FAZ: Bulgaria, Turkey 'Best Holiday Bargains in Europe'

Bulgaria and Turkey are unrivaled as the best holiday bargain in Europe, a survey cited by German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung shows.

The newspaper reminds that, apart from a hotel and flight tickets, there are additional expenses as well: "a cappuccino at the promenade, the sunscreen, which one forgot at home, the dinner in a fancy restaurant - small things could cost a lot of money".

A survey by ADAC (Allgemeine Deutscher Automobil-Club), the largest automobile club in Europe, has been carried out among 32 resorts in eight countries frequented by tourists. Prices of 33 typical products and services are compared (VAT included), from sunglasses and toothpaste to beach loungers.

The results of this survey with an "imaginary shopping cart" shows Turkey is "especially inexpensive", at about EUR 118 in "additional expenses", with Bulgaria just a little bit more expensive, at EUR 120.

To compare, in Greece "shopping" with the same imaginary cart to purchase all goods needed for a good holiday takes EUR 146 on average, while in Spain and Croatia the sum is EUR 149 and EUR 152, respectively.

In the "very expensive" category come Italy (EUR 194), Germany (EUR 197), and France (EUR 217).