If your post-summer mood is already eyeing the calendar for a sunshine fix, the annual Post Office Travel Money Winter Sun Holiday Costs Barometer has some good news: the cheapest place to chase the sun this winter is Cape Town, South Africa.

The 2026 report compares the on-the-ground price of a typical holiday basket — dinner for two with wine, a café coffee, suncream, insect repellent and bottled water, among eight everyday items — across popular warm-weather destinations. Cape Town came out on top with a total basket cost of just £58.24, helped by the cheapest three-course meal for two of anywhere surveyed, at £39.26. Given what a single dinner for two can cost in parts of Western Europe, that's a striking gap.

Mombasa in Kenya takes second place with a basket of £63.66, including a meal for two at £42.78 and suncream at around £11.25 — one of only three destinations where dinner for two stays under £50. Tokyo, Colombo and Phuket fill out the top five, which is an eyebrow-raiser for anyone who assumed Japan would strain the budget.

One important caveat: the barometer excludes flights, so the maths changes once you factor in getting there. That makes the short-haul entries arguably the smartest overall value for UK travellers. The Algarve leads the European pack in sixth place with an £82.35 basket, followed by Spain's Costa del Sol and Tenerife in seventh and eighth — the latter reliably warm even in midwinter. Punta Cana and Penang round out the top ten.

There's a practical angle from Post Office Travel Money head Laura Plunkett: southern Europe is great for winter golf and outdoor activity, but sunshine hours drop and temperatures dip in deepest winter, so October and November are often the smarter months for a European winter-sun trip. If you want guaranteed heat in January, look long-haul.

This year's report also has a structural twist: it merges long-haul favourites with southern European spots for the first time, and deliberately excludes resorts requiring connections through Middle East hubs, reflecting recent regional conflict and disrupted schedules. In other words, every destination on the list is reachable without a contentious layover.

Who is this for? Anyone weighing a cheap-and-sunny escape against a grey UK winter. If budget is the priority and you can tolerate a long flight, Cape Town and Mombasa offer remarkable value once you land — think proper restaurant meals and everyday costs at a fraction of home prices. If you'd rather keep the flight short and the trip to a long weekend, the Algarve, Costa del Sol and Tenerife remain the sensible picks, ideally booked for autumn rather than February.

Either way, the takeaway is clear: winter sun doesn't have to mean winter debt.