This was published 7 years ago
Hotel Price Index reveals priciest and cheapest destinations for Australians
By Kylie McLaughlin
Hotels around Kapalua in Hawaii are among the most expensive in the world for Australians.Credit: iStock
The most expensive place Australians could spend the night in 2016 is Hawaii, according to an annual analysis carried out by Hotels.com.
The popular island destination of Lahaina in Maui rakes in an average of $384 a night from Australian holidaymakers, with the Greek island of Mykonos following hot on its heels at $356 per night, according to the latest Hotel Price Index.
Lahaina is the gateway to Ka'anapali and Kapalua beach resorts, located just to its north.
See also: Twenty things that will shock first-time visitors to Hawaii
New York, Boston and Santorini filled out the rest of the top five most expensive places, with rates all well above $300 per night.
The best bargain to be had was in Britain, with Brexit fuelling cheap deals on hotels, particularly in London, where an average price for a hotel room decreased by 10 per cent in 2016 to a more comfortable $252 per night.
However, if you were looking for an even cheaper experience in Britain, the Welsh capital of Cardiff proved the cheapest destination with prices down 27 per cent to $156 a room.
According to the survey, New Zealand is the most popular travel location for Australians. More than 1 million Australians headed across the Tasman to New Zealand in 2016.
The resort town of Queenstown proved to be the least affordable place to visit there, with hotel prices rising 12 per cent in 2016 to $253 a night. The rest of the country saw an average price rise of 5 per cent to $179 per night.
See also: 20 reasons to visit Queenstown and its neighbours
In Europe, terror attacks had the expected effect on room prices sending them tumbling as much as 30 per cent in Turkey where a room cost Australians an average of $108 per night. Room prices also dropped 10 per cent in the French capital of Paris to $216 per night.
The cheapest places to stay for Australians remains in Southeast Asia, with destinations such as Pattaya in Thailand providing the best bang for your buck at $67 per night. Elsewhere in the region, Phnom Penh, Chiang Mai, Cebu and Hanoi rounded out the top five cheapest destinations to stay at well under $100 per night.
In Australia, Yulara – the nearest town to Uluru – topped the list of the most expensive places to stay for international visitors, beating Sydney and beachy destinations such as the Whitsundays by nearly $100 per night.
World's most expensive hotel rooms for Australians
1. Lahaina, US – $384
2. Mykonos, Greece – $356
3. New York, US – $345
4. Boston, US – $343
5. Santorini, Greece – $329
6. Honolulu, US – $328
7. Hollywood, US – $326
8. Playa del Carmen, Mexico – $294
9. San Francisco, US – $294
10. Cancun, Mexico – $283
Cheapest rooms in the world for Australians
1. Pattaya, Thailand – $67
2. Phnom Penh, Cambodia – $73
3. Chiang Mai, Thailand – $74
4. Cebu, Philippines – $80
5. Hanoi, Vietnam – $83
6. Siem Reap, Cambodia – $83
7. Manila, Philippines – $91
8. Sepang, Malaysia – $92
9. Hoi An, Vietnam – $95
10. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – $105
Average prices paid in Australia by international travellers
1. Yulara – $350
2. Whitsunday Islands – $257
3. Sydney – $221
4. Port Douglas – $205
5. Melbourne – $174
6. Perth – $170
7. Brisbane – $149
8. Darwin – $137
9. Cairns – $153
10. Alice Springs – $128
11. Townsville – $112
See also: The places in Australia where prices surge the most over Easter
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