The TripAdvisor TripIndex is tracked against the US Dollar and is based on the combined costs for two of a one night stay in a four-star hotel, cocktails, a two-course dinner with a bottle of wine and return taxi transportation (two journeys of approximately 3.2 kilometres each). Costs listed are accurate for 1 June – 31 August 2012.

Hanoi, Vietnam offers the most affordable night out for travellers with a total TripIndex cost of US$141.12 (S$181.04). At more than triple the cost of Hanoi, London topped the list as most expensive with a TripIndex cost of US$518.01 (S$664.56).

“TripIndex helps travellers see where they will get more bang for their buck,” said Jean Ow-Yeong, TripAdvisor spokesperson. “Interestingly, once on the ground, European cities such as Budapest and Warsaw turn out to be as affordable as some Asian cities, while Singapore and Sydney are in the ranks of London, Paris and New York as some of the most expensive cities.”

Hotels Set the Tone

The cost of hotels was the most important factor in determining the least and most expensive cities on TripIndex:

·        The least expensive average hotel room goes to Bangkok at US$81.13 (S$104.08) per night. The most expensive average hotel room goes to London at US$361.64 ($463.95) per night, with Singapore coming in as the tenth most expensive at US$233.14 (S$299.09) per night. This means hotel rooms in London are more than quadruple the cost of those in Bangkok.

·        The average cost of a room in ten of the least expensive cities for hotels is just US$113.32 (S$145.37), while the most expensive cities come in at an average of US$261.99 (S$336.10). That means the rooms in the ten most expensive cities for hotels more than double the cost of those in the ten least expensive.

Save in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia was the region which claimed the most cities in the ten least expensive list, including Hanoi which took the top spot, while Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta took the third, fifth and eighth spots respectively.

Comparatively Costly in Europe

Europe dominated the most expensive list with seven cities in the top ten, including London which took the first place, while Oslo, Zurich, Paris, Stockholm, Moscow and Copenhagen took the second, third, fourth, fifth, seventh and eighth places respectively.

TripIndex Cities

Least Expensive:

	Destination	Hotel	Return taxi trip	Cocktails for two	Dinner for two	Total cost
1	Hanoi, Vietnam	US$84.89 (S$108.91)	US$4.95 (S$6.36)	US$22.56 (S$28.95)	US$28.71 (S$36.83)	US$141.12 (S$181.04)
2	Beijing, China	US$106.31 (S$136.38)	US$1.71 (S$2.20)	US$23.63 (S$30.31)	US$27.41 (S$35.16)	US$159.05 (S$204.05)
3	Bangkok, Thailand	US$81.13 (S$104.08)	US$2.03 (S$2.60)	US$9.45 (S$12.12)	US$69.30 (S$88.90)	US$161.90 (S$207.71)
4	Budapest, Hungary	US$104.51 (S$134.08)	US$9.83 (S$12.61)	US$36.12 (S$46.34)	US$43.32 (S$55.58)	US$193.78 (S$248.60)
5	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	US$113.52 (S$145.64)	US$3.67 (S$4.71)	US$19.68 (S$25.25)	US$57.55 (S$73.84)	US$194.43 (S$249.43)
6	Warsaw, Poland	US$109.34 (S$140.27)	US$12.32 (S$15.80)	US$12.03 (S$15.44)	US$65.51 (S$84.04)	US$199.20 (S$255.56)
7	Taipei, Taiwan	US$141.76 (S$181.86)	US$3.70 (S$4.74)	US$26.36 (S$33.82)	US$31.81 (S$40.80)	US$203.62 (S$261.23)
8	Jakarta, Indonesia	US$124.24 (S$159.39)	US$1.92 (S$2.46)	US$20.00 (S$25.66)	US$58.43 (S$74.96)	US$204.59 (S$262.47)
9	Sofia, Bulgaria	US$116.29 (S$149.18)	US$3.40 (S$4.37)	US$40.86  (S$52.42)	US$46.73 (S$59.95)	US$207.28 (S$265.92)
10	Tunis, Tunisia	US$151.18 (S$193.94)	US$5.23 (S$6.72)	US$9.97 (S$12.79)	US$50.27 (S$64.49)	US$216.65 (S$277.94)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                     (1 USD = S$1.28290)

Most Expensive:

 

	Destination	Hotel	Return taxi trip	Cocktails for two	Dinner for two	Total cost
1	London, UK	US$361.64 (S$463.95)	US$34.69 (S$44.51)	US$39.07 (S$50.12)	US$82.61 (S$105.98)	US$518.01 (S$664.56)
2	Oslo, Norway	US$219.94 (S$282.16)	US$52.19 (S$66.95)	US$36.79 (S$47.19)	US$191.00 (S$245.03)	US$499.91 (S$641.33)
3	Zurich, Switzerland	US$292.00 (S$374.60)	US$37.76 (S$48.44)	US$27.03 (S$34.68)	US$129.03 (S$165.53)	US$485.82 (S$623.26)
4	Paris, France	US$306.71 (S$393.48)	US$15.06 (S$19.32)	US$57.44 (S$73.68)	US$101.55 (S$130.28)	US$480.76 (S$616.76)
5	Stockholm, Sweden	US$218.73 (S$280.60)	US$47.16 (S$60.50)	US$34.95 (S$44.84)	US$171.53 (S$220.05)	US$472.36 (S$605.99)
6	New York City, USA	US$341.63 (S$438.28)	US$15.00 (S$19.24)	US$32.00 (S$41.05)	US$67.87 (S$87.07)	US$456.50 (S$585.65)
7	Moscow, Russia	US$245.96 (S$315.54)	US$14.26 (S$18.29)	US$43.40 (S$55.68)	US$125.45 (S$160.94)	US$429.07 (S$550.45)
8	Copenhagen, Denmark	US$227.15 (S$291.41)	US$21.61 (S$27.72)	US$40.34 (S$51.76)	US$137.73 (S$176.69)	US$426.84 (S$547.59)
9	Sydney, Australia	US$172.99 (S$221.92)	US$19.62 (S$25.18)	US$43.22 (S$55.44)	US$156.17 (S$200.35)	US$392.00 (S$502.89)
10	Singapore	US$233.14 (S$299.09)	US$6.58 (S$8.45)	US$34.40 (S$44.14)	US$100.81 (S$129.33)	US$374.94 (S$481.01)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                       (1 USD = S$1.28290)

The full TripIndex is available here.