Las Vegas Is The Most Affordable Vacation In America

Last week Trip Advisor released their TripIndex list of the most affordable places to vacation in America and Las Vegas came in as the cheapest. How ’bout that?!

Among TripIndex Cities, Honolulu rings up the biggest tab as the most expensive U.S. destination with a TripIndex cost of $504.94, while Las Vegas offers the most affordable stay at $272.94.

Typically I find lists like this to be a waste for customers as they’re generated to sell something or gain traffic but Trip Advisor has been around long enough not to make me laugh at their lists. That’s not to say Trip Advisor isn’t using TripIndex to gain traffic but it’s generally the place everyone I know looks for travel reviews. Once you scrape through the 90% of reviews that are fake or people with an axe to grind there is useful information.

Prices for luxury hotels on the Vegas Strip and resort fees take the attention away from how affordable Vegas can still be for people if that’s what they want. I don’t always want a vacation on a budget but my hotel room at The D for my summer vacation is only $50 on a Saturday (My $40 room was pretty sweet). I’ll be using my fancy Platinum Total Rewards status to get free rooms at Flamingo for the rest of my time away. This will allow me to blow more money on steak and gambling. You can’t hate that!

Mid-range hotels in places like New York City, San Francisco and Hawaii will often cost a couple hundred dollars per night while the average daily cost for a room in Vegas is just over $100. Not too shabby.

The TripIndex list also has Miami and New Orleans on the cheapest places to vacation. I’m really not a fan of anywhere in Florida for vacation but I looooooove New Orleans and will always recommend that a place to visit. Beside great food, drink and culture they have casinos. Harrah’s is walking distance to just about every tourist area as well as Mother’s where you will get one of the best Po’ Boys in the city.