Go Cheap! A State-by-State Guide to Rentals Less Than a $100

There are times when the convenience of a hotel is exactly what you need. Then there are all those other times. Like when you know you can’t afford a nice hotel plus restaurant food every day of your trip. Or when you travel with a group of friends and really want a dining room table to play cards. Yahoo Travel went in search of the coolest and cheapest rentals from sea to shining sea, for under $100 per night. Here are our favorite finds.

Alabama

The beach view from a VRBO condo. (Photo: VRBO)

Condos on the beach in Gulf Shores under our $100 threshold were easy to find, including this popular VRBO listing with 1,150 square feet for only $695 a week in late summer. Plus: there’s a pool in the complex, if you want an alternative to the beach.

Alaska

Lodging in Alaska can be pricey. It’s the kind of destination where you wish you had a friend or relative to bunk up with. That makes Airbnb the perfect resource. One example of the bargains you can find is an apartment in Anchorage for only $69 per night.

Arizona

FlipKey.com offers bargains that are almost too good to be true — including rentals advertised with starting prices as low as $11 per night (though those rates never showed up once we plugged in our dates). But if you want an apartment or condo under $100 in Arizona, Flipkey still delivers. We liked this $92 two-bedroom apartment in Scottsdale, with access to a pool and a hot tub.

Arkansas

Southern living in Hot Springs. (Photo: Airbnb)

Hot Springs has an abundance of rentals, from apartments to golf-course condos. We found values like this two-bedroom Airbnb listing with a fireplace for only $99 per night. The owner describes it as a “Southern Living style home away from home.”

Related: WATCH: How to Create the Perfect Airbnb Listing — Katie Couric Has the Exclusive

California

Airbnb is the way to go for unusual and cheap lodging across California. Use the sliding $ scale to narrow your parameters, then find the location and style that suits you. We found everything from a pop-up camper set up in a backyard to this beach studio — just steps from the water in Pismo Beach — that rents for only $85 per night.

Colorado

Pagosa Springs, in the southwestern corner of the state is a great find — rates aren’t too high, even during ski season. May offers plenty of options around the $100 per night range. Look at VRBO.com for options like this lakeside condo listing, which is part of the Wyndham group and offers access to 18,000 acres of Rocky Mountain wilderness.

Connecticut

Lofty rental in Guilford. (Photo: Airbnb)

The trendiest areas of the state — especially along the shoreline — are expectedly pricey. It took a bit of digging to find something under our $100 target. We liked this loft apartment for three, not just for the price, but because it’s in the charming town of Guilford, three minutes from Lake Quonnipaug. And the 27 good reviews don’t hurt, either.

Delaware

As in Connecticut, bargains require a little shopping. We searched Homeaway.com and found an incredible three-bedroom condo in Bethany on the beach at a tennis resort. Rates start at just $100 per night.

Florida

The Keys are known for expensive lodging, but with a little effort you can turn up fantastic properties like a two-bedroom condo in the Upper Keys, with rates starting at $100 per night. And did we mention that it’s right on the ocean?

Georgia

A cabin in the mountains of Georgia. (Photo: VRBO)

Enjoy the mountains of North Georgia on the cheap. When you search vacation rental sites, you will sometimes stumble across rentals that are located within a resort. Sometimes these are privately owned, other times they are resort owned, as is the case with this cute cabin with year-round rates of $89 per night — or less. You get the advantage of a resort atmosphere, with the privacy of your own cabin.

Hawaii

The Big Island of Hawaii offers some of the best bargains in the state. We found a wide selection of condos and backyard apartments on the Kona Coast. This two-bedroom, highly rated unit on White Sands Beach — known for its boogie boarding and snorkeling — goes for as low as $99 per night.

Idaho

The Zen Studio in Hailey is a perfect example of what you can find in Idaho for under $100 on Airbnb. As to be expected, it’s very zen — and it makes a great base for exploring Sun Valley. The hosts leave locally baked cookies for guests.

Illinois

Cheap and chic in Chicago. (Photo: Airbnb)

Live like a local when you visit Chicago. This adorable house in the residential Andersonville neighborhood is not only convenient to explore Chicago, but cheap (as little as $55 a night) and highly rated.

Indiana

This adorable 1920s bungalow in Bloomington is an unbelievable $55 per night — perfect for a getaway. It’s surrounded by lush gardens.

Iowa

Need a place for a family gathering? Try this simple, country-style five-bedroom house, in Alta Vista, a small town in northeast Iowa, for the amazing rate of $60 per night.

Kansas

Mid-century loft in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo: Airbnb)

An alternative to a standard hotel room in Kansas City is this stylish mid-century loft in a 1948 cottage, which goes for as low as $65 per night. Bonus, if you’re engaged: it’s located right above a bridal salon.

Kentucky

One of the coolest trends we are seeing on vacation rental sites is vintage camping trailers for rent. We loved this retro camper, set under a magnolia tree in Louisville and renting for $77 per night — and so have past guests, who rave about the owner’s fresh-from-the-oven cookies, as well as the experience.

Louisiana

In New Orleans we again used the sliding rate tool on Airbnb to find a selection of room rentals below $100. We liked this 119-year-old urban retreat, overlooking a rustic garden in the Bywater Historic District, for only $95 — and it includes bicycles.

Maine

How could you not love a rental with the words “crooked,” “tiny,” and “off-grid” in the description? If you are serious about getting away from it all, past guests all say this solar-powered cabin in Orland is the place to do it for around $65 a night. But don’t worry if this one is not available; there are plenty of similar rentals in Maine.

Maryland

Glamping in Maryland. (Photo: Airbnb)

Want to sleep in a teepee in the woods of Oakland, near the Youghiogheny River? Got you covered. And there’s a bathhouse so you don’t have to peepee in the woods. All for only $75 a night.

Related: Is Glamping at a Lodge Not Fancy Enough for You? Try it at These Upscale Hotels

Massachusetts

We found the perfect couple’s retreat with classic shingled Cape Cod ambience in Provincetown. This tiny cottage rents for under a $100 in the off-season, and just a little over that during the summer.

Michigan

We are always on the lookout for waterfront bargains. We found this cabin on Lake George that includes kayaks for under $100 a night. A boat and watercraft are also available for rent.

Minnesota

(Photo: VRBO)

There are times when you need to be close to the heart of the city — but not too close. This one-bedroom apartment ($100 a night, if you stay the week) in a 1920s house is located in a quiet neighborhood. It’s near the light rail to get you wherever you need to go in the Minneapolis area, from Uptown to the Mall of America.

Mississippi

In Gulfport, where you want to be is 300 yards from the beach. This adorable cottage has got that covered. The current rate is $99 a night, though high-season rates bump over the $100 mark. But it’s the beach, right?

Missouri

A rental in St. Louis. (Photo: HomeAway)

We stumbled across a few rentals in St. Louis that are so remarkable that we felt compelled to include them, even though the price edged a bit over the $100 mark. For an extra $20 per night, this apartment will make you think twice about ever staying in a hotel again. We found it on the offshoot of the Homeaway family: vacationrentals.com. And if you want a unique place to stay in Kansas City, consider this example of the tiny-house trend at $60 a night. Only caveat: it’s for women only.

Montana

Location, location, location. This adorable apartment is the perfect spot in Butte to be your basecamp for exploring both Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks — and it’s just $80 a night.

Nebraska

What could be more perfect for a stay in Nebraska than a farmhouse? This charmer is located close to the Platte River and just an hour’s drive to either Omaha or Lincoln. Rates start at $100 per night mid-week.

Nevada

Place your bets on this Reno carriage house. (Photo: Airbnb)

There are over two hundred Airbnb rentals at $100 or less in Nevada, including this brick carriage house in Reno for only $70 per night.

New Hampshire

Think you can’t enjoy Lake Winnipesaukee in the summer for under a hundred bucks a night? Wrong! They are not fancy, but we found these adorable cottages near the lake for only $65 per night.

New Jersey

Snag this beautiful ocean-view condo in Brigantine — near Atlantic City — for as low as $100 per night in the fall. Even the summer rates are reasonable.

New Mexico

A hilltop studio in Angel Fire. (Photo: VRBO)

Whether you ski or not, Angel Fire is heaven on Earth. We found this comfortable studio tucked away in the mountains away from the rest of the world for just over $100 per night. There are views across the Moreno Valley to the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

New York

Escape from the city on the cheap with options in the Hudson Valley on VRBO.com. We especially liked this little cottage with water views for only $95 per night.

North Carolina

Doing Asheville in an Airstream. (Photo: VRBO)

How about a 1975 Airstream in downtown Asheville that runs $600 for a week? It’s groovy!

North Dakota

Bring the whole family to the farm in Jamestown. Just $100 for the first two people, but there are accommodations for up to 22. Can you say “family reunion?”

Ohio

This is a bargain anywhere you find it: a waterfront, one-bedroom condo with a boat dock for $110 per night or $500 per week. It’s located in Oak Harbor, which is known for its great fishing.

Oklahoma

The continuing oil boom has forced hotel prices higher in Oklahoma than you would expect. We turned once again to Airbnb for a wide range of options throughout the state, including a pleasant one bedroom in Oklahoma City for only $69 a night.

Oregon

Seaside on the central coast of Oregon. (Photo: VRBO)

Through the end of May, you can have a cozy cottage by the sea in Yachats — known for its 4th of July parade — with a breathtaking view for only $65 per night. After that, the rate is only $900 per week.

Pennsylvania

There is nothing fancy about this two-bedroom Poconos cabin, but check out the view — it’s worth way more than $89 per night.

Rhode Island

A private, well-decorated apartment for four within walking distance of Narragansett Bay can be yours for only $80 per night if you know where to look. Now you do.

South Carolina

A South Carolina-based teeny-weeny trailer. (Photo: VRBO)

There are things you can do in this state that are surprisingly affordable, including this adorable tiny trailer that rents, fully set up at Edisto State Park, for only $50 per night.

Related: Let’s Go Camping — in a Teeny-Weeny Trailer

South Dakota

Take your crew out for a hassle-free motorhome camping experience in Hot Springs, complete with a hot tub. Unbelievably, the rate is only $65 per night.

Tennessee

You could splurge just a little for this urban loft in Kingsport. The rate is $675 a week for a place to call your own in the heart of town, with 1,000 square feet of space and two bathrooms.

Texas

If you can stay a week, we found you a stunning one-bedroom condo on the beach on South Padre Island for only $600. If you can’t stay the week, the rate is still a reasonable $129 per night (except in mid-summer).

Utah

A Utah log cabin. (Photo: VRBO)

Log cabin anyone? We found this 2,000 square foot, four-bedroom beauty in the mountains near Beach Lake for $700 per week until mid-June.

Vermont

“Cute” and “cozy” don’t even come close to describing this cherry-red studio orchard cottage with modern amenities for $95 per night until mid-June. It’s located in Barnard, a mountain village near Woodstock.

Virginia

A perfectly styled Airstream on Airbnb in Virginia. (Photo: Airbnb)

These Airbnb hosts have thought of everything, which is why they have well over a hundred positive reviews. They parked a renovated Airstream trailer next to a large deck on a hillside, making it feel like it is hovering in the trees. For $95 per night, this may be the perfect romantic escape near Shenandoah National Park.

Related: 12 Things You Didn’t Know About Airstream Trailers (They Weren’t Always Silver!)

Washington

One look at the of the Olympic mountains and Sinclair Inlet from this beach cottage and we thought about keeping this listing to ourselves. Wait until you see the claw-foot tub! For $695 per week ($795 in the summer), it’s a steal.

West Virginia

A National Forest cabin. (Photo: VRBO)

For $675 per week, this one-bedroom mountain cabin has a lot to offer, including hiking trails and the beauty of the Monongahela National Forest at your doorstep.

Wisconsin

Madeline Island is the perfect retreat on Lake Superior. Try this cute condo for only $100 per night through mid-summer.

Wyoming

If you visit Wyoming, you have to try glamping in a teepee near the Wind River. For $58 per night, you get 200 square feet, a private bathhouse, a fire pit, and copious amounts of authentic charm.

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