Best Summer Travel Destinations

School’s out, the mercury’s rising, and some people have yet to spend their tax refunds. In short, it’s time to plan the perfect summer getaway. The only question is: Where should you go? You might have a few destinations already in mind, but your travel budget might not agree. Regardless, it’s ideal to have fun while keeping your spending in check.

So which places offer the most bang for the buck? To find out, WalletHub developed a ranking of the cheapest U.S. destinations that are also the easiest to reach. In total, we analyzed 100 of the largest metro areas across 40 key indicators. Our data set ranges from cost of the cheapest flight to number of attractions to weather. Read on for the full ranking, money-saving travel advice and our methodology.

Compared with other rankings that focus on each destination’s scenic quality, this report focuses primarily on the cost and convenience of traveling to each location as well as its affordability. However, it does take into account the number of attractions and variety of activities in each destination to ensure visitors will stay busy and entertained throughout the trip. As you plan your trip, make sure to check out WalletHub’s Best Travel Credit Cards and Currency Exchange reports.

Main Findings

Best Places to Visit in Summer

Ask the Experts: Tips for Saving on Summer Travel

You shouldn’t have to wipe out your savings just to enjoy a nice summer vacation. For budget-friendly advice and other useful travel insight, we asked a panel of experts to share their thoughts on the following key questions:

1. What are your predictions for the 2019 summer travel season in terms of, for instance, the percentage of Americans traveling, the most popular destinations and the busiest travel times?
2. Do you think the federal government should block airlines from overbooking flights?
3. What are the best travel strategies for families with young children on a budget?
4. What are the costliest travel mistakes?
5. What money-saving tips do you have for travelers staying in the U.S. and those traveling abroad?
6. In evaluating the best summer travel destinations, what are the top five indicators?

Methodology

In order to determine the best summer vacation spots, WalletHub compared 100 of the most populated metro areas (or Metropolitan Statistical Areas, as identified by the U.S. Census Bureau) across six key categories: 1) Travel Costs & Hassles, 2) Local Costs, 3) Attractions, 4) Weather, 5) Activities and 6) Safety.

We evaluated those categories using 40 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for summer travel. Metrics marked with an asterisk (*) were measured by the square root of the population.

For our flight analysis, we collected data on April 19 and selected July 11 as the departure date and July 21 as the return date for the following reasons: 1) July is the most popular month for summer travel, according to an AYTM vacations survey, and 2) the average American considers 10 days to be the perfect length for a vacation, according to American Express data.

Finally, we determined each metro area’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.

Travel Costs & Hassles - Total Points: 18

• Cost of Cheapest Flight: 30% (~5.40 Points)
• Duration of Cheapest Flight: 10% (~1.80 Points)
• Number of Connections on Cheapest Flight: 5% (~0.90 Points)
• Cost of Shortest Flight: 30% (~5.40 Points)
• Duration of Shortest Flight: 10% (~1.80 Points)
• Number of Connections on Shortest Flight: 5% (~0.90 Points)
• Share of Delayed Flights: 10% (~ 1.80 Points)

To determine the cheapest flight, we compared the cost of a round-trip flight between each of the 100 destinations and the six largest U.S. airport hubs in the following cities:

• Atlanta
• Chicago
• Dallas
• Denver
• Los Angeles
• New York

To determine the shortest flight, we compared the departure and return flights and chose the longer of the two. For instance, if a departure flight from Washington to Los Angeles took five hours, whereas the return flight from Los Angeles to Washington lasted six, we chose the latter.

Considering the disparities in flight costs and travel times, we also chose the best deals for each metric within a $30 range or one-hour window. For example, if the cheapest round-trip flight from Washington to Los Angeles cost $700, whereas the second-cheapest flight cost $25 more but reduced the total travel time by two hours, we chose the latter. Similarly, if the shortest round-trip flight from Washington to Los Angeles took six hours each way, whereas the second-shortest took 25 minutes longer but saved the traveler $200, we again chose the latter.

Local Costs - Total Points: 18

• Cost of Living: 40% (~7.20 Points)
• Lowest Nightly Rate for Three-Star Hotel Room: 40% (~7.20 Points)
• Average Price of Two-Person Meal: 20% (~3.60 Points)

Attractions - Total Points: 18

• Number of Attractions: 50% (~9.00 Points)
• Diversity of Attractions: 50% (~9.00 Points)
  Note: This metric was calculated using the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index, which is a commonly accepted measure of market concentration that also works effectively as a general-purpose measure of diversity.

Weather - Total Points: 18

Note: Based on WalletHub’s Cities with the Best & Worst Weather ranking, penalizing the metro areas with extreme weather.

Activities - Total Points: 18

• Restaurants per Capita*: 4.08% (~0.73 Points)
• Prevalence of Affordable Restaurants with Ratings of 4.5+ Stars: 4.08% (~0.73 Points)
• Amusement Parks per Capita*: 4.08% (~0.73 Points)
• Presence on TripAdvisor’s “Top 25 Amusement Parks” List: 4.08% (~0.73 Points)
  Note: Binary metric:
  • 1 – City is present on Top 25 TripAdvisor Amusement Parks
  • 0 – City is not present on Top 25 TripAdvisor Amusement Parks

   

• Wellness & Spa Centers per Capita*: 4.08% (~0.73 Points)
• Retail Shopping Centers per Capita*: 4.08% (~0.73 Points)
• Music Venues per Capita*: 4.08% (~0.73 Points)
• Coffee & Tea Shops per Capita*: 4.08% (~0.73 Points)
• Ice-Cream & Frozen-Yogurt Shops per Capita*: 4.08% (~ 0.73 Points)
• Tennis Courts per Capita*: 4.08% (~0.73 Points)
• Golf Courses and Country Clubs per Capita*: 4.08% (~0.73 Points)
• Baseball & Softball Diamonds per Capita*: 4.08% (~0.73 Points)
• Basketball Hoops per Capita*: 4.08% (~0.73 Points)
• Bike-Rental Facilities per Capita*: 4.08% (~0.73 Points)
• Food Festivals per Capita*: 4.08% (~0.73 Points)
• Quality of Parks: 4.08% (~0.73 Points)
  Note: Based on WalletHub’s Best & Worst Cities for Recreation ranking.
• Public Beaches per Capita*: 4.08% (~0.73 Points)
• Presence on TripAdvisor’s “Top 25 Beaches” or “Top 25 Water Parks” List: 2.04% (~0.37 Points)
  Note: Binary metric:
  • 1 – City is present on Top 25 TripAdvisor Beaches or Water Parks
  • 0 – City is not present on Top 25 TripAdvisor Beaches or Water Parks

   

• Water Temperature: 4.08% (~0.73 Points)
  Note: This metric was used as a proxy for cities located along a sea, ocean or lake.
• Swimming Pools per Capita*: 4.08% (~0.73 Points)
• Water Parks per Capita*: 4.08% (~0.73 Points)
• Boat Tours & Water Sports per Capita*: 4.08% (~0.73 Points)
• Hiking Trails per Capita*: 4.08% (~0.73 Points)
• Beer Gardens per Capita*: 4.08% (~0.73 Points)
• Time of Last Call: 4.08% (~0.73 Points)

Safety - Total Points: 10

• Violent-Crime Rate: 50% (~5.00 Points)
• Property-Crime Rate: 50% (~5.00 Points)

Videos for News Use:

• YouTube (for web embedding National)
• Raw files (for editing into clips)

Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, Council for Community and Economic Research, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Numbeo, Kayak, TripAdvisor, Yelp, The Trust for Public Land, World Sea Temperature and WalletHub research.

Image: AboutLife / Shutterstock.com