Trip Cost Calculator
Enter your driving distance, fuel economy and pump price, then add the costs you expect for tolls, parking, accommodation, food and other shared expenses. The calculator estimates the total trip budget and an equal share per traveller.
Your estimated trip cost
Based on a 200.0 miles round trip (400.0 miles driven), 4 days, 3 nights and 4 travellers sharing costs equally.
The total is split equally between travellers. This does not adjust for who used a room, ate a meal or joined a paid activity.
MPG (UK / Imperial) uses the UK Imperial gallon — exactly 4.54609 litres, not the US gallon.
Cost by category
| Category | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Fuel | £68.19 | 4% |
| Tolls / road charges | £25.00 | 1.5% |
| Parking | £20.00 | 1.2% |
| Accommodation | £750.00 | 43.8% |
| Food | £600.00 | 35% |
| Activities / tickets | £200.00 | 11.7% |
| Other shared costs | £50.00 | 2.9% |
| Contingency | £0.00 | 0% |
| Total | £1,713.19 | 100% |
Fuel breakdown
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Trip type | Round trip (distance doubled) |
| Distance (miles) | 200.0 miles |
| Distance driven | 400.0 miles |
| Fuel economy (MPG UK / Imperial) | 40.00 MPG (UK) |
| Fuel used | 45.46 litres |
| Fuel used (Imperial gallons) | 10.000 UK gal |
| Fuel price per litre | £1.50 per litre |
| Fuel cost | £68.19 |
Accommodation breakdown
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Nights | 3 |
| Rooms / units | 2 |
| Rate per room per night | £120.00 |
| Fixed accommodation fees | £30.00 |
| Accommodation total | £750.00 |
Food breakdown
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Travel days | 4 |
| Travellers | 4 |
| Food budget per person per day | £35.00 |
| Shared food costs | £40.00 |
| Food total | £600.00 |
Tolls, parking and other costs
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Tolls / road charges | £25.00 |
| Parking | £20.00 |
| Activities / tickets | £200.00 |
| Other shared costs | £50.00 |
Contingency
| Item | Value |
|---|
Cost per distance
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Total cost per mile | £4.28 |
| Total cost per km | £2.66 |
| Fuel cost per mile | £0.17 |
How to use this calculator
- Enter the number of travellers, travel days and accommodation nights.
- Choose your fuel unit system — Metric, UK MPG or US MPG — and enter your driving distance, fuel economy and pump price. Leave the distance at 0 to leave fuel out of the total.
- Enter your accommodation rate, rooms and any fixed fees, if you have paid nights.
- Enter a food budget per traveller per day, plus any shared food costs.
- Enter tolls, parking, activities and any other shared, whole-trip costs.
- Optionally add a contingency percentage, and choose whether it applies to accommodation and food as well as fuel, tolls, parking, activities and other costs.
- Read the total trip cost, cost per traveller, average cost per day and fuel cost, plus the full category, fuel, accommodation, food and other-cost breakdowns below.
How is a trip budget calculated?
This calculator totals seven cost categories, adds an optional contingency, then splits the result equally between travellers.
- accommodation = nights × rooms/units × price per room per night + fixed fees
- food = travel days × travellers × food budget per traveller per day + shared food costs
- contingency = contingency base × percentage ÷ 100, when enabled
- cost per traveller = total ÷ travellers
- average cost per day = total ÷ travel days
For example: 4 travellers on a 4-day, 3-night trip drive 200 miles each way at 40 MPG (UK) and £1.50 per litre — a fuel cost of about £68.19. Accommodation is 2 rooms at £120 a night for 3 nights plus a £30 fee, or £750. Food is £35 per traveller per day for 4 travellers over 4 days plus £40 shared, or £600. Tolls, parking, activities and other costs add £295. With no contingency, the total is £1,713.19 — £428.30 per traveller.
Why are travel days and accommodation nights entered separately?
A trip's driving days and its paid nights away do not always match — a day trip either side of the stay adds a travel day with no accommodation night attached. This calculator never assumes nights = days − 1: it uses whatever you enter for each, though an optional "Set nights to days − 1" button is offered as a shortcut when that pattern does fit your trip. Travel days feed the food total and the average cost per day; accommodation nights feed the accommodation total.
How does the equal split work?
Every category is added into one total, and that total is divided evenly by the number of travellers — cost per traveller = total ÷ travellers. This calculator does not weight the split by who booked a room, ate a meal, drove a leg of the journey or joined a paid activity; for an uneven split, adjust the figures you enter or settle the difference outside the calculator.
What is the contingency percentage for?
It is an optional buffer for costs that run over budget, calculated as a percentage of a base you choose: contingency = contingency base × percentage ÷ 100. Fuel, tolls, parking, activities and other costs are always included in that base; accommodation and food are added to it only if their checkboxes are ticked. This is a planning choice for you to make, not a recommended figure — the calculator does not suggest a percentage.
Is UK MPG the same as US MPG?
No — the two standards use a different gallon, so the same MPG number describes a different real fuel economy:
| Standard | Exact size |
|---|---|
| UK / Imperial gallon | 4.54609 litres |
| US liquid gallon | 3.785411784 litres |
This calculator reuses the same fuel maths as the Fuel Cost Calculator, so it never treats one gallon as the other and always labels which standard a figure uses.
What does this calculator assume, and what does it not do?
This is an estimate built entirely from the figures you enter. It does not plan a route or look up a live fuel price, toll, hotel price, tax rate or exchange rate; it does not book anything, convert currencies, account for vehicle wear, servicing or insurance, settle an uneven split, or give travel advice. Actual costs can change with route, traffic, fuel use, booking date, accommodation and food choices, parking, fees and unexpected events.