This Trip Record
Chicago / Loop baseline
Chicago, Illinois · 2 people · 2 nights
$1,139
+216% vs advertised
Money · compare
Which one is actually cheaper?
Your current trip on the left. A library alternative on the right, priced for your party and your nights so the difference is a difference. Compare all five cost layers first; then read the delta on true estimated trip cost. Optional stays visible even at zero so a discretionary upgrade never gets confused with something the trip requires.
Price the corridor for
Decision pairs
Trip types
Montana
Colorado
Parks
Canyon country
West road & resort
East Coast
Victoria FX
Ferries
Library corridor
Chicago → Great Smoky Mountains / Gatlinburg, Tennessee · 2 people · 2 nightsPriced for your party, not the 2 people and 5 nights this corridor was written for.
$1,228
+294% vs advertised
Chicago / Loop baseline costs $89 less than Chicago → Smokies dual-base once everything is counted. The difference is mostly in required taxes and fees ($120).
Shortlist
Which of these can you rule out?
Up to 5 alternatives beside your own trip, every one of them priced for 2 people across 2 nights. The ranges are kept, because a gap smaller than the uncertainty around it is not a reason to choose — and every column sorts, because which trip is best depends entirely on what you are short of.
Nothing shortlisted yet. Add a trip above and it is priced against yours on the same party and the same nights.
| Layer | This trip | Chicago → Smokies dual-base | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advertised | $360 | $312 | +$48 |
| Required | $65 | $185 | -$120(difference of $50 or more) |
| Likely | $394 | $371 | +$23 |
| Optional | $90 | $110 | -$20 |
| Contingency | $230 | $250 | -$20 |
| All-in likely | $819 | $868 | -$49 |
| All-in planned | $909 | $978 | -$69(difference of $50 or more) |
| True estimated trip cost | $1,139 | $1,228 | -$89(difference of $50 or more) |
Differences of $50 or more are marked with an asterisk as well as colour. Identical layers are marked same, so the trade-off is the rows that actually move.
- Chicago / Loop baseline: Partial evidence. Some figures are confirmed and some are still assumptions or due for review.
- Chicago → Smokies dual-base: Partial evidence. Some figures are confirmed and some are still assumptions or due for review.
Behind these two trips
The ground underneath them
A corridor is the way into a place and the region around it. It decides what a bad day costs there, which is the one thing a room rate never tells you. These are the corridors the two trips above run through. All 65 are in Plans May Vary.
Chicago / The Loop
Air / road · ORD, MDW
Default contingency $160 · 3 high-severity patterns
Peak: Deep winter — O'Hare normals run 36.7" of snow a year, most of it Dec–Feb. The failure is the ground stop, not the total — and lake-effect events are the ones that arrive badly forecast.
Minneapolis / Twin Cities baseline
Confirm the current road, air, ferry, park or venue access rules for the selected dates. This bridge deliberately does not quote them.
Default contingency $100 · 1 high-severity patterns
Peak: Selected travel dates — Confirm current capacity, weather, closures and access before making costs non-refundable.
Kansas City baseline
Confirm the current road, air, ferry, park or venue access rules for the selected dates. This bridge deliberately does not quote them.
Default contingency $90 · 1 high-severity patterns
Peak: Selected travel dates — Confirm current capacity, weather, closures and access before making costs non-refundable.
Great Smoky Mountains / Gatlinburg
Road · TYS for air
Default contingency $160 · 3 high-severity patterns
Peak: Leaf season — The reliable annual peak, and the one everyone knows about.