Italy and Cyprus lead the pack.
By Dobrina Zhekova December 09, 2021
With travel opening up and booking websites reporting significant increases in searches for international flights, people are once again packing their bags and heading to faraway destinations. And though spending a week or two basking in the sun in a beach resort in a foreign country is certainly a welcome reprieve from the past couple of years, investing in a vacation home abroad guarantees you a welcoming place to stay in your favorite destination overseas. So if you are in the market for a vacation property in a sunny corner of the world, the UK-based price comparison website Compare the Market just released a list of the 10 best places to purchase a holiday home. The company looked into factors such as things to do, affordability, crime rate, and the local weather to rank the best holiday hot spots worldwide.
Unsurprisingly, the first spot is occupied by one of Italy’s most-visited cities: Venice. The Floating City, built on more than 100 small islands on the picturesque shores of the Adriatic, is the best destination in both the survey’s Restaurants and Things to Do categories. But you also have to pay handsomely if you’d like to call Venice your second home, as the city has the most expensive real estate market in Italy, with an average property price per square meter (or about 10.8 square feet) reaching $4,930.
The second spot on Compare the Market’s list goes to the ancient Cypriot city of Paphos. With an average year-round temperature of 67 F and plenty of historical sites to explore (not to mention delicious eateries offering fresh seafood), Paphos is the ultimate warm-weather European destination. The city’s real estate market is also a lot more affordable than Venice, with an average property price per square meter of $1,837, and the average monthly cost of living for a family of four at a little over $2,500.
Abu Dhabi received the lowest crime score of all destinations and ranks third on the list of best places to buy a vacation home abroad. The Persian Gulf city also benefits from high average temperatures (82 F) and low rainfall. The average price per square meter is $2,836, while a family of four should expect to pay about $2,865 monthly, on average.
The other two spots in the top five are occupied by Dubai and Funchal in Madeira, Portugal. Spain dominates the second half of the list with Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and Marbella ranking seventh, eighth, and 10th respectively, while the sixth and ninth spots are for the Greek island of Corfu and Cyprus’ capital Larnaca.