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This Is Officially The World’s Cheapest Beach To Chill At

beach in Hoi An

There’s something undeniably amazing about a a humble beach day, isn’t there? Relaxing in the sunshine, cooling down in the ocean, snacking and chatting with your friends; yep, it’s magic. But it turns out not all beaches were created equal, and TravelBird have committed to an annual study to find where in the world is the cheapest place to chill by the sea.

The 2017 Beach Price Index measured 310 sandy stretches from 70 different countries and ranked them according to how much the five beach-going essentials cost at each location. The essentials include: sunscreen (SPF30, 200ml), water (500ml), beer (330ml bottle), ice cream and lunch. Coz people have got to hydrate, stay sun safe and eat.

The #1 spot went to one of Asia’s leading travel destinations…

Besides being beautiful, Cua Dai Beach near Hoi An is the cheapest worldwide, coming in at a total US $13.18 for all your beachy needs. With lunch coming in under US $8, it would be even more of a steal if you BYO’d a bread roll! 

Vietnam actually took out the top three spots, with City Beach (near Nha Trang) and Long Beach (in Phu Quoc) joining Cua Dai, solidifying Vietnam as the must-do beach holiday. 

Rounding out the top 10 weren’t any traditional beach locations like Hawaii, Australia or Thailand; but instead Egypt and India. If you are hanging out for an affordable European spot to work on your tan, head to Nin in Croatia. It’s the cheapest European destination on the list coming in at a cool US $19.01.

That’s the low end of the score card, but what about the beach you need to save up for? The most expensive beach costs a whopping US $64.61 for the essentials and the spot in question is Kristiansand Beach in Norway. In fact, Norway has 5 out of the 10 most expensive beach days in the world! Since Norway isn’t exactly a summer holiday hot spot, we’ll forgive them.

RELATED: I TRAVELLED TO NORWAY, THE HAPPIEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD, TO FIND OUT WHY THEY’RE ALL SO DAMN HAPPY