The trade-offs Americans are making to afford summer travel

Summer 2026 was supposed to be the year many Americans travelled big again. Instead, higher fuel costs, long-haul uncertainty and a shakier economic mood are changing the trips they feel able – or willing – to take. We spoke to US travellers about what they're doing instead.

This upcoming travel season is shaping up to be unusually complicated, from disrupted flight paths across the Middle East to higher gas and jet fuel prices – not to mention Spirit Airlines ceasing operations and the hantavirus striking a cruise ship.

According to a new survey by US News and World Report, 65% of Americans have already altered summer travel plans because of rising prices, with 31% changing destinations or cancelling vacations entirely. While two-thirds of Americans are still planning to travel this summer, an Ibotta Summer Outlook survey found a third expect to take fewer trips.

"Summer 2026 is shaping up around three clear priorities: confidence, ease and reassurance," said Alison Zacher, global managing director at luxury tour operator Scott Dunn. "Since March, we've seen guests gravitating towards destinations that feel secure, are straightforward to reach and offer strong support on the ground." 

This has led to some hard decisions, and smart swaps: Disney for the Smokies, cross-country flights for closer-to-home baseball weekends, ambitious road trips for shorter breaks and complicated international itineraries for routes that feel safer and easier.

"This is a more calculated traveller than we've seen in years," says Jim Augerinos, owner and travel advisor at Perfect Honeymoons. "People still want the experience, they're just being smarter about how they get it."

Trading down, not staying home

Walter Bennett, based in Chicago, was hoping this was the year his family of four finally made it to Disney World in Orlando. But when his company went through a round of layoffs in February, the $9,000 (£6,650) price tag – including flights, hotel, park tickets and food – suddenly felt risky.

"I kept my job – but two people on my team didn't, and it spooked me," he said. "I don't feel unsafe, but I also don't feel like dropping nine grand on a vacation right now is the smartest move," he said. Not only that, but flight prices kept creeping up every time he checked.

Instead, the family is planning a road trip to the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee, a nine-hour drive from Chicago, and renting a cabin outside Gatlinburg. "We've never been, the kids are pumped about hiking and white-water stuff, and the whole trip is going to come in around $2,200-$2,500 (£1,630-£1,850) all in," he said.

The cabin has a kitchen, allowing them to save on meals, and many of the biggest draws – including Great Smoky Mountains........

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