Ahead of a winter season with above-normal temperatures and more rain than snow, according to the latest forecast from the Old Farmers’ Almanac, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its 2018’s Best Winter Holiday Destinations report as well as accompanying videos to supplement its money-saving selection of the Best Travel Credit Cards.
Focusing on cost and convenience rather than scenic beauty, WalletHub compared nearly 70 of the largest U.S. metro areas grouped by warm and cold weather. Each destination was analyzed based on 36 key metrics, primarily the expense and hassle of traveling to each location but also on other indicators, such as weather forecasts, safety and variety of activities.
Here’s a quick glimpse at some of the report’s most interesting findings:
| Best Cold Destinations for Winter Travel | Best Warm Destinations for Winter Travel | |||
| 1 | Chicago, IL | 1 | Las Vegas, NV | |
| 2 | Washington, DC | 2 | Orlando, FL | |
| 3 | Atlanta, GA | 3 | Los Angeles, CA | |
| 4 | Cincinnati, OH | 4 | San Diego, CA | |
| 5 | New York, NY | 5 | Dallas, TX | |
| 6 | Boston, MA | 6 | Austin, TX | |
| 7 | Portland, OR | 7 | Houston, TX | |
| 8 | Denver, CO | 8 | San Francisco, CA | |
| 9 | Philadelphia, PA | 9 | Tampa, FL | |
| 10 | Pittsburgh, PA | 10 | San Antonio, TX | |
Best vs. Worst
- The average flight to a popular cold winter destination costs $279.09, lasts 3 hours and 32 minutes and has 0.27 connections. In comparison, the average flight to a popular warm winter destination costs $416.61, lasts 5 hours and has 0.53 connections.
- Among cold destinations, Chicago, Illinois and Columbus, Ohio have the lowest price for a three-star hotel room, $42, which is three times lower than Worcester, Massachusetts, the city with the highest at $126.
- Among warm destinations, Dallas has the lowest price for a three-star hotel room, $49, which is 4.7 times lower than Honolulu, the city with the highest at $230.
- Among cold destinations, New York has the most restaurants (per square root of population), 7.42, which is 7.1 times more than in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the city with the fewest at 1.05.
- Among warm destinations, San Francisco has the most restaurants (per square root of population), 4.91, which is 18.2 times more than in North Port, Florida, the city with the fewest at 0.27.
To view the full report and your metro area’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/best-winter-holiday-destinations/7930/
Please let me know if you have any questions or if you would like to schedule a phone, Skype or in-studio interview with one of our experts. Feel free to embed this YouTube video summarizing the study on your website. You can also use or edit these raw files as you see fit. Full data sets for specific metro areas are also available upon request.
Best,
Diana Polk
WalletHub Communications Manager
(202) 684-6386
