As temperatures drop and long-range forecasts predict steady rain across Britain, thoughts turn to a holiday in the sun to ease the entry into winter. So often just a dream, this is the year a long-haul holiday could become a reality because operators are offering cut-price deals, and spending surveys report unbeatable value in the Far East.

Niel Alobaidi, Hayes & Jarvis commercial director, says: “Savings on flight and hotel costs negotiated with suppliers keen to fill their seats and beds mean that UK tourists booking a winter-sun getaway now can easily bag a one-week bargain trip for around £600 to popular destinations such as Thailand, Mauritius, the Maldives and Antigua.

“The price-cutting trend started last spring when sluggish forward bookings made hoteliers anxious to boost their occupancy levels. But it is very unusual to see this continue into the peak winter sun period — and even more surprising to find airlines offering lower prices.”

Thailand and Indian Ocean destinations top the company’s list of places to benefit from price cuts and a separate report also predicts that package holiday prices to Thailand could be 25 per cent cheaper this winter than last.

When tourists reach the country, they will find prices for food and drink, suncream and insect repellent significantly cheaper than in European and American resorts, according to the Long Haul Holiday Report from Post Office Travel Services.

The report found that a shopping basket of tourist staples, including dinner with wine in a local restaurant, came to £38.12, compared with £104.95 in Australia. Favourable prices were also found in Bali, the Malaysian resort of Penang and in Kenyan resorts, with the same basket of items costing around £50.

Hayes & Jarvis has these offers in the coming weeks: ten nights in Thailand for £599 and a week in Bali for £549. The Thai holiday represents a 25 per cent saving and includes a Gulf Air flight from Heathrow on October 18 and a room at the Regent Chalets, with a pool, exercise room and two restaurants beside a pleasant beach five miles south of the resort of Cha-am.

The Bali break starts with a Malaysia Airlines flight from Heathrow on November 10 for B&B in the three-star Bumas Hotel, set in a secluded tropical garden with two pools and a restaurant in Sanur.

The company also has a week’s all-inclusive from November 7 at the Diani Sea Lodge on Diani beach, south of Mombasa, Kenya, for £649 with a flight from Heathrow — and a seemingly excellent high-season deal to the Caribbean, which must be booked by the end of next week. This is a fortnight at the Halcyon Cove in Dickenson Bay, Antigua, from January 10 for £599, with a BA flight from Gatwick. Holidaymakers will find local prices much higher than in the Far East because the eastern Caribbean currency is tied to the US dollar.

Nicola Denbigh, a late travel specialist at Kuoni, agreed that this is one of the best years for long-haul travel. “Some of the savings we have seen are the biggest ever and are still available even though we are approaching high season. The best deals are for those who are flexible and can travel at short notice. But savings don’t mean a drop in standards.”

The company’s current lead-in deal is at the four-star Evason Hua Hin & Six Senses Spa in Thailand, where eight nights’ B&B and an Emirates flight from Heathrow on October 19 costs from £749.

Thomson Tailormade offers a fortnight’s B&B at the Centara Karon Resort in Phuket, Thailand, from £699 with a Thai Airways flight from Heathrow on November 3 and transfers. A few minutes’ walk from the white sands of Karon beach, the resort has good children’s facilities, two restaurants, three pools, tennis courts, spa and beauty salon.

More expensive, but at top hotels in Sri Lanka, are these packages with Mosaic Holidays, available until October 25: a week’s B&B at the Taj Exotica in Bentota for £799 and at The Beach Hotel in Negombo for £899, both with flights from Heathrow.

www.hayesandjarvis.com — 0871 6640246

www.kuoni.co.uk — 01306 747008

www.thomsontailormade.com — 0871 6640273

www.mosaicholidays.co.uk — 020-8574 4000

www.postoffice.co.uk/longhaul2009

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