Holiday travel
Where to Go Somewhere Warm and Cheap Over Christmas 2026
We compared 19 warm-weather spots for Christmas trips leaving Dec 19–27 and lasting 4–10 nights. The short answer: Florida and the Southwest are the cheapest ways to get somewhere warm. For the beach, Orlando and Miami lead. If you want to leave the country, Cancún and Nassau are the best-priced.
These are round-trip prices people have recently seen from the 12 busiest US airports. They're not fares you can book — what you'd pay depends a lot on where you fly from, so use them to compare destinations, not as quotes.
And wherever you land, you'll need somewhere to stay: new Hopper users who download through this referral link and enter promo code marshaw4ja get 10% off hotels with qualifying spend — with unlimited savings.
🇺🇸 Cheapest warm spots in the US
| Destination | Usual fare on a typical day | Cheapest seen |
|---|---|---|
| Orlando (MCO) | about $117 | $78 |
| Miami / Fort Lauderdale | about $117 | $98 |
| Las Vegas (LAS) | about $163 | $117 |
| Tampa (TPA) | about $164 | $78 |
| Phoenix (PHX) | about $192 | $77 |
| San Diego (SAN) | about $216 | $58 |
| Fort Myers (RSW) | about $230 | $209 |
| San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU)* | about $332 | $268 |
*Puerto Rico is a US territory, so you don't need a passport. It's the best value for a Caribbean beach.
🌴 Caribbean and Mexico
| Destination | Usual fare on a typical day | Cheapest seen |
|---|---|---|
| Cancún, Mexico (CUN) | about $392 | $363 |
| Nassau, Bahamas (NAS) | about $397 | $346 |
| Los Cabos, Mexico (SJD) | about $418 | $369 |
| Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (PVR) | about $496 | $450 |
| Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (PUJ) | about $524 | $402 |
| Aruba (AUA) | about $562 | $452 |
| Montego Bay, Jamaica (MBJ) | about $633 | $524 |
🌺 Hawaii and Costa Rica: Honolulu runs about $470, Maui about $486, and San José, Costa Rica about $608. Liberia, Costa Rica is the priciest on the list at about $811.
Our picks
- Cheapest beach: Miami/Fort Lauderdale or Tampa. Both usually stay in the mid-70s °F in late December.
- Most reliable heat: San Juan or Cancún. Late December weather there is usually in the low 80s °F, and Cancún costs only about $60 more than San Juan.
- Phoenix and Las Vegas are cheap and sunny, but expect around 60–70 °F in the day and chilly nights. They're mild, not beach weather.
Two ways to pay less
- Leave on Dec 24 or 25. That's when the cheapest fares to most of these places showed up.
- Book soon. Holiday seats on Caribbean and Mexico routes get more expensive as December gets closer.
Plan it in Hopper
- Download Hopper with this link and create your account.
- Apply code marshaw4ja (Profile → Wallet → Add promo code) so your 10% hotel discount is ready.
- Search your home airport to a couple of these destinations — the ranking changes a lot depending on where you fly from.
- Watch your favorite trip so Hopper notifies you when the fare moves.
- Book the flight and hotel together while the December fares are still in the cheaper window.
Prices from your city will reshuffle the ranking, so treat this list as a starting point. Once you pick a spot and dates, search them in Hopper for fares you can actually book — and if you're new, grab the app through the referral link first so the hotel discount is waiting for you.