While planning for a holiday can be fun, it comes with its own set of problems.
To nip these issues in the bud, global travel app Skyscanner announced on Jan 15 that it has launched a new holiday planning widget called the Cheapest Destination Planner.
January is the peak holiday planning season, with 57 per cent of Singapore travellers mapping out their year ahead during this period, noted Skyscanner travel trends and destinations expert Cyndi Hui.
“But our research shows that many are overwhelmed at the prospect of booking (63 per cent), with costs top of mind for most (69 per cent),” she said.
Despite 91 per cent of Singapore travellers planning to go overseas in 2026, only 60 per cent have booked their flights, research by Skyscanner using market research company OnePoll showed.
Apart from that, only 44 per cent of travellers have booked hotels, while 10 per cent have rented cars.
More than half of travellers (55 per cent) shared that this is because they haven’t decided on their destination, while 43 per cent are still hunting for the best deals before making their bookings.
The survey also found that Singapore travellers spend an average of 134 hours, or approximately 5.6 days every year, trying to plan an overseas trip.
The new Cheapest Destination Planner aims to help travellers find fast and affordable getaways, so that they can “maximise the value they get out of experiences for less.”
Designed to take the stress out of planning trips, the new tool will help travellers understand how to make their money go further this year, said Cyndi.
“Using the planner, travellers can view the top ten cheapest destinations per month and be inspired in 2026.”
On the widget, users can select the month they plan to travel in, and the top 10 cheapest destinations on average for that month will be displayed.
The widget will also show the top reasons to visit those destinations, the average price for a return flight, as well as the cheapest days to travel.
Phuket, Taipei, and Perth among top 10
Apart from creating the widget, Skyscanner has also come up with a list of the 10 cheapest destinations for 2026 for journeys under 10 hours.
These destinations all have an average return flight price of less than $517.
| Ranking | Destination | Average return flight price | Live flight price | Cheapest day to travel |
| 1. | Phuket, Thailand | $236 | From $129 in January | Monday |
| 2. | Manila, Philippines | $240 | From $161 in March | Wednesday |
| 3. | Bali, Indonesia | $247 | From $141 in July | Sunday |
| 4. | Phu Quoc, Vietnam | $324 | From $168 in February | Monday |
| 5. | Kuching, Malaysia | $349 | From $104 in February | Thursday |
| 6. | Taipei, Taiwan | $408 | From $157 in January | Tuesday |
| 7. | Xiamen, China | $437 | From $261 in January | Monday |
| 8. | Chongqing, China | $474 | From $191 in January | Friday |
| 9. | Perth, Australia | $503 | From $231 in March | Tuesday |
| 10. | Harbin, China | $517 | From $223 in January | Thursday |
Phuket has emerged as the cheapest travel destination, with an average return flight price of $236.
Several cities in China such as Xiamen, Chongqing, and Harbin, also saw affordable average return flight prices.
Those looking to travel a little further can consider Perth, which has an average return flight price of $503.
Skyscanner’s analysis also found that on average, the cheapest day to fly in 2026 is a Sunday.
28 per cent of Singapore travellers surveyed, however, thought Tuesday was the most affordable day to travel, while 23 per cent and 2 per cent thought it was Wednesday and Saturday respectively.
The survey with 1,000 respondents was conducted in November 2025.
[[nid:728578]]
melissateo@asiaone.com
Read the full article here
