20 Most Budget-Friendly Southern Tourist Destinations

The South has it all: mountains, beaches, a unique culture, history, unforgettable cuisine and, of course, Southern hospitality. It’s a favorite region for many to visit, but vacation expenses can rack up quickly. Luckily, the South has plenty of budget-friendly getaway options

To help plan your next break, GOBankingRates analyzed popular tourist destinations and provided 20 of the most affordable Southern destinations below, with details including airfare for two, hotel, three meals at mid-range restaurants, 12 meals at inexpensive restaurants, six beers and six sodas.

• Airfare cost for a couple: $748
• Total cost of hotel: $273
• Total cost for all meals: $465
• Total cost for drinks:  $44
• Total cost for vacation: $1,539

• Airfare cost for a couple: $666
• Total cost of hotel: $239
• Total cost for all meals: $564
• Total cost for drinks: $60
• Total cost for vacation: $1,529

• Airfare cost for a couple: $802
• Total cost of hotel: $237
• Total cost for all meals: $438
• Total cost for drinks: $53
• Total cost for vacation: $1,529

• Airfare cost for a couple: $763
• Total cost of hotel: $227
• Total cost for all meals: $488
• Total cost for drinks: $51
• Total cost for vacation: $1,528

• Airfare cost for a couple: $763
• Total cost of hotel: $287
• Total cost for all meals: $423
• Total cost for drinks: $45
• Total cost for vacation: $1,518

• Airfare cost for a couple: $851
• Total cost of hotel: $179
• Total cost for all meals: $423
• Total cost for drinks: $51
• Total cost for vacation: $1,504

• Airfare cost for a couple: $946
• Total cost of hotel: $223
• Total cost for all meals: $300
• Total cost for drinks: $30
• Total cost for vacation: $1,499

• Airfare cost for a couple: $847
• Total cost of hotel: $188
• Total cost for all meals: $420
• Total cost for drinks: $41
• Total cost for vacation: $1,495

• Airfare cost for a couple: $884
• Total cost of hotel: $179
• Total cost for all meals: $375
• Total cost for drinks: $52
• Total cost for vacation: $1,491

• Airfare cost for a couple: $735
• Total cost of hotel: $221
• Total cost for all meals: $465
• Total cost for drinks: $59
• Total cost for vacation: $1,479

• Airfare cost for a couple: $794
• Total cost of hotel: $203
• Total cost for all meals: $423
• Total cost for drinks: $59
• Total cost for vacation: $1,479

• Airfare cost for a couple: $754
• Total cost of hotel: $180
• Total cost for all meals: $474
• Total cost for drinks: $46
• Total cost for vacation: $1,454

• Airfare cost for a couple: $748
• Total cost of hotel: $207
• Total cost for all meals: $443
• Total cost for drinks: $52
• Total cost for vacation: $1,449

• Airfare cost for a couple: $748
• Total cost of hotel: $216
• Total cost for all meals: $443
• Total cost for drinks: $40
• Total cost for vacation: $1,447

• Airfare cost for a couple: $735
• Total cost of hotel: $201
• Total cost for all meals: $453
• Total cost for drinks: $52
• Total cost for vacation: $1,441

• Airfare cost for a couple: $754
• Total cost of hotel: $159
• Total cost for all meals: $447
• Total cost for drinks: $45
• Total cost for vacation: $1,405

• Airfare cost for a couple: $748
• Total cost of hotel: $245
• Total cost for all meals: $321
• Total cost for drinks: $48
• Total cost for vacation: $1,362

• Airfare cost for a couple: $831
• Total cost of hotel: $145
• Total cost for all meals: $285
• Total cost for drinks: $75
• Total cost for vacation: $1,336

• Airfare cost for a couple: $598
• Total cost of hotel: $176
• Total cost for all meals: $360
• Total cost for drinks: $50
• Total cost for vacation: $1,184

• Airfare cost for a couple: $197
• Total cost of hotel: $215
• Total cost for all meals: $462
• Total cost for drinks: $66
• Total cost for vacation: $940

_{Methodology: GOBankingRates found the most popular tourist destinations from Travel + Leisure’s “World Best Awards 2025,” Travel + Leisure’s “Best Small Towns of 2025,” TripAdvisor’s “Things to Do in US,” US News & World Report’s “Best Places to Live,” Nomadic Matt’s Places to Visit in the United States and Holdify’s Places to Visit. For this vacation, GOBankingRates assumed two adults going on vacation for three nights (Aug. 7-10). They had three meals at mid-range restaurants, 12 meals at inexpensive restaurants, six beers and six sodas. The average prices for each activity or item were sourced from Numbeo. The average price of the three cheapest hotels within 5 miles of the downtown were sourced from Hotels.com. The average airfare was sourced from the Bureau of Transportation’s average airfare for 2025. If the exact city is not listed, the closest airport was used. The average total cost of a vacation was calculated using the total cost for meals, drinks, hotel and airfare. The vacation locations were sorted to show the most affordable locations first. All data was collected on Oct. 1, 2025.}