For those of us stuck at home watching food prices go up, inflation has become a depressing reality.

For those of us stuck at home watching food prices go up, inflation has become a depressing reality. But holidaymakers escaping it all for a week are also having to cope with higher costs as the price of everyday goods in leading UK travel resorts has shot up, a report published today suggests.

After being ranked as some the best value-for-money destinations only five months ago, Egypt and Turkey have seen the cost of 10 "typical holiday items" shoot up 24% and 21% respectively, according to the survey by the Post Office.

Using a basket of goods including a suncream and a three-course meal out, the survey showed that holiday inflation was becoming an irritant for tourists at a number of mid-haul destinations, driven by worldwide high oil prices and food costs.

By comparison, countries in the Far East represented a much better deal in terms of daily costs - even though this was somewhat offset by the price of a long-haul flight.

The basket of items cost half as much in Thailand as in Cyprus, according to the Post Office's price index. Travelling east is a better bet than going west, with holiday costs far cheaper in Malaysia than in the Caribbean, the survey found.

Most expensive for the 10 items was Barbados, where holidaymakers would have to fork out a total of £126.89, with most of this going on a meal. This was 78% more for the 10 holiday items than sister island Jamaica. However, the total was inflated by the high cost of eating out which, at around £104 for an evening meal, was at least twice as expensive as any of the other destinations surveyed - largely because restaurant meals on the island are generally taken within hotel complexes.

In contrast, the 10 items, which also included an English language newspaper, cigarettes and a cup of coffee, would set tourists back only £33.83 in Thailand and £37.98 in Malaysia.

Despite the inflated cost of holiday items, foreign currency sales for holidays to Egypt and Turkey were booming as were sales of American dollars despite a weakening pound, the Post Office found.

Helen Warburton, head of travel at the Post Office, said: "Egypt and Turkey were among our fastest-growing currencies this summer and that trend is continuing with a year-on-year September sales growth of around 19%.

"The perception of good value combined with the fact that they will suffer relatively less from airline fuel surcharges than destinations further afield is likely to make them popular half-term choices."

Hayes & Jarvis, a long-haul tour operator, said that mid-haul holidays to the Middle East and Egypt now accounted for almost one-third of autumn bookings, up from just over one-fifth last year.

The Post Office, whose counter sales account for some 28% of UK currency sales, said that despite sterling having slipped against the US dollar in recent weeks, demand for the dollar had remained resilient, and was up 21% in September.