Travel Budget Calculator
Add your trip length, travellers, flights, nightly accommodation and daily spending. See the full trip cost, a 10% safety buffer and what each person spends per day.
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How much should I budget for a trip?
Budget for a trip by adding four costs: flights for every traveller, accommodation per night, food per person per day, and activities and local transport per person per day, then add a 10% buffer. Two people on a 10-day trip with $900 flights, $180 nights and $120 a day each for spending need about $6,000, or $6,600 with the buffer.
How the travel budget calculator works
The travel budget calculator splits a trip into the costs that scale differently. Flights are paid once per person. Accommodation is paid per night, whether one or four people share the room. Food, activities and local transport are paid per person, every day. Multiplying each by the right number gives a total you can trust.
Enter trip length in days, the number of travellers, the return flight price per person, the nightly accommodation rate, food per person per day, and activities and transport per person per day. Use your home currency so the total lines up with your bank account.
| Cost | Calculation | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | 2 travellers × $900 | $1,800 |
| Accommodation | 10 nights × $180 | $1,800 |
| Food and activities | 2 × ($70 + $50) × 10 days | $2,400 |
| Trip budget | $6,000 | |
| With 10% buffer | $6,600 | |
| Per person per day | $6,000 ÷ 2 ÷ 10 | $300 |
How much should I budget per day for travel?
A daily travel budget depends far more on the destination than on the traveller. Start with your accommodation rate, then look up typical meal prices and local transport fares where you are going, and add what you plan to spend on tours, museums and nights out. Your per-person daily figure is the number to watch once you arrive.
Rather than guess, split the day into meals, transport and one planned activity. Price each from recent listings, then round up. It is easier to spend less than you planned than to find money halfway through a trip. For typical trip totals by type of holiday, see our guide to the average cost of a vacation.
Trip cost calculator for travel in another currency
Foreign travel adds a hidden line to every budget: the exchange rate. Prices abroad are in the local currency, but your savings and card statements are in dollars, so convert your daily estimates before you enter them.
Rates move every day, and the rate you actually get from a card, bank or exchange counter includes a margin over the mid-market rate. The currency converter gives an indicative rate to plan with. Build a small cushion into the buffer if your destination's currency tends to swing.
- Foreign transaction fees. Many credit and debit cards add a percentage fee to purchases made in another currency. Check your cardholder agreement or look for a card without one.
- Dynamic currency conversion. When a terminal offers to charge you in dollars instead of the local currency, the conversion rate is often worse. Choosing the local currency usually costs less.
- Cash withdrawals. ATM operators abroad and your own bank can both charge a fee per withdrawal, so take out larger amounts less often.
- Deposits and holds. Hotels and car rentals may hold an amount on your card that you get back later. Keep enough room on the card for them.
Your home currency, any spending currency
- 148 currencies with automatic conversion
- Record FX markup on card purchases
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What to include so the budget does not fall short
Most trips go over budget because of costs that were never in the plan. Before you book, run through this list and add anything that applies to the activities line.
- Travel insurance, including medical coverage when you leave your home province or country.
- Checked bags, seat selection and airport transfers at both ends.
- Visas, entry fees and tourist taxes charged per night by some cities.
- Tips, which are expected in some countries and not in others.
- Phone data, either a roaming plan or a local SIM.
- Pet sitting, parking at the airport and anything else you pay at home while you are away.
Before you go, check entry requirements and travel advice for your destination on the Government of Canada's travel site. Some countries require a visa or electronic authorization well in advance, and the fee belongs in your budget.
How to save for a trip and track spending while you travel
Once you have a total, divide it by the months until departure to get a monthly savings target. Treating the trip as a sinking fund, money you set aside a little at a time for a known expense, stops it landing on a credit card. The savings goal calculator works out the monthly amount for any date.
On the road, track as you go. EMOH Pay supports 148 currencies with automatic conversion, so you can log a meal in euros or yen and see it counted in your home currency against the trip budget. Receipts, categories and a daily money digest keep the running total honest, and family sharing lets travel companions log their own spending with separate logins. You can see the full list on the EMOH Pay features page. Our multi-currency budget app page explains how conversion works, and the travel budget app page covers trip tracking in more detail.
When you get home, compare actual spending with the plan. The difference is the most useful number for budgeting your next trip.
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Get started free➜Travel Budget Calculator: frequently asked questions
How much buffer should I add to a travel budget?
Ten per cent is a sensible default and is what the calculator adds. Use more for long trips, destinations with volatile currencies or trips with many unknown costs, such as a first visit to a new country.
Should I count flights per person or per trip?
Per person. Enter the return fare for one traveller and the calculator multiplies it by the number of travellers. If fares differ, such as a child fare, enter the average.
Does accommodation scale with the number of travellers?
No. The calculator treats the nightly rate as the price of the room or rental for the whole group. If you are booking separate rooms, enter the combined nightly cost.
What currency should I use in the travel budget calculator?
Use your home currency. Convert destination prices with an indicative exchange rate first, so the total matches the money you are saving and the charges that will appear on your statement.
How far ahead should I start saving for a trip?
Start as soon as you know the rough cost. Dividing the total by the months until departure gives a monthly target, and saving over six months or more makes a large trip feel like a normal budget line.
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