Travel Budget Calculator

Build a trip budget from fixed and daily costs

This calculator estimates a total trip budget from transportation, lodging, food, activities, miscellaneous costs, travelers, exchange rate, and a contingency percentage. It separates one-time costs from daily costs so you can see what changes when the trip gets longer or the group size changes.

Enter costs in the trip currency. If you are comparing against a US dollar budget, enter the currency per USD exchange rate so the result can show both local and USD estimates.

Formula

Lodging total = nightly lodging cost x number of nights.

Food total = daily food budget x number of days.

Subtotal = transportation + lodging total + food total + activities + other expenses.

Contingency amount = subtotal x contingency percent.

Total cost = subtotal + contingency amount.

Per-person cost = total cost / travelers.

Example

A trip with $600 transportation, 5 nights at $140, 6 food days at $45, $250 in activities, $150 in other costs, and a 10% contingency has a subtotal of $1,970. The contingency adds $197, for a total of $2,167 before dividing by travelers.

Planning notes

Use a realistic contingency if exchange rates, weather, baggage fees, taxis, visas, or attraction prices are uncertain. A small buffer is usually cheaper than running short while traveling.