Top 10 most expensive city break destinations in 2014 - some with cheap car hire solutions

Anticipating the peak of holiday season, the travel review site Trip Advisor, prepared the list of the most expensive locations for a city break in Europe and worldwide.

Factors taken into account were the high season (July and August) prices of a one night stay in a 4-stars hotel in a double, two pre-dinner cocktails in a 5-star hotel, a dinner for two in a local restaurants and two short-haul taxi rides (for example to the restaurant and back).

According to the results of Trip Advisor study, the most expensive cities to visit in the summer 2014 are:

• London, UK- £311,80 (includes costs of the hotel stay for two, dinner and drinks for two, 2 short distance taxi rides)
• Paris, France - £305,79
• New York, USA - £300,58
• Stockholm, Sweden - £286,87
• Oslo, Norway - £273,32
• Zurich, Switzerland - £272,02
• Copenhagen, Denmark - £252,90
• Helsinki, Finland - £227,73
• Toronto, Canada - £225,60
• Sydney, Australia - £224,81

The costs of a weekend stay in the priciest city break destinations spreads unevenly: while Stockholm is the most expansive place to eat out, accommodation (in a minimum 4-stars hotel) seems to be the most expensive in New York. In Oslo, prepare to pay serious money for taxi. In the glamorous Paris, cocktails out in town are an expensive affair, when compared to other destinations worldwide.

At the oppsite end of the list, Hanoi (Vietnam) ranked as the cheapest when a weekend stay is concerned: moderate sum of £91.70 has been stipulated as sufficient to cover hotel, taxi, dining and drinks out. In Europe, the cheapest city break destinations were Sofia (Bulgaria), Prague (Czech Republic) and Budapest (Hungary), with prices for the “weekend pack” ranging between £112 and £120.

European cities with the most expensive taxi services – rent a car instead
A similar study was led by a foreign exchange company, Moneycorp, targeting prices of taxis in the cities worldwide in the summer 2013.

Based on the price of a taxi ride on a route airport-city centre, Moneycorp got to the following conclusions:

• Copenhagen– Denmark’s capital has the world’s most expensive taxi rate per kilometre: the 8 km ride from Copenhagen airport to the city centre costs £34.08 (£/km 4.26)
• Geneva, Switzerland, rates second most expensive, at € 22,63 for a 6 km ride between the airport and the city centre (£/km 3.77)
• In Tokyo, Japan, it will cost you on average £191.48 to get from Tokyo Airport to the city. The distance, though, is considerable – 66 km, which translate in to 2.90 pounds per kilometre rate.
• Brussels, Belgium, comes in fourth place with an average rate of £2.47 per kilometre price of a taxi ride from Brussels Airport to the city (£29.66 for a 12 km ride).
• Amsterdam, Netherlands – it costs £35.59 to get by taxi from Schiphol to Amsterdam city centre (average rate of £/km 1.98).
• Barcelona, Spain – prepare to pay the average £1.96 per km fare on a route El Prat Airport – Barcelona city centre (£25.42 for 13 km).
• In Paris, France, taxi ride from CDG Airport to the city centre is not cheap - £38.14 for a 23 km ride, at an average £/km 1.66 rate.  
• Melbourne, Australia – the same distance, 23 km between the city centre and Melbourne Airport will be slightly cheaper - £37.30, which gives an average rate of £/km 1.62.
• Lisbon, Portugal – a taxi ride on the 9 km separating Lisbon Airport from the city centre costs on average £14,41 (£1.60 per km)
• New York, United States - £41,18 for a 26 km ride from Newark Airport to New York city centre (£1.58 per km)
• Milan, Italy-  the average £72.03 fare for a taxi ride from Milan Malpensa (MXP) to the city centre seems steep, but the £ per km is only £1.57 as there are 46 km to cover.
• Dublin, Ireland – the average price of £21.19 for a 14 km ride between the city centre and Dublin Airport gives an average of £1.51 per km.
• Athens, Greece - £29.66 is the average rate for the 20 km taxi ride from Athens International Airport to the city centre (£1.48 per km).
• San Francisco, United States - £29,41 for a taxi from the city centre to San Francisco Airport (21 km) gives an average rate of £1.40 per km.
• Munich, Germany closes the list of 15 cities with the most expensive taxi services with an average rate of £42.37 for 31 km distance in a taxi from Munich Airport to Munich city centre (£/km 1.37).

In some of the cities listed above, cheap car hire is, however, a good alternative to taxis or public transportation. In Lisbon, for example, the price for renting a car off-season often falls below £70 for a week of Lisbon Airport car hire and in some cases, when there is a large surplus of cars, you can rent a car in Lisbon for as little as £7-8 per day.

View current car hire offers available at Lisbon Airport

Also in Dublin you are likely to find cheap car rental deals, often starting from around £80 for a small city car to be picked up at Dublin Airport.

Compare prices for car hire Dublin Airport

 Amsterdam is another city where it is often worth to consider car hire as an alternative to pricey taxis. Especially the premium vehicles, such as BMW 3 Series, Mercedes, C-Class or the Audi A4 to rent from Schiphol Airport can be surprisingly cheap for the standard they offer.

Cartrawler price comparison for Amsterdam Airport car hire