The price comparison website looked at 26 countries, taking into account the costs of visas, vaccinations and travel insurance. It sought to highlight the hidden costs of travel, pointing out the expenses travellers should expect to pay on top of accommodation and travel fares.

The most expensive country is China, at a total cost of £782

It found that the most expensive country is China, at a total cost of £782, £675 of which comes from the recommended vaccinations, including hepatitis A and B, rabies, tetanus, tick-borne encephalitis and typhoid.

India took second place, costing an average of £54 for a visa, with an additional £480 recommended for vaccines such as hepatitis A, tetanus and typhoid, closely followed by Japan. Although travellers don’t need a visa to enter Japan, recommended vaccinations can add up to £525 due to the presence of tick-borne encephalitis. Something travellers heading to Japan next year for the 2020 Olympic Games might want to take heed of.

The study also shed light on the minimum time required for certain vaccinations to take effect, with the recommended vaccination schedule for tick-borne encephalitis, for example, being 10 months, with a recommended additional two weeks to finish the course before travelling.

Anna Sant, travel insurance expert at MoneySuperMarket, highlighted the importance of getting the recommended vaccinations and explained that not doing so could impact on the validity of a traveller’s insurance. “It’s really important to listen to the advice of your doctor, not only for your own health but in the unfortunate event that you need to make a claim on your travel insurance. For example, if you are advised to have a typhoid jab and choose not to, or ignore the suggested timeframes for a vaccination to take effect, your insurer could refuse to pay out. However, if for any reason you cannot have the recommended vaccinations, for example because you are pregnant, then you would still be covered to travel without it.”

You can view the original study here.