Budgeting for a road trip is one of the most overlooked tools for a successful and stress free adventure. Costs for the trip can be broken down into four main categories; gas, food, camping/lodging, and activity specific fees.
Gas is estimated by taking the total mileage (plus a little extra), dividing by your vehicle's miles per gallon, and multiplying by the current fuel costs.
We estimate food costs by taking the number of people times the number of days of the trip, and multiplying that by a daily food cost ($10 is an average amount if you are planning on making your own food).
Camping/Lodging (or lodging) is calculated by nightly fees times number of nights.
Activity specific fees include miscellaneous costs such as entrance fees, guide fees, trail permits, or other services.
Use this form to quickly calculate an estimated budget for your road trip. If something is unclear, hover over the (?) icon for a more detailed description. Then scroll to the bottom for some of my favorite tips to keep costs down!
FAQs
“This will ensure that you have enough money to cover all your expenses and have some leftover in the budget for souvenirs.” If you're not planning on taking a long road trip, a good rule of thumb is to budget about $150 per day.
How do I estimate the cost of a road trip? ›
Simply divide the length of your trip in miles by the miles-per-gallon your vehicle gets, and then multiply that number by the current price of gas. Simple as that sounds, you should add some wiggle room to your budget.
What is a normal budget for a trip? ›
How much does the average vacation cost? The average vacation for one person in the United States costs about $1,986 per week. A vacation for two people will typically cost around $3,971 per week.
How much cash should I take on a road trip? ›
Make a Budget for Your Trip
If you are going all cash or even part cash then creating a budget is key. As a rough estimation, budget $50-100 per person for each day that you will be away.
How much gas money for 1 hour drive? ›
How much is the cost of gas to drive for 1 hour? For example, if you'll be driving an average of 60 miles per hour and your car gets 25 miles per gallon, you'll need about 2.4 gallons of gas for your trip. If the cost of gas is $3.49 per gallon, your hour-long trip will cost $8.38.
What's a good budget for a road trip? ›
In 2020, the average cost for a cross-country road trip from New York, New York, to Los Angeles, California, cost around $1,150 in total. However, road trip costs can change depending on several variables, including: Locations and distance. Gas prices.
What is a good budget for a 3-day trip? ›
Budget Travel Tips for Weekend Getaways
According to Budget Your Trip, the average daily cost of a vacation for just one person comes to about $224. This means that a 2-day vacation would cost $448, a 3-day vacation would cost $672, and a longer 4-day vacation would cost $896.
Is it cheaper to road trip or fly? ›
"For the shortest trip, driving is slightly more economical than flying," said NerdWallet, "but for the longer cross-country trip, flying is far cheaper." As an example, a trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco — a distance of 382 miles — would cost $92 driving and $103 in airfare, per NerdWallet's calculations.
What is a good budget for a 3 day trip? ›
Budget Travel Tips for Weekend Getaways
According to Budget Your Trip, the average daily cost of a vacation for just one person comes to about $224. This means that a 2-day vacation would cost $448, a 3-day vacation would cost $672, and a longer 4-day vacation would cost $896.
What is a good transportation budget? ›
According to NerdWallet writer Philip Reed, your take-home pay should be dispersed into three categories: needs (50%) – this includes transportation, wants (30%) and savings (20%). “It's smart to spend less than 10 percent of your monthly take-home pay on your car payment,” according to Reed.
Deciding where to go and what to pack is stressful enough, let alone trying to determine how much money you need to bring. The general consensus is that you should have $50 to $100 in cash per day for each traveler.
