This Scenic Colorado Town Is Gaining A Rep For Its High Cost Of Visiting

The U.S. is filled with beautiful vacation destinations ranging from sun-soaked beaches to urban cities to snowy mountains. Depending on what your heart desires, chances are good you can find a unique destination for you and your family to enjoy. However, recent inflation and price increases have probably made it more difficult than ever to actually afford your dream vacation in your chosen location.

According to NerdWallet's Travel Inflation Tracker, travel prices increased 22% from September 2020 to September 2024. While prices from 2023 to 2024 increased at a much less dramatic rate (about 2.4% from September to September), the overall price hikes have added up for the average consumer. Interestingly, the category that has changed the least, as of September 2024, is airline flights, whereas vacation expenses like rental cars, eating food away from home, and hotels have all maintained significant increases compared to pre-pandemic costs. This has all combined to make vacations more expensive than they used to be, and this can make certain locations more unaffordable than others.

While budgeting should always be a significant part of the vacation-planning process, it could now create situations where the reality of visiting a place on your bucket list is no longer financially feasible (that said, we put together a list of the best affordable vacation destinations in the U.S.). One famous vacation destination in particular — Aspen, Colorado — consistently ranks as among the most expensive vacation locations in the country.

According to a report from Optimos Travel listing the most and least expensive vacation destinations in the U.S., Aspen ranked at the top of the list for most expensive (alongside Park City, Utah). Optimos Travel found that the daily cost for an Aspen vacation was a little over $761 per person per day, meaning a seven-day trip would cost around $5,329 per person or $13,691 for a family of four. The expensive total stems from the increased costs of food in Aspen, which the report found averaged $100 a day, with hotels and accommodations totaling almost $500 a night. While the city's transportation options are extremely affordable ($7 a day), they don't offset the high costs of other required expenditures.

Plus, for those looking to go to Aspen during the winter, the cost of the actual activities you might want to participate in can add even more to your overall total. Aspen's ski slopes, in particular, can have steep price tags attached. The daily lift ticket price for adults during the 2024-25 season starts at $178 in late November, and quickly increases to $264 in December and January. If you're looking for a full-week pass to ski and/or snowboard during your entire trip, an adult can expect to pay $903 in late November up to $1,498 in late December and January for just their lift ticket alone. One-day lift tickets for children and teens under 18 start at $129 in November, up to $189 in December and January.

For starters, whether a vacation destination is worth the financial outlay depends entirely on your individual priorities and budget (although we do recommend you don't spend more than this much of your income on a vacation). Next, it's important to consider how much a location like Aspen costs in relation to where you currently live and what you might currently spend. Those living in cities with higher costs of living might not find the prices in Aspen to be unreasonable.

In fact, according to the Economic Research Institute's cost-of-living data, Aspen's cost of living is 54% higher than the country's average (as of November 2024), which sounds bad on its surface but can require additional context. For instance, Aspen's cost of living is far better than cities like Los Angeles (which is 77% above the average) or New York (78% above), but far worse than cities like Kansas City (15% below the average) or Richmond, Virginia (1% above). In this way, where you're coming from can drastically change your experience of just how expensive Aspen is.

Regardless of your eventual destinations, though, it's always important to shop around and do some research on the average expenses at your intended destination. Food prices, transportation, and hotels or even accommodations like Airbnb (which can sometimes be a better option than a hotel, depending on what you're looking for) can have a significant impact on your overall vacation budget.