If your clients are bemoaning not being able to afford a vacation this year, a new ranking may provide them with some hope.
The travel website Kayak has compiled a list of 10 of the most affordable U.S. vacations available to domestic travelers these days.
Kayak searched round-trip economy flights departing John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, and all hotel properties with at least four stars and a minimum click threshold, to find the U.S. destinations that offer vacationers the greatest value at the most affordable cost.
The ranking also identifies the best times of the year to visit each destination.
The following, in ascending order, are Kayak's best affordable trips in the U.S.:
10. Fort Myers, Fla.
Book your trip during January and you’ll pay a median round trip airfare of $183 from JFK and a median hotel rate of $176 per night, according to Kayak. Fort Myers has a tropical climate, so average temperatures in the winter months are in the sixties.
9. Houston
In early fall, Houston’s temperatures still hover in the eighties and the air is dry, with low average precipitation. You’ll pay a median airfare of $217 round trip and a median hotel rate of $136 per night. The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center and the “Big Bubble” art installation at Buffalo Bayou are among the attractions.
8. Cleveland
You’ll pay a median round trip airfare of $272 and a median hotel rate of $183 per night. Visit Cleveland’s popular Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Cleveland Museum of Art.
7. Cincinnati
Travel there in September, when the crowds of tourists begin to thin out, and you’ll pay a median round trip airfare of $214 and a median hotel rate of $172 per night. The average September temperature is a balmy 68 degrees, with low average precipitation. Cheer on the hometown team at the Great American Ballpark or view artworks spanning 6,000 years on display at the Cincinnati Art Museum.
6. Baltimore
Visit Baltimore in July, when the wild Chincoteague ponies swim across the Assateague Channel. You’ll pay a median round trip airfare of $262 and a median hotel rate of $151 per night. Summer temperatures average 77 degrees in July..
5. Boston
Travel to Boston in October, when the average temperature is a brisk 55 degrees. The city is less than an hour from Salem, home of the witch trials of 1692. You’ll pay a median round trip airfare of $231 and a median hotel rate of $420 per night.
4. Las Vegas
This desert hotspot offers tourists endless shopping, entertainment and culinary adventures. Travel to Las Vegas in November, when the average temperature is a cool 57 degrees, with low, if any, precipitation, and you’ll find a median airfare of $197 round trip and a median hotel rate of $123 per night.
3. Salt Lake City
Nicknamed “Ski City,” Salt Lake City has an average January temperature of 30 degrees. The median round trip airfare in January is $283 and the median hotel rate is $120 per night. During January, the nation’s largest independent film festival is held in Sundance, Salt Lake City and Park City, Utah.
2. Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Famous for its celebrity-designed golf courses and boardwalk attractions, Myrtle Beach has average August temperature around 79 degrees. You’ll pay a median round trip airfare of $192 and a median hotel rate of $201 per night.
1. Denver
Visit this frontier metropolis in June, when the average temperature is 66 degrees, with low average precipitation.. Visit the sometimes controversial exhibits at MCA Denver or tour the mansion home of famed Titanic survivor Molly Brown. You’ll pay a median round trip airfare of $234 and a median hotel rate of $218 per night.
The full report can be viewed here.
