The Average Vacation Cost in 2026

The average vacation cost for a one-week domestic trip is $3,112 for two travelers, based on a Motley Fool Money analysis of government and industry data on airfare, hotels, and food. Those costs will vary based on several factors, including destination, whether a rental car or airfare is required, eating out versus cooking at a rental property, travel insurance, and more.

One way travelers can vacation on their own terms is by using credit cards strategically. A travel credit card can turn points or statement credits into free flights or hotel nights. An airline credit card can include a free checked bag. Researching a variety of destinations, traveling during off-peak periods, and considering short-term vacation rentals instead of individual hotel rooms for group trips are other ways to save.

To help readers budget for their next trip, Motley Fool Money took a category-by-category look at what makes up vacation costs, starting with airfare.

Average vacation costs by category

The average round-trip domestic flight costs $522

The average round-trip domestic airfare was $522 in the first quarter of 2026, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). Since a vacation generally involves getting there and back, that figure is used in the total cost of a vacation, rather than BTS's broader $428 average airfare statistics, which blends in one-way tickets that made up 45% of itineraries that quarter. For two travelers flying domestically round trip, airfare comes to $1,044.

Where a flight departs from changes that airfare substantially. Among the 10 busiest U.S. airports by passenger volume, Q1 2026 fares ranged from $304 out of Orlando International to $477 out of San Francisco International, according to BTS airport-level data. Fares run higher into leisure destinations with less airline competition: a Q1 2026 ticket into Aspen, Colorado averaged $615, and one into Jackson Hole, Wyoming averaged $608, both well above the $428 national average.

Fares include taxes and fees charged at purchase. They do not include baggage fees or seat upgrades, which add costs for many travelers.

The average hotel cost per night is $160.54

The national average daily rate for U.S. hotels was $160.54 in 2025, according to CoStar Group (NASDAQ:CSGP), a real estate and hospitality data firm. That's up 1% from 2024.

Seven nights at the national average rate comes to $1,124. Rates vary widely by market: New York City's average was more than double the national figure at $334 a night in 2025.

Short-term rentals cost more per night on average. AirDNA, an industry data provider, put the national average daily rate for short-term rentals at roughly $247 in January 2026, up 3.6% from a year earlier. A week in a short-term rental runs closer to $1,730 at that rate, though renters who split the cost among more than two people can come out ahead of a hotel on a per-person basis.

Food costs $135 a day

A two-person household spends $135 a day on food while on an out-of-town vacation, according to a Motley Fool Money analysis. That finding is based on the following:

• Two-person households spent $1,913 on food during trips in 2024, according to BLS.
• Private-industry workers receive an average of 11 to 20 vacation days a year.
• That puts food spending on out-of-town trips, some of which are likely vacations, at $96 to $174 a day. The midpoint of $135 per day is used in the total above.

Actual food spending on vacation will vary widely depending on how many meals are eaten out versus prepared at a rental or packed from home, and how expensive the restaurants visited are.

The average car rental cost per day is $82.90

Costs outside airfare, lodging, and food depend heavily on the trip, which is why they are reported separately rather than folded into the core total.

The average daily rental car rate across 100 U.S. airports was $82.90 for summer 2026, up more than 13% from summer 2025, according to Cheapcarrental.com. Rates ranged from $182 a day in Anchorage, the most expensive airport surveyed, to $45 a day in Tampa and Jacksonville, the least expensive. A traveler who rents a car for a few days of a weeklong trip adds a few hundred dollars beyond the core total.

The average cost of travel insurance is 4% to 8% of the trip

Travel insurance generally costs 4% to 8% of the total trip cost, according to the U.S. Travel Insurance Association, depending on trip length, destination, and the policyholder's age. Insurers price that percentage against prepaid, nonrefundable costs, mainly airfare and lodging, not day-to-day spending like food. On $2,168 in airfare and lodging for two travelers, that is roughly $87 to $173.

Longer and more expensive trips cost more to insure in dollar terms even at the same percentage, since the premium scales with the trip price it's protecting.

The average cost of international vacation is nearly $1,907 per person -- without airfare

The average U.S. traveler on an international trip spent $1,907 outside the country in 2024, not including airfare, up 7% from 2023, according to the Commerce Department's Survey of International Air Travelers. That trip averaged 15.3 nights, or about $125 a night in destination spending alone, before airfare.

International airfare is not tracked by a government survey the way domestic fares are. Industry estimates for a U.S.-to-Europe round trip clustered around $850 to $1,217 depending on the season and the data provider, and should be treated as estimates rather than official figures.

The average vacation cost for family of 4 is about $4,158 a week

Airfare, food, and lodging all scale differently by household size, since food doesn't rise in a straight line the way airfare does. The table below applies the same BLS data used throughout this piece to households of one to four people, each still assuming one hotel room for the week.

A family that needs a second hotel room should add another $1,124 to any of these totals.

What travel surveys say about total vacation spending

Two industry surveys offer broader, if less precise, estimates of what people plan to spend. Deloitte's 2026 Summer Travel Survey, fielded in April 2026, found travelers expect to spend an average of $4,069 on their longest summer trip, up 17% from $3,471 in 2025. SquareMouth, a travel insurance marketplace, projected an average 2025 trip cost of $7,249, based on the value of trips its customers insured. Motley Fool Money's estimate of $3,112 for a weeklong vacation for two travelers lands close to Deloitte's range.

Both Deloitte and SquareMouth's estimates reflect what travelers report or insure, not a measured average of actual spending.

How to lower the cost of a vacation

Planning a vacation can feel financially overwhelming, but there are plenty of creative ways to save. Consider flying out of or into a nearby or less busy airport. Look at traveling during off-peak periods, when hotels and flights are cheaper. If planning a group trip, look at a short-term rental instead of individual hotel rooms. Card users can stretch all that further by redeeming points strategically.

In addition, setting a trip budget ahead of time, using the category figures above as a starting point, and putting vacation spending within a broader household budget can make it easier to pay for the trip without disrupting other financial goals.