Your bank balance and your wanderlust might not always see eye to eye, but Skyscanner reckons 2027 could be the year they finally get along. The travel search engine has just named the best-value destinations for 2027 as part of its annual Travel Trends report – and there are a few names on there that you might not expect.
To put the ranking together, Skyscanner tracked the destinations where airfares have fallen the most compared to last year, then factored in competitive hotel prices. This brought them to a list of places that are significantly cheaper to get to (and stay in) than they were 12 months ago.
Top of the list is Bilbao, where prices have dropped a huge 66 percent. The Basque city is known for the Guggenheim, Frank Gehry’s shimmering titanium museum on the river, and is just as worth visiting for the food. Head to the old town, the Casco Viejo, for a crawl through its pintxos bars, where small plates are lined up along the counter and washed down with a glass of local txakoli.
Poland’s Wrocław took second place with a 47 percent drop. It’s a city of colourful townhouses and island-dotted rivers; keep an eye on the pavements as you explore, because hundreds of tiny bronze dwarf statues are hidden all over town. Bordeaux came third at 34 percent, which is good news for wine lovers, with the Cité du Vin museum and countless vineyards just outside the city.
Perhaps the most surprising entry is Zurich, a city not exactly known for being cheap. The Swiss hub came fourth, with prices down 33 percent. Spend your savings on a stroll around its old town or, in summer, a dip in the lake. Italy’s Ancona followed with a 31 percent price drop – a port city on the Adriatic that makes a handy base for the beaches of the Conero Riviera.
History buffs are well catered for further down the list. Rhodes (down 22 percent) is home to one of Europe’s best-preserved medieval old towns, Pula in Croatia (down 20 percent) has a remarkably intact Roman amphitheatre, and Carcassonne (down 20 percent) is famous for its fairytale walled citadel, complete with turrets and ramparts. Rounding off the top ten are Fez in Morocco (down 19 percent), where you can lose yourself in the winding lanes of its ancient medina, and Krabi in Thailand (down 15 percent), known for its towering limestone cliffs and island-hopping.
Rising costs don’t seem to be putting anyone off travelling either. According to Skyscanner’s research, 82 percent of UK travellers plan to travel as much, if not more, in 2027, with many cutting back on optional extras. Some are even choosing where to go based on the exchange rate, with over a quarter of travellers saying they’ve switched destinations to get more for their money.
The best-value destinations for 2027, according to Skyscanner
- Bilbao, Spain (down 66 percent)
- Wrocław, Poland (down 47 percent)
- Bordeaux, France (down 34 percent)
- Zurich, Switzerland (down 33 percent)
- Ancona, Italy (down 31 percent)
- Rhodes, Greece (down 22 percent)
- Pula, Croatia (down 20 percent)
- Carcassonne, France (down 20 percent)
- Fez, Morocco (down 19 percent)
- Krabi, Thailand (down 15 percent)
Planning your 2027 travels? Here are the best-value destinations for winter sun.
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