Adrian Rudd/Travel + Leisure
A rainbow over a beach in Fort Lauderdale.
The new year may have you thinking about how you can make this your biggest, best year yet. And we bet, if you’re reading this, that means that going on plenty of adventures is part of that epic year, too. Luckily, according to Dollar Flight Club, travel in 2026 doesn’t have to be as expensive as you may think.
In early December, Dollar Flight Club released its annual Cheap Flight Forecast, sharing the 30 Cheapest Places to Fly in 2026, including 15 domestic locations and 15 international destinations.
To find these flights, the team ranked destinations by “typical low price and deal frequency,” then it factored in gateway access, stability, and traveler value to surface the most “repeatable, real-world affordable destinations, not just the cheapest outliers.”
They also tracked when each destination tends to drop in price by month and by day of the week, so “you can book inside the sweet spot.” Dollar Flight Club added, “For every pick you’ll see best-time-to-visit guidance and booking tactics (e.g., midweek flights, gateway swaps, one-way stitching),” to ensure you can always find a fantastic deal. (And in the event of a price tie, the team favored destinations with more flight frequency and easier airport options.)
After analyzing the data, it named Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the most affordable domestic destination in the U.S. for 2026. According to Dollar Flight Club, you can get there for about $95, making it one of the most affordable on the list. While there are a few that are slightly cheaper, Fort Lauderdale won out for having better deal frequency.
It’s joined at the top of the list by another Florida location, Orlando (MCO), with an average price of around $105. Rounding out the top five are Chicago, Illinois (MDW & ORD) at about $94, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (PIT) at roughly $108, and Dallas, Texas, (DFW and DAL) at about $129.
Dollar Flight Club also called out a few key season trends, including winter (now through February) as a great time to book “sunshine routes” to spots like Fort Lauderdale, spring (March to May) as a good time to jet off to Denver, summer (June to August) as a key time to book flights to Orlando, and fall (September through November), as an overall excellent booking window as it’s the “softest pricing across many markets.”
“Bottom line: When you time your trip and stay flexible with departure airports, you consistently unlock better fares both internationally and within the United States,” Dollar Flight Club shared.
Here are the top 15 most affordable domestic destinations:
Fort Lauderdale, Florida (FLL)
Average price: ~$95
Orlando, Florida (MCO)
Average price: ~$105
Chicago, Illinois (MDW & ORD)
Average price: ~$94
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (PIT)
Average price: ~$108
Dallas, Texas (DFW & DAL)
Average price: ~$129
Charlotte, North Carolina (CLT)
Average price: ~$92
Detroit, Michigan (DTW)
Average price: ~$119
Knoxville, Tennessee (TYS)
Average price: ~$104
Pensacola, Florida (PNS)
Average price: ~$108
Des Moines, Iowa (DSM)
Average price: ~$110
Miami, Florida (MIA)
Average price: ~$115
Orlando Sanford, Florida (SFB)
Average price: ~$95
Phoenix, Arizona (PHX)
Average price: ~$115
Denver, Colorado (DEN)
Average price: ~$110
Cleveland, Ohio (CLE)
Average price: ~$110
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