These Are the Most Expensive U.S. Cities to Travel to as a Tourist

Tourism taxes will need to be a part of your budget in these locations.

Editor's Note: We know COVID-19 is continuing to impact your travel plans. Should you travel now, be sure to familiarize yourself with the CDC's latest guidance on domestic and international travel as well as local requirements, protocols, and restrictions for both your destination upon your arrival and your home city upon your return. Be safe out there.

A new study from UK company Money determined the ten most expensive cities to travel to based on tourism taxes in the most visited cities in the world. The list includes five cities from the United States in the top ten, with three of those cities topping the list. Tourism taxes in Honolulu, San Francisco, and Los Angeles are the highest in the world. Tourism taxes in Orlando ranked as the fifth highest in the world, while Miami came in eighth.

Here's the complete list, and the cost of the tourism taxes per night.

  1. Honolulu, United States - $51.70 a night
  2. San Francisco, United States - $29.61 a night
  3. Los Angeles, United States - $23.49 a night
  4. Amsterdam, Netherlands - $11.67 a night
  5. Orlando, United States - $11.60 a night
  6. Cancún, Mexico - $11.28 a night
  7. Playa Del Carmen, Mexico - $11.28 a night
  8. Miami, United States - $10.36 a night
  9. Muscat, Oman - $9.37 a night
  10. Bangkok, Thailand - $8.49 a night


The Money.co.uk study arrived at these figures by factoring in the average cost of a hotel in each city—some tourism taxes are a flat fee, meaning you'll pay the same tax no matter what, while other cities charge a percentage of what the hotel charges each night. Honolulu comes in first because they charge the highest percentage—10.25%—on a high average hotel room cost of about $390 each night.

That's definitely something you'll want to factor in to any trips you plan on taking in the future—even an additional $10 a night in taxes could throw off a tight trip budget. And an extra $50 a night? That might mean the difference between trying new restaurants and having to eat grocery-bought sandwiches the entire trip.

Want more Thrillist? Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, TikTok, and Snapchat.

Opheli Garcia Lawler is a Staff Writer on the News team at Thrillist. Follow her on Twitter @opheligarcia and Instagram @opheligarcia.