Best Travel Locations in December: Summer vs Winter Trip Spending

Originally published on July 31, 2026 | Last updated on July 31, 2026

Best Travel Locations in December often offer lower hotel rates, cheaper flights, and fewer crowds. This Summer vs Winter Travel Spending Comparison reveals how seasonal travel choices affect budgets, activities, and overall value for travelers.

How does travel spending change between summer and winter trips? In the travel and hospitality industry, we all know that seasonality affects destination choices, activities, and overall budgets.

While the majority of travelers consider summer the preferred travel season, it comes with an additional cost, and in most cases, it is indeed justified by high demand.

Where did you travel in the summer?

And where did you travel in the winter?

What activities did you do during each trip?

There are differences in costs between the two trips. Did traveling in a different season provide better value for money?

Do you remember approximately how much you spent on each trip, in terms of accommodation, transport, food, activities, or total budget?

This article is exploring summer vs winter travel spending comparison and, most importantly, what drives one to travel in a particular season. And for those who take trips in summer and winter, what has been the perfect tip to enjoy each season while saving money?

Booking European Trips in Winter vs Summer

Carli Rasschaert, also known as Adventures With Carli@adventureswithcarli, spent 5 days in Richmond, Virginia at the end of June.

She embarked on a European winter trip that took her to six countries.

I spent 4 weeks traveling Europe from the end of January through the end of February.  I visited London, the Cotswolds and Birmingham, England, Krakow, Poland, Bratislava, Slovakia, Budapest, Hungary, Milan, Italy, and Paris, France.  

What activities did she do during each of her trips?

“In Europe, most of my activities were museums and walking tours, but I did spend time at the Winter Olympics as well. In Richmond, I visited a few museums, some historical sites, a music venue, and the raceway.”

There is always a difference in costs on accommodation, transport, food, and activities, which indeed affects the total budget.  

Carli shares what she approximately spent on each trip.

“The 4 weeks in Europe cost $4400 and 61,000 points and miles. I got almost all of my flights on points and miles, so my main expense there was taxes and two cash flights totaling $525.  My largest expense was hotels at $1800 (and 10,000 points), and the second largest was food at $945.  I only spent $335 on tours, attractions, and Olympics events, as many museums were free or low cost.  The average for the week was $1100.  

My 5 days in Richmond cost $2100.  My highest cost was the flights and other transportation at $815. The second biggest expense was the hotel, which cost hotel at $780. My food and drinks for the week cost $375.  My activities and tours for the trip were around $200.”

Are there large differences in costs between summer and winter trips?

Accommodation and flight costs are usually the main reason to stop or postpone trips. Of course, hotels tend to offer favorable rates in winter rather than summer.

“The hotel prices were definitely the biggest difference in cost, at around $200/night versus around $70/night in Europe.  The airfare was also starkly different.  It was over $700 to fly across the US into DC, and flying in and out of Richmond was close to $900 when I purchased my tickets.”

Traveling to Europe For Winter Vacations

Does traveling in a different season provide better value for money in Europe? Most European hotels and airlines reduce their rates significantly comes a great alternative for full-time travelers or those willing to favor off-season vacations.

“Yes, traveling in winter is very much “off season” for most places around Europe. This means there are fewer people competing for rooms.  So even in big cities like London and Budapest, I could still find good hotel deals near the city center. You are also much more likely to get better flight prices either in cash or miles. You can easily fly many places in Europe in the winter for less than $900.  For example, I flew to Greece in April for under $600 through KLM. “

There are tips for those who travelers trying to maximize their travel budget without necessarily settling for cheap travel options. And this has to do with choosing the appropriate season for your vacation.

“Be flexible with your dates and locations.  During the summer season, there are so many special events and festivals that can often inflate prices, but if you don’t have to be at a specific destination or travel at set dates, you’ll be able to find better pricing.  Always book refundable hotels and keep searching even after you have reserved something.  In quieter seasons, you may be able to find deeper last-minute discounts within a month of your trip.”, Carli Rasschaert recommends.

Year-Round Camping Destinations: Winter vs Summer Camping Trips

Dolev Schreiber, Owner @Basecamp shares tips for year-round destinations for camping and hiking trips.

Las Vegas is a year-round destination for camping and hiking trips. In the summer (May-October), folks camp at higher elevations like Bryce, Grand Canyon, and the Eastern Sierras. In the winter (November-April), it’s the lower elevations like Death Valley and Valley of Fire.

There’s definitely a price difference between winter and summer camping. Even in the lower elevations, it gets cold enough in winter to opt for 0F sleeping bags, which are more expensive than lightweight summer bags. On a summer weekend, the base package costs $139+tax. For winter, with upgrades to our warmest sleeping bags and sleeping pads, the package would cost an additional $96+tax!

Despite the price difference, the value for money between the 2 seasons remains similar. The reason is that you’re experiencing different things in summer and in winter that you wouldn’t be able to experience otherwise. For instance, just to name one example, only in winter can you sleep under the stars in Death Valley. Campgrounds are closed there in summertime due to extreme heat.

“The advice I would give travelers trying to maximize their budget depending on the season is to decide what experiences are most important to you. Then think about the value you’re getting out of going there in summer vs winter. If the experience is better in winter, then budget accordingly.”

Visiting The Alps in Winter and European Summer Trips

Daniel and Ilona are travel bloggers at @toptravelsights and have traveled extensively in Europe over the last few years and have visited the Alps both in winter and in summer.

For our winter trip, we went to Lucerne in February. We spent three days there visiting the city. One day, we took the cog railway to the top of Mount Rigi. Up there, we had a beautiful view of the snowy Alps. We went for a hike through the snow and finished our day by crossing Lake Lucerne by boat.

In June, we went to Liechtenstein, a micronation wedged in between Austria and Switzerland. We explored the country by bus, stopping at multiple villages, visited some museums in the capital, Vaduz, and went for a hike in the mountains.

We spent a little bit more on the winter trip than on the summer trip. Lucerne was 550€ per person, while we spent just below 500€ on the summer trip. The price difference came down to which activities we chose.

The ticket for the cog railway to the top of Mount Rigi was our biggest expense in the winter trip. In summer, we moved around by bus and hiked through the mountains, which was considerably cheaper. Winter activities in the Alps are very expensive. Next time, we would do more research about available activities and cable car prices, especially when going in winter. Some Alpine towns offer better deals than others.

Road Trips in Newfoundland and Labrador

Katie Broadhurst @outdoorsonthego Outdoors & On the Go, and Co-Author Hikes of Newfoundland shares

My summer and winter travel budgets look completely different because we design each trip around the season and the core activities we want to pursue.

Summer Trips in Newfoundland

During the summer months, we take road trips throughout Newfoundland, tent camping along the way and spending our days hiking, biking, and swimming. Our main expenses are fuel, groceries, only 1 daily meal ‘out’, and the odd campground (because free camping in NL rocks!), which average approximately <$500 per week/trip. Because we bring our own camping and outdoor gear, most of our activities are free.

Best Places to Travel in December in British Columbia: Winter Travel Spending

For winter travel, we have spent December through April in British Columbia, primarily around Rossland and Trail, skiing either Red Mountain or Whitewater, as well as ski touring in the Kootenay Pass. Skiing can be extremely expensive when approached as a short vacation (~$10K for 2 weeks), so we made it more affordable by renting a home long-term and purchasing season passes.

We spent $20K but get to ski for 4 months! Our approximate winter costs were $2500/month for accommodation, $1500 per season pass (x2), and $2000 for transportation/food. This is about $5200/month or $2625 for the same 2-week holiday!

Winter Vs Summer Travel in Newfoundland

The biggest difference is that summer travel in Newfoundland offers exceptional value with very little upfront spending. Winter requires a much larger commitment (monthly rental/moving to British Columbia for 4 months), but staying for several months significantly reduces the cost per ski day compared with booking a hotel and buying daily lift tickets.

My advice is to budget around the activity that matters most. For summer road trips, invest in reusable camping equipment and choose destinations with free outdoor recreation, such as Newfoundland with lots of trails and free places to camp. For winter trips, consider staying longer in one location, traveling with your own ski gear and purchasing a season pass. Sometimes spending more upfront—and traveling more slowly—creates far better overall value – especially as we shift into family travel with a toddler.

Final Thoughts: Best Travel Locations in December and Costs of Traveling during Summer versus Winter

The main difference between winter and summer trips in terms of costs is often associated with the airfare and accommodations. In most destinations, summer flight prices and accommodations almost double. As travel and hospitality businesses rely on seasons, summer is the peak season and indeed the best time to grow the business turnover.

What are the common tips for maximizing travel budget by season?

There isn’t a single way to maximize your travel budget, but one that comes back is choosing your travel dates based on season and activities you are traveling for. This will allow you to determine the estimated cost of your trip, usually a year ahead.

Frequent travelers recommend always looking at airfare and hotel prices for different travel dates, of course based on the destinations and best time for your bucketlist activities.

For flexible travel dates, you could save 20-30% on flights and accommodations, and that means you will save a big portion of the total cost of your trip.

The simple, obvious hack is moving it two weeks or four weeks later.

Powered by