Beach Price Index Calculator

The Beach Price Index (BPI) is a composite score that ranks beach destinations by the cost of a one-day stay. It factors in essentials like sunscreen, water, food, drinks, sunbed rental, accommodation, and transport. A higher score means a more expensive destination compared to a global baseline.

The score is derived by summing weighted daily costs per person — including sunscreen amortized over a week, water, beer, meals, sunbed rental, accommodation, and transport — then normalizing against a baseline reference of $50/day. A score of 100 represents exactly the baseline, scores above 100 are more expensive, and scores below 100 are cheaper.

The calculator categorizes your beach as Budget (score under 70), Moderate (70–130), Premium (130–200), or Luxury (above 200). Most popular beach destinations around the world fall in the Moderate range, though European and Caribbean hotspots often rank much higher.

The original TravelBird Beach Price Index includes six factors: sunscreen cost, a bottle of water, a local beer, sunbed rental, a meal at a local restaurant, and accommodation per night. Our calculator also adds daily transport to give a more complete picture of real vacation spending.

Historically, beaches in Southeast Asia (Bali, Thailand, Vietnam) and some parts of Eastern Europe (Albania, Bulgaria) rank as the most affordable. Costs for accommodation, food, and essentials are significantly lower than in Western Europe or the Caribbean.

Top-ranked expensive beaches typically include destinations like the French Riviera, Mykonos, Maldives, and Hawaii. High accommodation prices combined with premium food and drink costs drive up the Beach Price Index for these locations.

Key savings come from choosing off-peak travel dates, booking accommodation away from the beachfront, eating at local markets rather than tourist restaurants, and bringing your own sunscreen and water bottles. Even at expensive destinations, daily costs can be cut significantly with a few smart choices.

The standard Beach Price Index measures the cost of a single day at a beach destination, covering all key daily expenses for one person. Our calculator extends this to your full trip duration and number of travelers so you get a realistic total budget estimate.