This travel budget calculator builds a trip’s full cost from its five real buckets — transport there, lodging, food, local transport and activities — with per-person and per-day readouts.

Total trip cost –
Per person –
Per day (whole party) –
With 10% contingency –

A Trip Costs What Its Days Cost, Plus Getting There

The road-trip variant (fuel math for driving instead of flying) is our Fuel Cost Calculator. Part of our Everyday Life Calculators collection.

Worked Example (Verified)

  • 2 travelers, 7 days (defaults): flights $900 + hotel 6 nights $960 + food $630 + local transport $280 + activities $300 = $3,070 total · $1,535 per person · $439/day; with contingency, save toward $3,377
  • The nights trap: a 7-day trip buys 6 hotel nights, not 7 — the calculator counts nights as days − 1; red-eyes and night trains bend it further in your favor
  • Where budgets die: food is the most underestimated bucket (three restaurant meals a day in a capital city outrun the $90 default fast) — locals’ lunch spots and one market-picnic a day is the classic rescue

Trip Budget Discipline

  • Fixed costs (flights, hotels) book early and cheap; variable costs (food, activities) flex on the ground — budget the flexibles generously and the fixed aggressively.
  • The contingency is a line, not a hope: 10% covers the missed train, the irresistible tour and the exchange-rate shrug.
  • Per-day cost is the comparison currency between destinations: $439/day here vs $250/day in a cheaper region buys a longer trip for the same money — the real trade travelers make.
  • Points and miles reprice the flights row to taxes-only — enter what you’ll actually pay, not the cash sticker.

Related Tools

Frequently Asked Questions

How much should I budget for a 7-day trip for two?

A mid-range template: $900 flights + $960 hotel (6 nights) + $630 food + $280 local transport + $300 activities = $3,070 ($1,535 per person). Destination swings this wildly — the same week runs $1,800 in budget regions and $6,000+ in premium capitals. This calculator itemizes your own numbers.

What is the biggest trip expense?

Usually lodging and long-haul transport trade places at the top, with food third and the most underestimated. In the defaults, lodging leads: hotel $960 (31%) vs flights $900 (29%), food $630 (21%), activities and local transport sharing the rest.

How much contingency should a trip budget have?

10% of the total is the standard recommendation — it absorbs one surprise excursion, a rebooking fee, or currency movement without touching the souvenir row. Trips with tight connections or prepaid non-refundables deserve 15%.

How can I cut a trip budget without cutting the trip?

Shift dates (shoulder season reprices flights and hotels together), trade one hotel night for a sleeper train, self-cater breakfast and one picnic a day, and cluster paid sights on days with city passes. Each is a 5–15% lever; stacked, they fund an extra day.

Per-person or per-couple budgeting — which is right?

Track the total for booking decisions and per-person for splitting fairly: shared rows (hotel room, taxis) split by heads; personal rows (food choices, shopping) don’t. This tool reports both views for exactly that conversation.

Is this travel budget calculator free?

Yes — free, instant, no sign-up.