A week in Monterey / Big Sur for eight people works out around $14,310 before flights — $501 a night for a place sleeping four, scaled for the group, plus $87 per adult per day for food. From Los Angeles, Seattle, Phoenix it is cheaper for a family of four to drive than to fly.
Lodging and food only. Seven nights, whole-property rental, all fees in.
| Group | Lodging | Food | Total | Per person |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 people | $3,507 | $2,436 | $5,943 | $1,486 |
| 8 people | $9,438 | $4,872 | $14,310 | $1,789 |
| 12 people | $12,908 | $7,308 | $20,216 | $1,685 |
Note the per-person column does not simply fall. A place sleeping four is the efficient unit; going to eight means changing property class, which costs more than double. Past eight it improves again — each additional person adds roughly half what they did over the first jump. The expensive step is condo to house, not the people you put in it.
Monterey / Big Sur is dearest in July and cheapest in January — a 46% swing on the same property.
| Month | Per night, sleeps 4 | |
|---|---|---|
| January | $343 | |
| February | $357 | |
| March | $357 | |
| April | $357 | |
| May | $357 | |
| June | $357 | |
| July | $501 | |
| August | $501 | |
| September | $343 | |
| October | $343 | |
| November | $343 | |
| December | $343 |
Round trip per person to fly, versus one car for the whole party. The last column is which is cheaper for a family of four.
| From | Fly, pp | Each way | Drive, car | Each way | Cheaper for 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta | $531 | 9.0h | $3,850 | 46.1h | flying |
| Chicago | $507 | 8.5h | $3,357 | 40.2h | flying |
| Dallas | $469 | 5.8h | $2,602 | 31.1h | flying |
| Denver | $427 | 4.8h | $1,746 | 20.9h | flying |
| Los Angeles | $364 | 3.4h | $486 | 5.8h | driving |
| New York | $573 | 10.0h | $4,701 | 56.2h | flying |
| Seattle | $408 | 4.4h | $1,369 | 16.4h | driving |
| Phoenix | $394 | 4.1h | $1,089 | 13.0h | driving |
* published DOT average for that airport pair. Others are modelled from distance. Driving uses the IRS standard mileage rate, which includes running costs, not just fuel.
Compare Monterey / Big Sur against other destinations →Lodging is indexed from the US federal per-diem schedule (GSA) for this county, calibrated against real rental listings. Food uses this location's own federal meal tier. Fares come from the DOT Consumer Airfare Report where that airport pair is published, and from a model fitted to 2,089 real DOT fares otherwise. Everything here is an estimate for planning, not a quote — check real prices before booking.