While gas prices have shifted a bit lower than the record highs of earlier this year, prices for everything related to gas—including food that’s transported via gas-powered vehicles—remain higher, with national inflation and cost of living already considered a crisis for many Americans, rising higher.
So with that being said, what will happen to the summer road trip season? And, with life more expensive than last year, should we reconsider road trips as a whole—or visit places that are closer to home than before?
Our latest coverage of gas prices in America reported an 18-cent drop in the national average, a good sign for commuters and road trippers. Yet the average price of a gallon of gas is still high, at $4.24.
Nerdwallet’s Travel Price Index showed more sobering signs: U.S. travel costs are up 11% year over year, the highest year-over-year increase since February 2023. Hotels and motels are up over 5%, theaters and concerts up 4.4%. Car rentals was the only category that had decreased, down 6.1%.
Data about the Independence Day travel window from Expedia and VRBO show that while Americans are feeling the greater financial pinch, it’s not really keeping them from traveling.
American travel demand has remained at record-high levels since the end of the pandemic, and thus, they’re prioritizing travel above other spending, saving and scrimping and being more intentional about finding deals than before.
One big sign for this is how Americans are using Expedia’s budget filter in its travel search engine: the rate of Americans using this feature has increased over 1,200% from 2025.
Yikes.
Road trips are considered the great American pastime. Yet with higher prices across the board, should we still consider road trips a more cost effective option? Or should we rethink road trips and save money—especially on gas, that fickle resource—by staying closer to home this summer?
For some, road trips might seem like the only cost-effective travel option available right now. For these people, I’d say go and enjoy.
For others, even road trips might seem not worth their cost. For these people, I’d recommend day trips and road trips closer to home.
Yes, you might not end up in a national park or at a popular theme park, but these trips might teach you a lot about yourself, your state (or a neighboring one), and offer just as many memorable experiences, just with less transit time, gas expenses, and hopefully, overall expense.
I had the fortune to enjoy a day trip to a major city recently, taking a train just over an hour to a thriving metropolis, where I enjoyed food I couldn’t enjoy in my own hometown, visited a museum where artwork of all kinds exist for the people’s admiration, and spent the day as a tourist in a new place.
While I returned home utterly exhausted from a long drive (to the train station) and a long day spent exploring, I don’t regret it at all—and I didn’t have to spend money on a hotel, eating out for several days, or even a full tank of gas for my car, since I took a train.
So the main takeaway? Maybe we should get more creative with the financial boundaries that we feel tightening around us from all sides.
Whether that means we take a train to a new city instead of driving into a national park ten states away, or just exploring a small tourist town two hours away instead of that theme park on the opposite side of the nation, there’s still so much possibility within our budgets.
The places we really want to visit will remain, waiting for us, when the economy (hopefully) improves.
If you’re feeling the pinch and need to travel somewhere to relax, readjust and enjoy a few days of life without your daily responsibilities, consider adding some creativity into your travel planning problem solving.
It might just surprise you.
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