— Budgeting
Vacation Budget Calculator
Plan a trip budget from transport, accommodation, daily spending, activities, fixed costs, adults, children, and contingency. See total trip cost, cost per person and per day, budget tiers, and monthly saving needed.
Total trip cost
$3,685
- Cost per person
- $1,843
- Cost per day
- $526
- Contingency buffer
- $335
- Save per month
- $614
Try: Two, a week, mid-range, Same trip, budget style, Family of four, 10 nights, International, with savings plan
— The trip cost sheet
| Line item | Per person | Total | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transport | $400 | $800 | Round trip |
| Accommodation | $420 | $840 | 7 nights, whole room |
| Daily spend | $700 | $1,400 | 100/person/day |
| Activities | $155 | $310 | Tours & experiences |
| Contingency | $168 | $335 | 10% buffer |
| Total trip cost | $1,843 | $3,685 | 2 adults, 7 nights |
— Monthly savings plan
| Month | Contribution | Trip fund |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $614 | $614 |
| 2 | $614 | $1,228 |
| 3 | $614 | $1,843 |
| 4 | $614 | $2,457 |
| 5 | $614 | $3,071 |
| 6 | $614 | $3,685 |
— What the trip costs
Download— How it works
Trip cost = transport + accommodation × nights + daily spend × people × nights + activities + fixed costs, plus a contingency percentage. Children spend a fraction of the adult daily rate and may travel half-fare. Monthly saving = (total − already saved) ÷ months until the trip.
Estimator first: the whole cost, not just the flights
People book a holiday around the headline cost — the flights, maybe the hotel — and then bleed money on everything else once they arrive. This calculator builds the real figure up front. Transport and a per-night room rate, a daily spend for food and getting around, your activity wishlist, and the fixed costs that catch people out — visas, insurance, vaccinations — all add into one total, with a contingency buffer on top. It splits that back out per person and per day so the number is easy to sanity-check, and the cost sheet doubles as a planning checklist you can print. One common trap the calculator removes: accommodation is entered for the whole room, not per person, so a couple sharing isn’t charged twice.
Worked example — two adults, 7 nights, mid-range ($100/day): Transport $800, room $840, daily spend $1,400, activities $310, +10% contingency. Total ≈ $3,690 — about $1,845 each, or $527 a day.
Children, tiers and the negotiation
A family trip isn’t adults × a number. Add your children and the calculator charges them a fraction of the adult daily spend — 60–70% is typical — and, with the half-fare toggle on, half the transport fare, so the family total reflects how children actually cost on a trip. And because money style is where couples and families disagree, the comparison view prices the same trip at budget, mid-range and premium daily-spend levels side by side. Often the jump from budget to mid-range is small and well worth it while the leap to premium is steep — seeing the three totals together turns “let’s splurge a bit” into a number everyone can agree on.
Savings plan second: arriving paid-up
A trip cost is only useful if you can fund it without debt. Tell the calculator how many months away the trip is and what you’ve already set aside, and it converts the total into a single monthly saving — the amount to move into a dedicated travel fund each month to arrive fully paid — with a month-by-month schedule and a progress bar toward the goal. If that monthly figure looks uncomfortable, you have honest levers: fewer nights, a lower daily tier, trimming the activity list, or simply more time to save. Adjust until the plan is one you’ll actually keep. Not financial advice — a planning estimate; real prices vary by season and destination.
— Reader questions
How much should I budget for a vacation?
Build it from the parts rather than guessing: transport per person, accommodation per night for the room, a daily spend per person, your activities, and fixed costs like visas and insurance — then add 10–15% contingency. This calculator does exactly that and splits the total per person and per day so you can check it’s realistic.
Is accommodation entered per person or per room?
Per room (for the whole party), which is the common confusion. A couple sharing one room enter the nightly room rate once — they aren’t each charged for accommodation. Daily spend, by contrast, is per person.
How do children change the cost?
Children are charged a fraction of the adult daily spend — 60–70% by default, which you can adjust — and, if the half-fare toggle is on, half the transport fare. That gives a family total far more realistic than counting children as full adults.
How much should I save each month for a trip?
Divide the total cost (less anything already saved) by the months until you travel. The calculator shows this figure directly, along with a month-by-month schedule and a progress bar, so you know exactly what to move into a travel fund each month to arrive fully paid.
What do the budget, mid-range and premium tiers mean?
They’re daily-spend levels — what each person spends per day on food, local transport and incidentals. The comparison prices your exact trip at all three so you can see what travelling more or less lavishly really costs, while transport, accommodation and fixed costs stay the same.
Should I include a contingency buffer?
Yes — 10–15% of the trip cost is a sensible margin for delays, price rises and the occasional splurge, and more for remote or unfamiliar destinations. It’s on by default because the unexpected is the most reliable part of any trip.