Vietnam has most affordable beaches in the world, according to TravelBird, a Netherland-based travel company.

TravelBird has released its 2018 Beach Price Index, which breaks down the daily expenses of a seaside holiday at 327 of the most popular beaches in over 90 countries around the globe to reveal which destination offer the best value for money.

It looked at the price of six popular beach purchases, including the cost of sunscreen, a bottle of water, a beer, an ice cream, lunch, and facility fee, at each destination. The facility fee covers any potential entrance fee to the beach, in addition to the cost of renting a sun lounger, or a beach chair, and an umbrella for one day. 

These figures are based on statistics by local tourism agencies and data from the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).

According to the rankings, Vietnam came first for cheapest beach holidays, while the world’s most expensive ones are found in the Pacific region and Italy.

Of all the beaches, the three cheapest spots are in Vietnam – Cua Dai Beach in Hoi An Ancient Town, the central province of Quang Nam (13.44 EUR for all six items); City Beach in Nha Trang city, the south central province of Khanh Hoa (14.47 EUR); and Long Beach in Phu Quoc, the resort island of the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang (16.03 EUR).

Cua Dai Beach, which is 7.6km long and about 5km from Hoi An's old quarter, is a popular destination for tourists visiting the ancient city. It costs a holidaymaker about 2.07 EUR for 200ml of SPF 30 sunscreen bottle from a local store; 0.37 EUR for a 500ml bottle of water, 1.6 EUR for a bottle of beer and 0.87 EUR for an ice cream on the beach. 

Meanwhile, lunch, including a drink and dessert for one person from a beach bar or the closet establishments to the beach, typically cost an average of 7.43 EUR and facility fee is at 1.10 EUR in average.

The beach was also named the world’s cheapest by TravelBird in 2016 and 2017.

For the most expensive, beach-goers must pay a total of 78.57 EUR for all six items in Anse Vata Beach in Noumea, New Caledonia, a special collectivity of France in the southwest Pacific Ocean. It is followed by Finale Ligure, Liguria in Italy (76.59 EUR) and Yonaha Maehama Beach, Okinawa in Japan (70.32 EUR). –VNA