The Cheaper Alternatives to Famous Travel Destinations

The report compared 16 famous getaways with a less expensive look-alike offering a similar atmosphere. Hotel cost shows how expensive one night is in a well-reviewed 3- or 4-star hotel for one adult, priced on identical dates for both places in each pair. Food and drink cover a fixed daily basket of inexpensive restaurant meals, a share of a mid-range dinner, soft drinks, water, coffee, and beer. A combination of main spending categories formed a daily budget for each place, and the gap between the two reveals which swaps can save the most money for vacationers.

Here is how the most affordable alternative destinations compare:

Famous Destination	Affordable Alternative	Famous: Cost per Day (USD)	Alternative: Cost per Day (USD)	Saving per Day (USD)	Saving (%)
Positano	Maiori	665	265	400	60
Zermatt	Cervinia	745	310	435	58
Napa Valley	Valle de Guadalupe	620	276	344	55
Aspen	Breckenridge	1,062	497	565	53
Santorini	Milos	487	251	235	48
Lake Como	Lake Bled	435	237	198	45
Dubai	Doha	291	162	129	44
Paris	Bucharest	331	185	146	44
Mykonos	Paros	348	209	139	40
Venice	Chioggia	312	196	116	37

1. Maiori – Positano, Italy

Maiori takes the top spot among affordable alternatives to famous getaways. Standing in for Positano, the Italian coastal town brings a day’s spending for one adult down from $665 to $265, a saving of 60%. Finding a good place to stay is the hardest on the budget, with Positano hotels asking for over $500 a night. At the same time, Maiori offers much more affordable options, averaging $185.

2. Cervinia, Italy – Zermatt, Switzerland

Cervinia ranks second, giving skiers a similar skiing experience as in Zermatt for $310 a day instead of $745. This $435 difference is a saving of 58% and a possibility to make a vacation twice as long on the same budget. Similar to Positano, accommodations in Zermatt are rarely offered for less than $500, while in Cervinia, the nightly stay costs around $219. Food is also twice as cheap in an Italian alternative, $73 vs $156 a day.

3. Valle de Guadalupe, Mexico – Napa Valley, California

Valle de Guadalupe holds third place among affordable alternatives to famous getaways, offering wine country visitors a $276 day in place of the $620 that Napa Valley costs. That is a saving of 55%, or $344 a day. The two wine regions offer the same core experience. Dining is where the region of Valle de Guadalupe stands out, with a mid-range dinner for two at $36.75, an inexpensive restaurant meal at $12.62, and a day’s food adding up to $44.

4. Breckenridge – Aspen, Colorado

Breckenridge is fourth on the list, trimming the daily budget by 53%. If one day in Aspen costs $1,062 for one visitor, Breckenridge costs just $497. Accommodations make up nearly all of the difference: hotels in Aspen run for over $950 a night, but the food spending is almost identical in both destinations, $80 vs $74.

5. Milos – Santorini, Greece

Milos ranks fifth among affordable alternatives to famous getaways, bringing a day on an Aegean island for one adult down from $487 in Santorini to $251, a saving of 48%. A hotel night on Milos costs $175, and an inexpensive restaurant meal runs $13.94, half the $27.87 charged in Santorini. Similar to other alternative destinations on the list, Milos offers hotel stays at almost half the price of the premium experience, $175 vs $363.

A spokesperson from Duel.com commented on the study:

“Travelers have started to treat the famous name on the postcard as optional. What people really want is the view, the food and the feeling of the place, and those often turn up a short trip away at a price that makes a longer stay realistic. A cheaper place can mean an extra night, a better hotel or a dinner out every evening. The best swaps keep the atmosphere intact and quietly drop the price tag that comes with a world-famous address. Trading the headline destination for its quieter neighbor is one of the easiest ways to stretch a holiday budget.”