Holiday Home Hotspots

The best places to purchase a home in the sun
No sooner is summer over than the cold and wet weather starts to set in and has us all dreaming of sunnier times.

And with international travel finally starting to open up again, many people will no doubt be considering not just a short break away, but potentially buying their very own holiday home in the sun to retreat to.

But what are the best destinations for those looking to buy a holiday home? We’ve analysed locations around the world based on factors such as things to do, affordability, and the local weather, to find out!

Top three holiday home hotspots

1

6.92

holiday home score /10

Venice

Italy

As the capital of the northern Italian region of Veneto, Venice is known for being built upon a lagoon of over 100 small islands on the shores of the Adriatic Sea, with no roads and only canals traversed by gondolas.

As the capital of the northern Italian region of Veneto, Venice is known for being built upon a lagoon of over 100 small islands on the shores of the Adriatic Sea, with no roads and only canals traversed by gondolas.

The main reason it ranks as our number one holiday home destination is the sheer concentration of things to do and places to eat and drink within its relatively small area.

2

6.91

holiday home score /10

Paphos

Cyprus

While Venice is an amazing place to visit, you might want a holiday home somewhere with fewer tourists where you can really immerse yourself with the locals. In this case, Paphos in Cyprus may be a good choice.

The city, on the southwest coast of the island, benefits from the Mediterranean climate, with an average annual temperature of 19.2˚C. It’s also among the more affordable places we analysed with an average house price of £1,329 per square metre.

As well as several historical sites (particularly relating to Aphrodite, the goddess of love), there’s also the more modern New Paphos area around the harbour with lots of bars and restaurants to enjoy.

3

6.70

holiday home score /10

Abu Dhabi

United Arab Emirates

If you fancy a holiday home in the Middle East, Abu Dhabi might just be the place for you.

As well as having high temperatures (averaging 27.6˚C) and low rainfall (around 10.8mm each month), Abu Dhabi has one of the lowest crime levels, too.

Situated in the Persian Gulf, the city has grown rapidly in recent decades, with modern skyscrapers and shopping malls gracing the city’s skylines, as well as reminders of the area’s cultural heritage through the likes of the vast Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.

Holiday home hostspots ranked

Key
Things to do per 10,000 people Restaurants per 10,000 people Crime index score Average monthly cost of living (famly of four) Average property price per sq m Average temperature (˚C) Average rainfall(mm) Holiday home score /10

Select Currency

Rank

Destination

Country

The best destination for…

The best destination for:

Things to do

Venice

(358 attractions per 10,000 people)

As previously mentioned, Venice is a relatively small city given its immense popularity with tourists, and as such, has a high concentration of things to see and do, with 358 sightseeing destinations per 10,000 people.

Some of the top attractions in the “La Dominante” include St Mark's Basilica, the Doge's Palace, the Grand Canal, and the Piazza San Marco.

The best destination for:

Restaurants

Venice

(2,628 eateries per 10,000 people)

Similarly, Venice took top spot when it came to the number of restaurants. The city doesn’t have its own specific cuisine as such, but given its location, seafood features prominently on menus, as does produce from the various islands in the Venetian Lagoon and other Italian staples from the mainland.

While it’s great to have so much choice in the city, it pays to try and look a bit deeper than the usual touristy venues and find the places where true locals eat, which is where buying a holiday home and spending an extended break here comes in handy!

The best destination for:

Crime Index score

Abu Dhabi

(12.04 rating out of 100)

Feeling comfortable and safe in your home away from home is massively important, and Abu Dhabi scored the best when it came to low crime levels.

Of course, no city is completely free of crime, but as a relatively affluent place, you rarely have to worry about safety in Abu Dhabi.

The best destination for:

Average monthly cost of living

Antalya

(£969 for a family of four)

Affordability is always a big concern, especially as the cost of living can vary quite wildly around the world.

With this in mind, the most affordable destination on our list in terms of the cost of living is Antalya, in Turkey, where a family of four can get by on less than £1,000 a month.

The best destination for:

Average property price

Antalya

(£528 per square metre)

Once again, Antalya was the cheapest place when it came to buying your holiday home, at an average cost of £528 per square metre.

The best destination for:

Average temperature

Malé

(28.5˚C)

The warmest of the destinations on our list was Male, the capital of the Maldives, with an average annual temperature of 28.5˚C.

So, if relaxing on the beach with the sun shining down upon you is the most important thing for you, it’s pretty clear where you should be looking!

The best destination for:

Average rainfall

Las Vegas

(8.9mm per month)

Given that it’s located in the middle of a desert, it should be no surprise that Las Vegas was the destination that experienced the least rainfall, with just 8.9mm falling on average each month.

Methodology

We analysed over 50 global destinations on the following factors, giving each a normalised mark out of ten for each factor before averaging the scores.

Things to do

The number of things to do listed on Tripadvisor, per 10,000 people according to City Population.

Restaurants

The number of restaurants listed on Tripadvisor, per 10,000 people according to City Population.

Safety

The destination’s Crime Index Score according to Numbeo, with a lower score meaning less crime at that destination (data sourced September 7th 2021).

Cost of living

The monthly cost of living for a family of four in the destination according to Numbeo, with data sourced and converted to GBP using XE. Exchange rates current as of September 7th 2021.

Property price

The average property price per square metre according to Numbeo, with data sourced and converted to GBP using XE (exchange rates current as of September 7th 2021), taking an average of the prices for a property both in and outside of the city/town centre.

Temperature

The average annual temperature of the destination, taking an average of the temperatures for each individual month from Holiday-Weather.com.

Rainfall

The average annual precipitation in the destination, taking an average of the rainfall for each individual month from Holiday-Weather.com.