- The average flight to a popular summer destination costs $293.73
- Florida, Oklahoma and Texas are home to the most top summer destinations in the U.S.
- Michigan and Pennsylvania have the largest numbers of the most unpopular summer destinations
With the COVID-19 vaccine available to all Americans and the number of daily travelers passing through TSA checkpoints over 10 times higher than last year, travel industry analysts today released the report on 2021’s Best Summer Travel Destinations.
To help travelers plan the perfect summer getaway, the experts compared 100 metro areas across 42 key indicators of budget- and fun-friendliness. The data set ranges from the cost of the cheapest flight to the number of attractions to COVID-19 cases.
| Top 20 Summer Travel Destinations | |
| 1. Orlando, FL | 11. Washington, DC |
| 2. Honolulu, HI | 12. Springfield, MO |
| 3. New Orleans, LA | 13. San Antonio, TX |
| 4. Austin, TX | 14. Wichita, KS |
| 5. Atlanta, GA | 15. Tampa, FL |
| 6. Salt Lake City, UT | 16. Tucson, AZ |
| 7. Tulsa, OK | 17. Miami, FL |
| 8. Los Angeles, CA | 18. Riverside, CA |
| 9. Oklahoma City, OK | 19. Albuquerque, NM |
| 10. Little Rock, AR | 20. Raleigh, NC |
Best vs. Worst
- The average flight to a popular summer destination costs $293.73, lasts 3 hours and 44 minutes and has 0.3 connections.
- The Los Angeles metro area is the most attractive destination on the West Coast and the Atlanta metro area is the most attractive destination on the East Coast.
- Florida, Oklahoma and Texas are home to the most top summer destinations in the U.S., each with two metro areas in the top 15. Oppositely, Michigan and Pennsylvania have the largest numbers of the most unpopular summer destinations, each with two metro areas.
- The Orlando metro area has the lowest nightly rate for a three-star hotel room, $32, which is 4.9 times less expensive than in Santa Rosa, the metro area with the highest at $157.