12 Cheapest Group Trip Destinations in the US

Here's the budget travel secret hiding in plain sight: the group itself is the discount. A $1,200-a-night house is $50 per person with eight friends; a grocery run replaces $30 breakfasts; one rented SUV beats six airport Ubers. Add a destination where prices are structurally low and a great weekend costs less than a solo flight to Europe.

These twelve deliver the most trip per dollar in 2026, with real 3-night per-person estimates from our full guides.

The value champions ($375-450/person)

Kansas City (~$375) — the cheapest great group weekend in America and 2026's fastest-growing searched destination: world-class BBQ, live jazz, and Midwestern prices, with a World Cup glow-up this summer.

Savannah (~$400) — Charleston's beauty at 20-30% off, where the signature activity (a to-go-cup stroll through the squares) is nearly free.

Asheville (~$400) — a cabin with a hot tub, the Blue Ridge Parkway out the door, and one of the best cheap food-and-beer scenes anywhere. Trending hard in 2026, so book fall early.

Austin (~$425) — free swimming holes, $12 barbecue plates that outclass $60 steakhouses, and a house in East Austin splitting to reasonable numbers.

Sarasota (~$425) — the Gulf coast beach-house play: one of America's best beaches, bathtub-calm water, and per-person costs that embarrass the famous beach towns.

The mid-tier sweet spot ($450-500/person)

New Orleans (~$450) and Mexico City (~$450) are the food-lover's pair — CDMX especially is the rare trip where eating extravagantly all weekend still comes home under budget, with restaurant searches at a 10-year high. Denver (~$450) adds a free mountain day to a city weekend, and Sedona (~$475) concentrates spend in a view-of-a-lifetime house while the red rocks themselves cost nothing. San Diego (~$475) rounds it out — $6 fish tacos, free beach bonfires, and a September shoulder season that's the best-kept scheduling secret in California.

How to make any destination 20% cheaper

Four moves that work everywhere: go shoulder season (September is the new August — post-Labor Day travel keeps climbing because prices drop while weather holds); book the house, not hotels (the per-person math is unbeatable at 6+); assign one grocery run for breakfasts and one house dinner; and track spending as you go — groups that watch the running total in Trazo Travel consistently avoid the $200 of forgotten little charges that surface on the credit card statement later. For the full method, see our guide to splitting travel costs fairly.

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest place to travel with friends in the US?

Kansas City delivers the lowest costs of any great group destination — around $375 per person for 3 nights — with Savannah and Asheville close behind at about $400.

Is it cheaper to travel in a group?

Dramatically. Shared houses, split cars, and group grocery runs typically cut per-person costs 30-40% versus the same trip taken as a couple.

When is the cheapest time to take a group trip?

Shoulder seasons — especially September, when summer weather holds but prices drop. It's the fastest-growing travel month in the US for exactly that reason.