September 2026 edition
The Real Cost Index
A $137 round trip to San Juan costs less than one night at the $295 lodging ceiling the US government publishes for San Juan.
Airfare is the number every flight site shows you, and it is the smallest part of most trips. This index puts it next to something published and checkable: the nightly lodging ceiling the US government sets for the same city. Both figures are sourced and dated. Neither is our estimate.
4 of 12destinations have a flight cheaper than one night’s ceiling lodging
Getting there costs less than sleeping there for a single night, at the rate the government itself will reimburse.
| Destination | Cheapest fare | Lodging ceiling | Fare ÷ one night |
|---|---|---|---|
 San Juanfrom ATL | $137 | $295per night | 0.46 |
 Mexico Cityfrom ORD | $197 | $250per night | 0.79 |
 Cancúnfrom JFK | $249 | $287per night | 0.87 |
 Cartagenafrom MIA | $354 | $383per night | 0.92 |
 Punta Canafrom TPA | $242 | $192per night | 1.26 |
 Bangkokfrom LAX | $410 | $259per night | 1.58 |
 Limafrom MIA | $412 | $250per night | 1.65 |
 Ho Chi Minh Cityfrom SFO | $399 | $222per night | 1.80 |
 Manilafrom SEA | $424 | $189per night | 2.24 |
 Phuketfrom LAX | $720 | $245per night | 2.94 |
 Hanoifrom LAX | $695 | $236per night | 2.94 |
 Denpasar (Bali)from LAX | $705 | $235per night | 3.00 |
Where every number here comes from
Fares. Cheapest round trip we can observe from the US origins we price for each destination, via the licensed Travelpayouts (Aviasales) Data API. These are cached fares that real travellers searched, so each carries its own dates rather than dates we picked, and each expires. They are indicative, not quotes, and you should confirm any fare before booking.
Lodging ceilings. US Department of State, Foreign Per Diem Rates (DSSR 925) for foreign locations, and US Department of Defense, Defense Travel Management Office (DTMO), Maximum Per Diem Rates Outside the Continental United States (non-foreign OCONUS localities)for non-foreign US locations such as San Juan and Honolulu. Both are public domain. Each city’s figure carries its own effective date, shown on that destination’s page.
A ceiling is not a price. Per diem is the maximum a US government employee may be reimbursed for a hotel on official travel. It is not what a room costs, and it is emphatically not what a budget traveller pays — expect to spend well below it. The ratio compares two published figures. It is a measure of how small airfare is, not a claim about your hotel bill.
What is missing. 32 destinations we price do not appear, because either no fare was cached this month or no government ceiling is published for them. They are left out rather than estimated.
September 2026 edition · generated 18 September 2026 · figures change as fares and per diem editions are republished.