on to find out where to find an inflation-beating break this summer.
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Where have package holiday prices risen most in 2025?
When we compared holidays departing in August 2025 with those gathered at the same time last year for August 2024, nine out of the 10 destinations we looked at were more expensive in 2025.
| Country/region | Average price pp in Aug 2024 | Average price pp in Aug 2025 | % increase | £pp increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulgaria | £1,038 | £1,157 | 11.5% | £119 |
| Italy | £1,163 | £1,249 | 7.4% | £86 |
| Portugal | £1,267 | £1,353 | 6.8% | £86 |
| Cyprus | £1,241 | £1,321 | 6.4% | £80 |
| Turkey | £1,239 | £1,296 | 4.6% | £57 |
| Croatia | £1,381 | £1,419 | 2.8% | £38 |
| Spain (mainland) | £1,077 | £1,106 | 2.7% | £29 |
Why have holiday prices risen so much?
There's a whole raft of reasons for these price rises, but one of the biggest is continued high demand for holidays. Simply put, providers will charge as much as customers are willing to pay. Rising hotel energy and aviation-fuel costs have added to the problem, as have a lack of air-traffic-control capacity on key routes, and backlogs in delivering new planes.
The average price increase was above the current rate of inflation in the UK (2.5%) and in the eurozone (2.4%) for seven of the 10 countries/regions we looked at. Bulgaria’s steep price rises could be down to a lack of supply. While increasingly popular, its package holiday industry is focused on a few Black Sea resorts. Meanwhile, somewhere like Spain – which is now cheaper, on average, than Bulgaria – has a far more established package holiday industry, offering a range of breaks at resorts across the country.
Our price check simply looked at available holidays, so steep price rises in Bulgaria, Italy, Portugal and Cyprus may also reflect an increase in the availability of luxury accommodation or pricier board types, such as all-inclusive, compared to other countries.
Are there any cheap holiday destinations in Italy?
The whopping 7.4% increase in the price of package holidays to Italy has been driven partly by premium destinations such as Lake Garda and Sorrento, which have increased by an average of £94pp and £81pp respectively.
Other parts of the country have increased far less dramatically. Sardinia, for example, is just £38pp pricier this summer than last. It’s still an expensive destination overall though, costing £1,588pp, on average, for a week’s holiday.
If you’re looking for better-value destinations in Italy, the Venetian Riviera and Tuscany both made the top 10 in our recent analysis of the cheapest destinations in 2025.
Cheaper Ibiza holidays in 2025
We found only a handful of destinations that are offering cheaper package prices this summer. Top of the list was Ibiza. It’s 6.4% cheaper on average, which means a couple would pay £162 less this summer than they would have last year.
The other destinations where prices have dropped, albeit less dramatically, are Spain’s Costa Dorada (2.9% cheaper than last year) and Tenerife (2% cheaper).
Browse package holiday deals to Ibiza with Jet2 Holidays
Browse package holiday deals to Ibiza with Tui
How to find cheaper package holidays in 2025
Every year, we track thousands of prices from some of the UK’s biggest package holiday providers. Crunching all of that data has provided us with a sure-fire recipe for finding great-value summer breaks:
- Book in January. Analysis of the past two years has shown us that holidaymakers can save hundreds of pounds by booking an August summer holiday early - ideally right now, in January. Six of the 10 countries we checked last year were cheaper if you booked in advance.
- Book the right destinations. We’ve price checked more than 6,000 summer holidays to find the cheapest destinations in 2025. While Bulgaria may have seen the biggest price rises this year, it’s still in the top three for value, along with Dalaman (Turkey) and Agadir (Morocco). The Canary Islands and certain parts of mainland Spain are among the cheapest for all-inclusive breaks.
- Go in late August. If you can’t travel out of season (September is the best bet for shoulder-season savings), then go in the last week of the school summer holidays. Our research found it’s usually the cheapest.
- Consider all-inclusive. Because all-inclusive holidays include all your meals and extras, they can help save money and control your costs. Just make sure you pick your provider wisely. We’ve found that some brands make you pay extra for everything from snacks to cocktails. Check our table of the best all-inclusive holiday providers.
- Compare tour operator prices. You can find benchmark pricing and ratings for dozens of companies in our reviews of the Best package holiday providers, based on our survey of nearly 20,000 holidays. Plus, all our Which? Recommended Providers have promised not to apply surcharges in 2025 – so the price won’t go up after you book.
Our research
In January 2025 we gathered August holiday prices to key European destinations with the UK’s two biggest tour operators – Jet2Holidays and Tui. We then compared them with August holiday prices we had gathered a year earlier, in January 2024. In total we analysed 8,122 holidays.
The average price is for a seven-night holiday, including flights, departing in the first week of August, based on two people sharing a standard double or twin room. We only included destinations with a minimum availability of holidays from both providers.
