You have probably already started imagining it – the towel spread across warm sand, the icy drink sweating in your hand, the blissful nothingness of a week away from your inbox. It is practically a rite of passage once the temperatures climb. But if you have been quietly shelving those plans, telling yourself you will figure it out later while knowing deep down that later is not coming, you are far from alone. The gap between what we dream about in January and what we can actually afford by June has never felt quite so wide – and the numbers back that up in a way that should give us all pause.
The financial squeeze behind a disappearing tradition
According to the latest poll from NPR, PBS, and Marist, some 45% of Americans said they do not plan to take a summer vacation this year. At first glance, the number might not seem shocking. When the same question was asked in 2025, the figure sat at 43%, and four years before that it was also 45%. So the share of people staying home is not dramatically different from recent years.
What has shifted, though, is the reason. This time around, 49% of those skipping a trip pointed to cost as the main driver behind their decision. That is a meaningful jump in the weight that money carries in this conversation. It is no longer just about scheduling conflicts or personal preference – it is about whether your budget can survive a week of hotel rates, restaurant tabs, and airfare that feels like it was priced for a different income bracket entirely.
So what is making travel feel so punishingly expensive right now?
Why the cost of getting away keeps climbing
A significant part of the answer lies in the knock-on financial effects of the US-Iran war within the travel industry. The ripple effects have been broad and tangible, and businesses like major airlines have found different ways to pass on those soaring expenses directly to consumers. Fuel surcharges, reduced route options, and recalibrated pricing models have all played a role in pushing tickets higher.
When the cost of simply getting from point A to point B eats into a chunk of what you had mentally earmarked for an entire trip, it is hardly surprising that cost is top of mind for those deciding not to jet off this summer. The dream has not died – the math just does not work for a growing number of households. And unlike other years when the share of stay-at-home Americans was similar, the underlying pressure feels sharper, more structural, and harder to work around with a clever hack or a last-minute deal.
That said, clever deals do still exist – if you know where to look.
Where to go if you still want to make it work
For those harboring hopes of booking a last-minute getaway despite the financial headwinds, flight comparison website Skyscanner put together a list of the cheapest holiday destinations by average flight price as part of the platform’s American-focused Smarter Summer Report. Unsurprisingly, cities within the US came out on top in the value ranking – no passport required, no international surcharges to swallow.
Punta Gorda topped Skyscanner’s list, a small city on Florida’s Gulf Coast described as Florida’s best-kept secret, where a flight from various US airports would set you back just $179 on average in June. Two other cities in the Sunshine State also made the cut, reinforcing Florida’s dominance when it comes to affordable domestic escapes. Meanwhile, tourist hotspots like Chicago and Las Vegas also boast some of Skyscanner’s cheapest flight tickets on average, proving that a budget-friendly trip does not have to mean sacrificing excitement or culture.
The takeaway here is not that everyone should flock to Florida. It is that domestic travel, particularly to destinations outside the usual marquee resort towns, can still deliver a genuine break without the financial hangover. Sometimes the best vacation is the one that does not leave you anxious about your bank balance the moment you land back home.
What this really tells us about where we are
The headline number – 45% of Americans not planning a summer vacation – is familiar territory. We have seen it before. But context matters, and the context this year is different. Nearly half of those staying home explicitly named cost as the deciding factor, a signal that affordability pressures from the US-Iran war’s economic ripple effects are reshaping how we think about leisure travel at a fundamental level.
You are not imagining it: getting away genuinely does cost more right now. But you also have more information than ever about where value still exists. Whether that means a $179 flight to Punta Gorda or a road trip to a destination you had never considered, the opportunity for rest has not vanished – it has just moved. The smartest thing you can do this summer is follow it.
