Bulgaria is the country with the cheapest beer among 32 holiday destinations ranked by foreign exchange specialist Travelex, with half a litre of draught beer costing just BGN2 (€1.06). 

Bulgaria, which has the lowest per capita GDP in the EU, is becoming an increasingly popular low cost holiday destination, helped by the growing number of flights offered by European budget airlines and political instability in Eastern Mediterranean destinations such as Greece and Turkey. 

Travelex’ index highlights the low costs of holidaying in Bulgarian destinations such as the Black Sea coast resorts. 

The country saw foreign holidaymakers increase by 5.9% y/y to 746,863 in June, accelerating from a 5.3% y/y rise in May, statistics office data showed. 

There was a sharp upturn in visitors from the UK  (38,422, +94.5% y/y) during the month, as well as from Germany (117,157, +13.2% y/y), Poland (35,557, +8.1% y/y), Ukraine (53,033, +24.8% y/y) and Turkey (34,653, +34.7% y/y).

Several other East European countries also offer cheap beer; Bulgaria is followed by the Czech Republic where half a litre of draught beer costs CZK30 (€1.17) and Hungary (HUF350, €1.19), with Poland (PLN7, €1.70) in eighth place. 

On the other hand, the most expensive beer is the one in the United Arab Emirates (AED40, €9.18), Norway, Switzerland, Sweden and Denmark.

“We know how much Brits enjoy a cold beer wherever they are in the world, and we think the Travelex Beer Index is a really helpful tool in helping prospective travellers pick destinations where they can get the most out of their pound,” commented John Rayment, UK commercial director at Travelex.