Contrary to their notoriously high costs, San Francisco and Chicago ranked in the top five most affordable holiday travel destinations because of seasonal deals on flights and hotels.

To pinpoint the most and least affordable holiday trips, GOBankingRates examined six factors in popular destinations around the world: the cost of hotels, flights from Atlanta and Los Angeles, food, drinks, transportation and entertainment.

Most Affordable Places to Visit During the Holidays

1.     Playa del Carmen, Mexico

• Average cost of hotel/night (Thanksgiving): $137.67
• Average cost of hotel/night (Christmas): $174.00
• Average cost of flight (Thanksgiving): $451.51
• Average cost of flight (Christmas): $526.63
• Average cost of food (meals per day): $14.00

2.     San Francisco

• Average cost of hotel/night (Thanksgiving): $121.00
• Average cost of hotel/night (Christmas): $121.00
• Average cost of flight (Thanksgiving):  $247.90
• Average cost of flight (Christmas): $257.90
• Average cost of food (meals per day): $31.00

3.     Chicago

• Average cost of hotel/night (Thanksgiving): $87.00
• Average cost of hotel/night (Christmas): $84.67
• Average cost of flight (Thanksgiving): $204.40
• Average cost of flight (Christmas): $261.92
• Average cost of food (meals per day): $34.00

4.     Seattle

• Average cost of hotel/night (Thanksgiving): $142.33
• Average cost of hotel/night (Christmas): $139.67
• Average cost of flight (Thanksgiving): $328.69
• Average cost of flight (Christmas): $345.51
• Average cost of food (meals per day): $37.00

5.     Washington, D.C.

• Average cost of hotel/night (Thanksgiving): $96.67
• Average cost of hotel/night (Christmas): $85.33
• Average cost of flight (Thanksgiving): $345.90
• Average cost of flight (Christmas): $308.49
• Average cost of food (meals per day): $30.00

Least Affordable Places to Visit During the Holidays

1.     Cape Town, South Africa

• Average cost of hotel/night (Thanksgiving): $100.67
• Average cost of hotel/night (Christmas): $92.67
• Average cost of flight (Thanksgiving): $1,557.45
• Average cost of flight (Christmas): $2,107.05
• Average cost of food (meals per day): $48.00

2.     Park City, Utah

• Average cost of hotel/night (Thanksgiving): $115.67
• Average cost of hotel/night (Christmas): $533.67
• Average cost of flight (Thanksgiving): $253.29
• Average cost of flight (Christmas): $338.98
• Average cost of food (meals per day): $50.00

3.     Sydney

• Average cost of hotel/night (Thanksgiving): $115.00
• Average cost of hotel/night (Christmas): $84.00
• Average cost of flight (Thanksgiving): $1,554.61
• Average cost of flight (Christmas): $2,137.65
• Average cost of food (meals per day): $35.00

4.     Kihei, Hawaii

• Average cost of hotel/night (Thanksgiving): $189.67
• Average cost of hotel/night (Christmas): $362.00
• Average cost of flight (Thanksgiving): $1,194.04
• Average cost of flight (Christmas): $870.00
• Average cost of food (meals per day): $44.00

5.     Honolulu, Hawaii

• Average cost of hotel/night (Thanksgiving): $196.67
• Average cost of hotel/night (Christmas): $241.33
• Average cost of flight (Thanksgiving): $1,192.83
• Average cost of flight (Christmas): $932.84
• Average cost of food (meals per day): $42.00

Additional Insights

• Winter is the peak season for the state of Hawaii, and therefore one of the least affordable places to visit during the holidays.
• Despite an abundance of surrounding ski resorts, winter is the low season for tourism in Denver and therefore, one of the more affordable holiday travel destinations on the list.
• You can save money on a flight to Amsterdam by traveling during Thanksgiving rather than Christmas—airfares are about $300 to $500 lower, depending on the U.S. departure city.

The post These are the most and least affordable places to travel this holiday season appeared first on International Finance.