The Cheap and Cheerful Index
Welcome to Cheapflights.com.au's Cheap and Cheerful Index 2012, the essential guide to which destinations will provide you with the best-value, sunniest and safest holiday this year.
Rules of engagement: We took the 50 most popular destinations from December and ranked them on several factors - the average cost of return flights, the weather in January and February, recent currency performance, costs on the ground and third-party rankings on safety for visitors. Our Cheap and Cheerful index is the top 25 destinations based on that analysis.
Top of our list is Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. With the strong Australian dollar, bargain-minded travellers get more bang for their buck in Asia. Bali, the eternal favourite, continues to draw the crowds who want a perfect beach and glorious sunshine, while Fiji remains popular with Australians looking for their personal paradise.
| Rank | Destination |
| 1 | Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam |
| 2 | Bali, Indonesia |
| 3 | Nadi, Fiji |
| 4 | Launceston, Tasmania |
| 5 | Auckland, New Zealand |
| 6 | Christchurch, New Zealand |
| 7 | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| 8 | Gold Coast |
| 9 | Sydney |
| 10 | Melbourne |
Domestic Australian cities appear several times in the middle part of our table and it's no surprise to see Kuala Lumpur at No. 7. New service from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur with AirAsia and Scoot will boost the numbers even more.
| | |
| 11 | Brisbane |
| 12 | Adelaide |
| 13 | Wellington, New Zealand |
| 14 | Phuket, Thailand |
| 15 | Bangkok, Thailand |
| 16 | Cairns |
| 17 | Hobart, Tasmania |
| 18 | Perth |
| 19 | Singapore |
| 20 | Tokyo |
The final part of our index features perennial favourite Koh Samui and no fewer than three cities in India. We're ascribing India's popularity to family visits and that Aussie love of netting a good-value getaway.
| | |
| 21 | Manila, Philippines |
| 22 | Koh Samui, Thailand |
| 23 | Mumbai, India |
| 24 | Chennai, India |
| 25 | Delhi, India |
Interested in seeing what makes the cut on Cheapflights' other sites? Check out the Cheap and Cheerful lists in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and Germany.
Updated January 2012