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Quick answer: Across the 19 destinations we track, a budget traveller’s daily cost in 2026 runs from about $25 a day in Cairo to $150 a day in Las Vegas. Europe’s classic stops cluster tighter than most people expect — Prague at $43–67, Lake Como at $57–122 and Santorini at $76–108 all sit below every major US city in our set. The Maldives has the widest internal spread of any destination: $80 a day on a local island, $2,000+ on a resort island.
Last updated: September 2026
This page collects the daily-cost figures from every destination cost guide we publish and lines them up for comparison. Figures are per person, per day, and cover accommodation, food, local transport and everyday activities. International flights are excluded.
Daily travel cost by destination, 2026
| Destination | Region | Budget / day | Mid-range / day | High-end / day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairo | Middle East / Africa | $25 | — | — |
| Kuala Lumpur | Asia | $35-50 | — | — |
| Mexico City | Americas | $35-45 | $70-90 | — |
| Prague published as 900-1,400 CZK/day |
Europe | $43-67 | — | — |
| Cape Town | Middle East / Africa | $45-60 | $120-160 | — |
| Petra published as JOD 35-120/day |
Middle East / Africa | $50-170 | — | — |
| Lake Como published as EUR 53-113/day |
Europe | $57-122 | — | — |
| Menton published as EUR 60-80 / 120-180 |
Europe | $65-86 | $130-194 | — |
| Bruges | Europe | $65-87 | — | — |
| Santorini published as EUR 70-100/day floor |
Europe | $76-108 | — | — |
| Tulum | Americas | $75 | — | $220 |
| Tokyo | Asia | $80-120 | $170-270 | $400+ |
| Maldives | Asia / Indian Ocean | $80-120 | $300-500 | $800-2,000+ |
| Los Angeles | Americas | $95 | — | $500+ |
| San Francisco | Americas | $95 | — | $400 |
| New York City | Americas | $100-150 | $200-300 | $500+ |
| Cancun | Americas | — | $135 | — |
| Las Vegas | Americas | $150 | — | $320 |
| Hawaii | Americas / Pacific | — | $250-450 | — |
What the numbers show
Europe is cheaper than the United States at every tier we measured. Prague, Lake Como, Menton, Bruges and Santorini all start between $43 and $87 a day on a budget. Every US destination in our set — New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas — starts at $95 or above.
The Riviera is not uniformly expensive. Menton starts at $65–86 a day, materially below its better-known neighbours along the same coast, which is the kind of gap that only shows up when destinations are compared side by side rather than read one guide at a time.
Tier spread beats destination choice in the Maldives. The same country ranges from $80 a day to over $2,000 — a 25x difference driven almost entirely by whether you sleep on a local island or a resort island. No other destination in our set comes close to that internal range.
Tokyo sits mid-table, not at the top. At $80–120 a day on a budget it costs about the same as Santorini or the Maldives’ guesthouse tier, and less than any US city we track — contrary to its reputation as a uniformly expensive destination.
Methodology
Each figure comes from our published destination cost guide for that place, which combines on-the-ground price tracking with published cost indices. Guides reporting only some tiers are shown with blanks — we have not filled gaps by estimation or interpolation.
Figures published in euros, koruna or dinar are converted to US dollars at 1.08 USD/EUR and the rates quoted in the underlying guides; the original published figure is noted under each destination so you can check the conversion. Costs move with exchange rates and season, so treat these as planning ranges rather than quotes.
Cite this data
Writing about travel costs? You’re welcome to quote any figure on this page with attribution and a link. Copy-ready citation:
Travel Tip Now, “Daily Travel Cost Index 2026,” https://traveltipnow.com/travel-cost-index/
Using this data
You are welcome to cite or reproduce this table with attribution to Travel Tip Now and a link to this page. Each destination name links through to the full cost breakdown by category for that place.