Lonely Planet's best places to travel in 2027: a week in the US picks costs $1,270 to $2,700 in federal rates

Lonely Planet released its Best in Travel 2027 list in late September: 25 destinations and 25 experiences, with seven entries in the United States. The question every list leaves open is what the trip costs. Most rankings never say. We can answer it for the American picks with a number we can source, and we are explicit below about what that number is and is not.

What is on the list

According to Time Out's report, the US entries are California's coastal redwoods, Maryland, New Mexico, Miami's South Beach (as a hotel-hopping trip), Alaska (as a flightseeing trip), Minnesota's northwest "slow road" drive, and a week as temporary keeper of Rhode Island's Rose Island Lighthouse. Elsewhere it names Quebec, Prince Edward Island, Valle de Guadalupe in Mexico, Okinawa, Oman, Veneto in Italy, Montserrat, Taiwan, Sarawak in Malaysia, Gombe National Park in Tanzania and a polar plunge in Antarctica, among others. Time Out lists only some of the 50, so treat this as a partial list. Coverage describes the theme as slower travel and fewer crowds.

How we priced a week, and the limit of the method

We pulled the General Services Administration's FY2027 per diem rates, which took effect October 1, 2026. These are the amounts federal agencies use to reimburse employees for lodging and for meals and incidentals on official travel (GSA per diem page). We multiplied the nightly lodging rate by seven and the daily meals rate by seven.

This is a benchmark, not a quote. It is a government ceiling for a mid-priced room and a day of food in a given county. It excludes airfare, a rental car, tours, park fees and taxes beyond what the rate covers. A boutique inn or a beachfront resort can cost far more; a motel inland can cost less. Use it to compare places and seasons against each other, which it does well, and then check live hotel prices for your dates.

Place (GSA rate area)	Cheaper month tested	Pricier month tested
New Mexico: Santa Fe	January: $129 a night, $80 meals = $1,463	June: $175, $80 = $1,785
Maryland: Annapolis	January: $130, $80 = $1,470	July: $169, $80 = $1,743
Maryland: Ocean City	September: $115, $80 = $1,365	July: $306, $80 = $2,702
California redwoods: Humboldt County (Eureka)	March: $130, $86 = $1,512	July: $181, $86 = $1,869
California redwoods: Del Norte County (Crescent City)	Standard rate all year: $113, $68 = $1,267	same
Miami (Miami-Dade County)	August: $151, $92 = $1,701	March: $244, $92 = $2,352

Each total is seven nights plus seven days of meals, so the Santa Fe June figure is 7 x $175 + 7 x $80 = $1,785. Alaska, Rhode Island's lighthouse and Minnesota's northwest roads are not in the table: the GSA lookup returned no matching city rate for the places we tried, and the lighthouse stay is a program with its own terms, so we are not going to guess.

What the table says

Season matters more than destination. Ocean City is the cheapest place in the table in September ($1,365) and the most expensive in July ($2,702), a gap of $1,337 for the same boardwalk. Its July lodging rate of $306 is nearly three times the $115 it carries for most of the year.

Miami runs the other way. The peak there is winter and spring. The rate climbs to $244 a night in February and March and sits at $151 from June through November. If South Beach is the pick, summer and early fall are the cheaper weeks on this benchmark.

New Mexico and the redwoods are the steadiest. Santa Fe changes by $46 a night between its low and high months. The Del Norte County side of the redwoods carries one flat rate all year, the lowest total in the table.

Best time to go

For cost, the pattern in the data is simple: go to beach and resort areas outside their peak months and to inland and mountain areas when their peak has passed. Lonely Planet's own theme is fewer crowds, and the rate cards point the same direction. We have not tested weather or wildlife seasons for each place here; check the National Park Service or state tourism pages for those before you book.

Getting there

Airfare is the biggest number we have not priced, because fares change daily and vary by origin. Check the airline's own fare calendar for your dates, and see our recent coverage of Delta's winter seat cuts and fares running higher if you are planning around the holidays.

Entry rules for the non-US picks

If you pick Quebec, Prince Edward Island or Valle de Guadalupe, the requirements for US citizens are set by the destination country and published on the State Department's travel.state.gov country pages. We could not load the Canada page during this run, so we are not summarizing it. Check passport validity and any entry form there before you pay for anything non-refundable.

Money tips

• Compare two or three months for the same place before choosing dates. The table shows swings of up to $1,337.
• Book refundable rooms first, then watch fares.
• Treat the federal rate as a ceiling for a mid-range room, and look at what is actually listed for your dates.
• Read the cancellation terms before booking, and see our reporting on the EU's Booking.com fraud investigation if you book through a third-party site.

FAQ

Are these actual hotel prices? No. They are federal lodging and meal rates for official travel, used here as a consistent benchmark.

Why no prices for Alaska or Minnesota? The GSA lookup did not return a rate for the cities we tried, and we do not publish numbers we cannot source.

Does the list rank the places? Time Out's report gives no ranking, and other outlets disagree on order, so we do not rank them either.

When do the rates change? GSA's fiscal year starts October 1, so these are the rates in effect now through September 30, 2027.

Sources: Time Out on Lonely Planet Best in Travel 2027; GSA FY2027 per diem rates, queried October 22, 2026. Prices are benchmarks, not quotes, and change.