How to Calculate Cost of Travel

Co-authored by Greg Guiteras

Last Updated: October 4, 2022

Calculating your travel costs can help you plan and organize your trip, and though it may seem difficult or confusing, it’s actually pretty easy to do. Look into the cost of lodging, vehicle rentals, fuel costs, flight costs, and any other expenses you may incur. Gather all of your costs together and keep them organized so you can plan for expenses and calculate your costs. You can also use a formula to figure out your fuel costs if you’re driving to your destination.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Calculating Your Travel Budget

1
Keep track of your costs so they’re organized. Use a spreadsheet, a blank piece of paper, a notepad, a word document, or any other document to keep track of all of your expenses in 1 location. You can use the document to plan for your expenses and make calculations to help manage your budget.^{[1]
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- Use a spreadsheet to organize costs, make plans, and keep a checklist of items.
- Write down any expenses that you make or plan to make in the document.
2
Research the total cost of round trip airline tickets if you’re flying. Call an airline or go online to find out the rates for you to travel to and from your destination. Add the costs of all of your flights together so you can keep track of them and include them in your total cost calculations.^{[2]
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- You can also estimate your budget based on other round trip ticket prices. For example, if you’re in the US, you could calculate round trip tickets across the country at around $500.
- Look for roundtrip ticket deals that bundle your flights together.
- Compare rates of round trip flights online so you can find the most affordable option.
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3
Look up the price of vehicle rentals where you’re going. If you aren’t driving your own vehicle for travel, you’ll need to rent one. Look online or contact vehicle rental companies where you’re traveling so you can find out their rates. Then, multiply their rate by the number of days you need to use the vehicle to find out how much you need to budget for it.^{[3]
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- For example, if a rental company charges $50 a day, and you need to rent a vehicle for 3 days, then you’ll need to budget at least $150 for rental costs.
- If you’re traveling far, choose the vehicle with the best mileage so you can save on fuel costs.
4
Incorporate additional transportation you’ll use into your costs. Research the location you’re traveling to and any neighboring areas you plan to visit. Determine if you’ll be traveling by boat, plane, train, car, or even rickshaw so you can account for all of your travel expenses.^{[4]
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- Search online to determine the type of travel you’ll use.
- Find out the costs of using the transportation, whether it’s a rental fee or a ticket price, and estimate how much you’ll need to budget for it. For example, if you plan to take a ferry to visit a remote island at least 4 times, and the ticket prices are $5 per trip, then you can budget $20 for ferry tickets.
- If you’re unsure of how to arrange for transportation at your destination, contact a travel agency and ask them to assist you. You’ll have to pay them for their services, but they’ll be able to fully assist you!
5
Find out the costs of any lodgings you plan to use. Contact the hotel, resort, bed and breakfast, or however you plan to stay at your destination to find out their daily rates. You can then multiply that by the total number of nights you plan to stay there, and then repeat the process for any other lodgings you plan to use.^{[5]
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- For instance, if you plan to stay at a hotel that costs $100 a night, and you plan to stay for 5 days, then you’ll need to budget $500 to stay there for the duration.
- Calculate your total lodging costs by adding together the total amounts of each place you plan to stay.
- You can find rental rates for many hotels on their website.
6
Include the costs of food for each traveler. You’ll need to stop to eat while you’re traveling so calculating those future expenses ahead of time can help you determine your total costs. When you’re calculating your other travel expenses, be sure to include the costs of food that you’ll need to purchase for yourself and anybody you may be traveling with.^{[6]
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- Check to see if there are any restaurants that you plan to visit so you can adjust your food costs based on the prices of the restaurant.
- If you plan to eat on the airplane, contact the airline to find out the cost of meals.
Tip: A good rule of thumb is to figure about $20 of food costs per person for a full day of traveling.
7
Add in the costs of any activities you plan to do. Research ticket prices or the cost of admission for any activities you plan to do or events you plan to attend while you’re on your trip. Keep track of them so you can figure them into your calculations when you tally up your total travel costs.^{[7]
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- Try to think of any miscellaneous costs that you may have such as toll roads or baggage fees.
- Did you know wikiHow offers coupons for a variety of travel websites? For money-saving deals and promo codes on flights, hotels, and activities, check out our coupon site for:

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Budgeting Fuel Costs

1
Find out the total distance you will drive on your trip. The number doesn’t have to be exact for your calculations, but a rough estimate will help you determine your fuel costs. Use a map or a digital mapping program like MapQuest or Google Maps to find out roughly how far you’ll travel from location to location.^{[8]
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- Put together all of the driving trips you plan to take to get a total traveling distance.
2
Divide the distance by your vehicle’s mileage to find your fuel needs. Find out your vehicle’s mileage rate and then use that number to divide the total distance that you plan to travel with that vehicle. This will give you the total amount of fuel that you’ll need to purchase in order to travel with your vehicle.^{[9]
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- For example, if you’re going to Kansas, you plan to drive a total of about 200 miles (320 km), and your rental car gets about 20 miles (32 km) per gallon of fuel, then you’ll need to purchase a total of about 10 gallons (38 L) of fuel in order to get around.
3
Multiply how much fuel you need by the cost of fuel where you’re traveling. Find out the price of fuel where you plan to travel. Then, take the total amount of fuel that you need in order to drive around at your destination and multiply it by the price to find your total fuel costs.^{[10]
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- For instance, if you need about 10 gallons (38 L) of fuel to travel around and the cost of fuel is about $3.00 per gallon, then you’ll need to spend about $30.00 on fuel.
Tip: If you’re traveling for business or you plan to be reimbursed for your expenses, keep your receipts so you can be reimbursed and calculate your mileage for tax purposes.

Expert Q&A

Question

How much does it cost to travel out of the country?

Greg Guiteras
Travel Specialist
Greg Guiteras is the CEO of Lorraine Travel, LLC, one of the largest privately-owned travel management companies in Florida founded in 1948. With over 34 years of experience, Greg's specialties are in corporate travel management, sales and marketing, contract negotiations, strategic partnerships, and luxury hotel sales. Greg holds a BS in Marketing from Florida State University. Greg has also created WhataHotel!, a website offering exclusive perks on hotel bookings, and CabinMate, an app that matches single cruise travelers with potential cabin matches "in the same boat" to avoid traveling solo on a cruise.

Greg Guiteras

Travel Specialist

Expert Answer

It's going to totally depend on the country you're in, the country you're travelling to, and the time of year that you're travelling. There are just way too many variables to offer up a suggestion with this.
Question

What determines airfare costs?

Greg Guiteras
Travel Specialist
Greg Guiteras is the CEO of Lorraine Travel, LLC, one of the largest privately-owned travel management companies in Florida founded in 1948. With over 34 years of experience, Greg's specialties are in corporate travel management, sales and marketing, contract negotiations, strategic partnerships, and luxury hotel sales. Greg holds a BS in Marketing from Florida State University. Greg has also created WhataHotel!, a website offering exclusive perks on hotel bookings, and CabinMate, an app that matches single cruise travelers with potential cabin matches "in the same boat" to avoid traveling solo on a cruise.

Greg Guiteras

Travel Specialist

Expert Answer

Airlines basically orient their prices to take advantage of business travelers, but as an average consumer it's really hard to make sense of it. The prices can definitely seem random sometimes, so it helps to keep a regular tab on ticket prices.
Question

How do I predict my time of arrival?

Community Answer

If you know your average miles per hour, you can divide the distance to your destination by average miles per hour to get how long it would take. Just add that to your current time to get your time of arrival.