Ten Best Cities for Winter Holiday Travel — Including Denver

Already got the holidays on your mind? Us, too — and that includes potential travel destinations. But which ones offer the best combination of attractions, weather and low cost? WalletHub crunched the numbers to find out, and there's good news for people planning a staycation: Denver's among the top ten —...

By Michael Roberts

November 17, 2015

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "12017618",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17242653",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261320",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261321",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

Already got the holidays on your mind? Us, too — and that includes potential travel destinations.

But which ones offer the best combination of attractions, weather and low cost?

WalletHub crunched the numbers to find out, and there's good news for people planning a staycation: Denver's among the top ten — meaning you can experience one of the season's best metro areas without going anywhere.

Look below to count down the photo-illustrated top ten, supplemented by Wallethub data. To see the original post, featuring much more information and scoring methodology, click here.

Number 1: Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Georgia
Overall score: 64.19
Travel costs and hassles rank: 9
Local costs rank: 6
Attractions rank: 7
Weather conditions rank: 2

Number 2: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Overall score: 62.56
Travel costs and hassles rank: 22
Local costs rank: 1
Attractions rank: 9
Weather conditions rank: 1

Number 3: New York-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA
Overall score: 59.89
Travel costs and hassles rank: 21
Local costs rank: 32
Attractions rank: 1
Weather conditions rank: 10

Number 4: St. Louis, MO-IL
Overall score: 58.34
Travel costs and hassles rank: 6
Local costs rank: 15
Attractions rank: 13
Weather conditions rank: 7

Number 5: Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
Overall score: 58.20
Travel costs and hassles rank: 5
Local costs rank: 20
Attractions rank: 6
Weather conditions rank: 5

Number 6: Kansas City, MO-KS
Overall score: 57.98
Travel costs and hassles rank: 1
Local costs rank: 8
Attractions rank: 17
Weather conditions rank: 3

Number 7: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI
Overall score: 56.93
Travel costs and hassles"rank: 2
Local costs rank:18
Attractions rank: 2
Weather conditions rank: 23

Number 8: Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
Overall score: 56.64
Travel costs and hassles rank: 14
Local costs rank: 10
Attractions rank: 10
Weather conditions rank: 9

Number 9: Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
Overall score: 56.54
Travel costs and hassles rank: 11
Local costs rank: 26
Attractions rank: 8
Weather conditions rank: 6

Number 10: Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN
Overall score: 56.25
Travel costs and hassles rank: 13
Local costs rank: 2
Attractions rank: 16
Weather conditions rank: 14

KEEP WESTWORD FREE... Since we started Westword, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.

Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

Contact: Michael Roberts

Follow:

Facebook: 111180895657427

Twitter: @mikerobertscolo