The 30 Cheapest Places to Travel in 2026
All 576 destinations we track, ranked by real mid-range daily cost — accommodation, food, local transit, and activities, flights excluded. Battambang, Cambodia leads at $40/day.
Updated April 2026 · per-person estimates · how we compute costs
Ranked by mid-range daily cost
| # | Destination | Budget | Mid-range | Luxury | Safety | Best months |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BattambangCambodia | $18 | $40 | $120 | 65/100 | Jan, Feb, Mar, Nov |
| 2 | BukharaUzbekistan | $20 | $50 | $125 | 74/100 | Apr, May, Sep, Oct |
| 3 | KampotCambodia | $22 | $50 | $150 | 70/100 | Jan, Feb, Mar, Nov |
| 4 | KarachiPakistan | $25 | $50 | $180 | 50/100 | Jan, Feb, Mar, Nov |
| 5 | LahorePakistan | $25 | $50 | $200 | 60/100 | Feb, Mar, Oct, Nov |
| 6 | Da LatVietnam | $23 | $53 | $225 | 75/100 | Jan, Feb, Mar, Dec |
| 7 | HampiIndia | $20 | $55 | $125 | 68/100 | Jan, Feb, Nov, Dec |
| 8 | PushkarIndia | $22 | $55 | $180 | 70/100 | Jan, Feb, Mar, Oct |
| 9 | SamarkandUzbekistan | $23 | $55 | $140 | 74/100 | Apr, May, Sep, Oct |
| 10 | BishkekKyrgyzstan | $23 | $55 | $135 | 65/100 | May, Jun, Sep, Oct |
| 11 | SkopjeNorth Macedonia | $30 | $55 | $150 | 75/100 | May, Jun, Jul, Aug |
| 12 | LombokIndonesia | $20 | $60 | $180 | 68/100 | May, Jun, Jul, Aug |
| 13 | VaranasiIndia | $20 | $60 | $225 | 50/100 | Feb, Mar, Oct, Nov |
| 14 | MaduraiIndia | $20 | $60 | $185 | 70/100 | Jan, Feb, Oct, Nov |
| 15 | RishikeshIndia | $22 | $60 | $220 | 78/100 | Jan, Feb, Mar, Oct |
| 16 | KathmanduNepal | $23 | $60 | $150 | 58/100 | Mar, Apr, Oct, Nov |
| 17 | JaipurIndia | $23 | $60 | $275 | 60/100 | Feb, Mar, Oct, Nov |
| 18 | BangkokThailand | $25 | $60 | $180 | 70/100 | Jan, Feb, Nov, Dec |
| 19 | Chiang RaiThailand | $25 | $60 | $150 | 80/100 | Jan, Feb, Mar, Nov |
| 20 | Baños de Agua SantaEcuador | $25 | $60 | $160 | 78/100 | Jan, Jun, Jul, Aug |
| 21 | Veliko TarnovoBulgaria | $25 | $60 | $140 | 80/100 | May, Jun, Jul, Aug |
| 22 | SucreBolivia | $25 | $60 | $160 | 78/100 | Apr, May, Jun, Jul |
| 23 | CopacabanaBolivia | $25 | $60 | $140 | 75/100 | Apr, May, Jun, Jul |
| 24 | IslamabadPakistan | $30 | $60 | $220 | 75/100 | Mar, Apr, Sep, Oct |
| 25 | PenangMalaysia | $25 | $65 | $180 | 75/100 | Jan, Feb, Mar, Dec |
| 26 | LvivUkraine | $25 | $65 | $180 | 60/100 | May, Jun, Sep |
| 27 | MysoreIndia | $25 | $65 | $220 | 75/100 | Jan, Feb, Mar, Oct |
| 28 | TashkentUzbekistan | $28 | $65 | $160 | 72/100 | Apr, May, Sep, Oct |
| 29 | TiranaAlbania | $30 | $65 | $138 | 72/100 | Apr, May, Jun, Sep |
| 30 | SkarduPakistan | $30 | $65 | $220 | 72/100 | May, Jun, Jul, Aug |
Daily cost = accommodation + meals + local transit + one activity, per person. Flights excluded.
The cheapest destination on every continent
Sticking to a region? These are the lowest-cost picks among everything we track there.
Asia
Battambang, Cambodia
$40/day mid-range
Europe
Skopje, North Macedonia
$55/day mid-range
South America
Baños de Agua Santa, Ecuador
$60/day mid-range
North America
Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala
$70/day mid-range
Africa
Tunis, Tunisia
$75/day mid-range
Middle East
Beirut, Lebanon
$115/day mid-range
Oceania
Rotorua, New Zealand
$130/day mid-range
Frequently asked
What is the cheapest place to travel in 2026?
Battambang, Cambodia is the cheapest destination we track: about $40/day mid-range ($18/day on a backpacker budget). That covers accommodation, food, local transit, and activities — flights excluded. The full top 30 all come in under $65/day.
What does the daily cost include?
Each figure is a per-person daily estimate covering accommodation, three meals, local transportation, and one paid activity or attraction. Flights to the destination are excluded since they vary by origin. Budget assumes hostels and street food; mid-range assumes a 3-star hotel and sit-down restaurants; luxury assumes 4-5 star stays.
Which cheap destination is also the safest?
Chiang Rai, Thailand is the standout: $60/day mid-range with a 80/100 safety score — the highest safety rating in our 30 cheapest.
How are these costs calculated?
Costs are midpoints of the per-tier ranges in our destination guides, kept in sync with a single source of truth across the site and reviewed when guides are updated. See our methodology page for how cost, safety, and climate data are computed.
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Best places to visit by month →
Every destination at its seasonal peak, January through December.