Not all vacations have to be, or should be, budget-busting, once-in-a-lifetime experiences. The 10-day African safaris, the overwater bungalow honeymoons, and the multi-city European excursions are far from the only options you have when you’re ready for a break from your day-to-day responsibilities. Travel can be relatively affordable, but you just have to choose your destination wisely. And GOBankingRates recently did the legwork for you.
After looking at the numbers, the personal finance resource determined that Concord, North Carolina, is America’s most budget-friendly tourist destination. Home to the Charlotte Motor Speedway, this small city is just about 20 miles from Charlotte, making it a great (and affordable) option for those travelers who plan on flying into the American Airlines hub (CLT).
With its charming historic downtown area filled with restaurants, shops, event venues, and even an arcade bar, Concord is the perfect place to explore and enjoy a laid-back weekend. Plus, the total vacation cost for two adults came out to be $940. Here’s how that number was calculated.
For this particular study, GOBankingRates started with a list of the most popular tourist destinations in the U.S., using Travel + Leisure, U.S. News & World Report, TripAdvisor, Nomadic Matt, and Holidify as resources. From there, the team calculated the cost of a vacation for two adults traveling for three nights and staying in a hotel in August 2025.
The hotel rate was set based on the average cost of the three cheapest hotels in the area (within 5 miles of downtown), sourced from Hotels.com. GOBankingRates also used Numbeo’s cost-of-living calculator to estimate the cost of “three meals at mid-range restaurants, 12 meals at inexpensive restaurants, six beers, and six sodas.” Finally, airfare was taken into account using the Bureau of Transportation’s average airfare cost for 2025.
For Concord, the average cost of airfare was $197, the average hotel cost was $215, and travelers can expect to spend around $462 for meals and $66 for drinks. While this under-the-radar city was the only destination where the total vacation costs came under $1,000, there were several runners-up you can consider for an affordable trip.
Phoenix, Arizona; Macon, Georgia; and El Centro, California, all came in under $1,300 for a three-night trip for two. Texas was the U.S. state with the most cities in the top 30—there were nine total—while not a single Florida destination was featured.
View the full ranking and cost breakdowns on GOBankingRates.
