road trip budget planner

How to Create a Road Trip Budget + 16 Money-Saving Tips

A good old-fashioned road trip is one of the most exciting ways to travel, where the journey is just as fun as the destination! However, the wonderful spontaneity and flexibility that road tripping allows you can also create another problem – a budget blowout. It’s difficult to keep track of and pin point expenses on the road, so the key to creating a thorough and useful road trip budget is in the planning.

Planning may sound like it takes the fun out of a road trip, but it’s the best way to avoid unnecessary costs. If you know what expenses are coming, you won’t be caught by surprise!

You’ll find the eight key steps to formulating your road trip budget and an abundance of tips to help you save money on the road in this post. Make planning your road trip budget a breeze so once you hit the road, you can enjoy the experience instead of stressing over your wallet!

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How to Create a Road Trip Budget

Creating a road trip budget is not easy. As mentioned, the flexibility of a road trip and not having to rely on public transportation means you can completely customize your itinerary.

But that same flexibility makes it hard to pin point as you go just how much you’re spending. These eight steps will get you on the right path to budgeting success!

1. Determine an overall budget

While you may not be able to predict every cost on the road, you can set a total cost that you’re not willing to surpass for the trip.

Things you’ll have to factor into this overall budget are:

• How many people are you road tripping with? Are you splitting costs?
• Are you planning to camp or stay in hotels?
• Will you have access to a kitchen or do you plan to eat every meal out?
• How long will your road trip be? Are those dates fixed, or is there a chance your trip will be extended?

Gather all of this info, combined with researching average prices in the area you’re traveling (for which you can use BudgetYourTrip) and then come up with a ball-park maximum spending you want to abide by.

Then you can break down that number per day or per person. Having a smaller number to reference can help keep you on track, rather than a total budget goal that’s difficult to abide by while on your trip.

2. Decide how you’re going to track your spending

The next step is to figure out through which medium you will track your road trip budget. It’s easy to say you’re going to only spend so much, but it’s another thing to have the numbers visible and accurate to keep you from going over budget.

In fact, if you don’t write the information down somewhere, it will be extremely difficult to not overspend!

There are several ways you can track your spending for your trip, through apps, your own spreadsheet, or using my free printable road trip budget spreadsheet.

Traveling in a couple or group? Tracking your spending makes everything easier when splitting the road trip costs!

3. Plan out your itinerary

Organizing an itinerary is essential to accurately planning a road trip budget. Extra stops, detours, and mistakes with directions means money out of your pocket!

Road trips are great for the freedom they give you to choose when and where you’d like to stop. So I highly encourage to stay spontaneous!

But there’s also a way to be smart about it when it comes to sticking to a budget. Planning out the main things you want to see and do using a tool like Google Maps Trip Planner (I have an entire post explaining how to use this tool to create a great itinerary )

4. Renting a car or using your own

How you’re getting around on your road trip can have a great effect on your expenses. If you’re renting a car, that’s an extra cost to factor into your budget, but it comes with the plus that you’re not putting extra mileage on your own vehicle.

Car rentals can be notoriously expensive, so it is best to book as early as possible to get a good deal. Picking the car up in a city or town is usually cheaper than at the airport.

Use comparison sites like AutoEurope or Rentalcars.com to see which companies offer the best rate.

Instead when using your own car, make sure to do an overall check and take it in for maintenance before heading out on a big road trip.

You may also want to pack things for emergencies, like warning triangles, a yellow safety vest, jumper cables, snow chains if you’re traveling in winter, and make sure you have a spare tire.

It’s one thing to run into car trouble close to home, but abroad or far from the areas you know can make emergency situations feel more stressful and scary. Be as prepared as possible with helpful gear!

5. Estimate fuel & toll costs with ViaMichelin

My favorite road trip planning tool both for budget estimating and for deciding where I want to visit is ViaMichelin . ViaMichelin can calculate based on different routes, your car make and model, and tons of other factors how much it’s going to cost you for gas, tolls, and other road-related expenses.

6. Book accommodation in advance

I have rarely found accommodation to get cheaper the closer you book. If anything you’re left with less options, especially in popular destinations, which doesn’t usually mean the budget-friendly ones are still available.

In what season you travel will also influence how much you’ll pay for accommodation, so if you have the flexibility, choose a place that is not going through its main tourist season for cheaper prices.

Booking in advance also gives you piece of mind and a price of your budget already known. Last-minute deals exist, but rewards don’t come without risk!

7. Determine your must-do activities

While sticking to a budget and using all the money-saving tips you can find can ease your mind on finances, travel is all about having amazing experiences. I am definitely one to splurge for the things on my bucket list!

Allow yourself the freedom with money to still make your trip worthwhile. Note while doing your trip research what are must-do activities for you and which would be nice-to-do.

Allocate money to your must-do activities and see how much you can save elsewhere to be able to afford the nice-to-do activities.

8. Leave room for miscellaneous costs & unexpected emergencies

It’s very rare that a road trip ever goes completely to plan, just like most travel experiences! Allocate a bit of your budget towards emergencies, like car breakdowns, and miscellaneous costs like souvenirs or surprise parking tickets.

It’s difficult to get a truly accurate number of a total road trip cost, but leaving a bit left over ensures you have the means to pay for unexpected situations.

Useful Budgeting Tools

• Wanderlog – For planning your itinerary, I recommend Google Maps Trip Planner as I mentioned before, or the app Wanderlog. In Wanderlog, you can input stops you want to make on your trip, bookings, and track expenses.
• BudgetYourTrip – BudgetYourTrip takes average prices around the world plus your trip information to give you an estimate of your total trip cost, plus breakdowns in different categories like accommodation and food. If you create an account you can create your own trip and track expenses within the service.
• Trail Wallet – Trail Wallet is an expense tracking app specifically made for travel, so you can add your trips, set a daily budget for each trip, and track expenses to make sure you stay on budget.
• Expensify – Expensify is a general expenses tracking app in which you can scan receipts as you travel and have the info stored in the app to reference later – perfect for travelers splitting costs.
• ViaMichelin – ViaMichelin is a well-thought out and dynamic tool that can help you predict a variety of road trip expenses by giving detailed information about your vehicle and route. It’s also available worldwide.
• AAA Gas Calculator – If you’re traveling in the US, you could reference this fuel calculator to get an estimate of gas costs.
• GasBuddy – If you’re traveling in the US, Canada, or Australia, use the GasBuddy app to find low gas prices near you. You can also try using gas station’s rewards credit cards to earn points towards gas purchases.
• EasyPark – Easypark is available in certain countries in Europe, as well as Australia and New Zealand, and it is a super helpful tool for not overspending on parking, allowing to control how much you spend and how long you stay from your phone!

How to Save Money on a Road Trip

Now that you’ve put together a road trip budget, it’s time to learn how and where you can costs throughout your trip.

Saving Money While Driving

Avoid tolls.

Traveling by highway is convenient but costly! A road trip is made for scenic drives anyways, so when inputting your destination into Google Maps or whatever you use, make sure to select the route that voids tolls.

In Google Maps you can even adjust your settings to make sure every route that appears avoids tolls.

To do this: input your destination and then select the 3 dots at the top right of the screen, next to your starting point. Then select “route options” and toggle on the “avoids tolls” option.

Good to Know: Carry some cash in local currency and in small bills while on a road trip in case you get caught up at a toll or have to pay for bathrooms at rest stops (yeah, they make you do that sometimes in Europe!)

Use public transportation in cities

Depending on the destination, you may discover its more bang for your buck to leave the car in a free parking spot on the outskirts of a city (or your accommodation) and head into the city with public transportation.

In Zurich , it can cost more than $5 per hour , which greatly adds up if you’re spending the whole day exploring.

Most city tourism websites will have a dedicated section to parking information, so I would start there to get an idea if it’s more worth it to travel by public transportation.

Research free parking options before arrival

While you’re in the car (if you’re not the one driving), do some simple searches on Google to discover free, or at least low-cost, parking areas. You’ll probably have to sift through Google reviews to get information about exact rates, but it’s worth the savings!

Research local driving rules & road conditions

Knowing local rules and how well-maintained the roads are where you will traveling will allow you to avoid surprise expenses.

For example, to use highways while driving in Switzerland , everyone including visitors and residents, must purchase the “vignette” a sticker that goes in your window, lasts the entire calendar year, and costs about 40€ ($46) depending on where you buy it.

Highways in Switzerland don’t have tolls, so in order to use them, you have to pay for the sticker.

Meanwhile driving in Italy , you’ll find cities have ZTL or zona traffico limitato , meaning only residents can pass. If you’re not a resident and you take that road, you get a fine.

Moral of the story: knowing the rules means you can avoid surprise charges. Plus, you’ll be an all-over more comfortable driver, which can be an intimidating experience abroad.

Good to Know: Do you need an International Driver’s Permit? An International Driver’s Permit is essentially a certification of you home country driver’s license that can be translated into different languages. Research if the country you’ll be driving in requires visitors to have one in order to avoid a ticket if you get pulled over. (It will also be an extra cost to factor into your budget!) My International Trav el Checklist is another resource that could be useful to you preparing to go abroad!

Saving Money on Food

Food is one of the most difficult areas to budget, as eating out at restaurants can vary greatly in price. Preparing food ahead of time and deciding a fixed number of meals out can help you control your spending.

Bring Snacks

What’s a road trip without snacks? Prepping food ahead of hitting the road can avoid impulsive snack purchases at rest stops!

Here are some essentials for on-the-road snack packing:

• Reusable snack bags
• Cooler (There are so many options at so many price ranges!)
• Brita reusable filtered water bottles

Prepare your own meals

Cooking is typically less expensive than eating out, but preparing your own meals on the road requires a little ingenuity.

Firstly, you can choose accommodation that offers a kitchenF.

Or, you can pack some gadgets to help you make meals!

Here are some road trip cooking essentials:

• Wacaco Minipresso Portable Coffee Maker
• Portable Electric Kettle
• RoadPro Saucepan
• Roadpro Roaster

First, order less

I know when I’m hungry and I’m finally seated at a restaurant, my grumbling stomach is telling me to order the appetizer, the extra side dish, the dessert and more.

Then I find after the first course that I don’t really have as much room for food as I thought I did!

What I’m saying is you can always order more if you’re hungry, so don’t let the initial cravings take over and end up leaving food on the plate.

Choose hotels with breakfast included

Some may see breakfast included as an extra cost included in the accommodation price, but what it truly becomes is one less thing to worry about.

The first meal of the day can be the most unpredictable if you try to eat out a restaurant or realize you don’t have an item to fix up the meal you planned to cook (which can easily happen when you’re keeping track of packing so many things on a road trip.)

That’s why breakfast included at a hotel is one of my go-to search filters because its easy and convenient.

Plus, free breakfast is typically served buffet or continental style, so you can fill up with as much as your tummy desires (and maybe even wrap up a pastry or take a piece of fruit to go!)

Saving Money on Accommodation

Consider campgrounds even if not traveling with a camper.

On my last road trip through Valle D’Aosta, I tried out a new type of accommodation I’ve never stayed at before – a campground!

If you are road tripping in a camper, then you have the opportunity to take advantage of free campsites where you’re traveling! But I had no idea there were other accommodation offerings at campgrounds.

I thought campgrounds were only for RVs, but turns out here in Italy, many of them also offer bungalows, small standalone cottages.

We went for this accommodation because one night in a bungalow near Breuil-Cervinia was only 45€ compared to 120€ minimum for hotels in the area.

It wasn’t the epitome of luxury, but it was a nice one-night stay with all the amenities we needed – plus a kitchen, perfect for helping road trippers save money on food!

(If you want to know the exact accommodation, it was Villaggio Turistico Camping Cervinia !)

So, check out all types of accommodation options for a good deal!

Book apartment stays

It’s no secret apartment stays are taking over the accommodation world because they tend to be cheaper per night than hotels.

I always cross-reference Booking.com (both hotels & apartment stays) with Airbnb to see what options are available. To be honest, because of the fees Airbnbs can charge, it usually turns out to be a better deal to book an apartment stay through Booking.com.

Couchsurfing

Couchsurfing isn’t for everyone, but it could be for the more adventurous road trippers reading this post! I’m sharing it because it’s a good option for travelers trying to stay on a budget.

You’ll basically do as the name says – you’ll couchsurf aka sleep on stranger’s couches who have agreed to participate on the platform! It costs about $15 per year to keep your account and use the platform. So that’s basically a steal for trip accommodation!

I’ve never tried it personally, but it could be a great way for social travelers to make friends with locals if you’re comfortable with the idea.

Hotel loyalty discounts

Hotel loyalty can pay off if you play your cards right. Many hotel groups have their own offers like Hotels.com which gives you a night free for every 10 nights booked, or Booking.com that has different levels of Genius discounts.

Find a program and booking platform you like to reap the benefits of the loyalty programs!

Good to Know: While booking platforms are helpful to get an overview of available accommodations, it could pay off to cross-reference with the website of your chosen accommodation to see if they offer extra deals for booking on their own website.

HotelTonight

If you’re willing to risk it for a good deal, then I recommend you check out HotelTonight . You can only book hotels 7 days in advance and there’s one special offer every day that’s only available that day.

The main idea is this last-minute booking opportunity makes luxury stays more affordable, so it may not be the best option for those looking for a true budget steal.

Saving Money on Activities

Be wary of traveling too out of your way.

Being spontaneous is part of what makes a road trip a great form of travel! Just be wary about how far you’re drifting from your itinerary if you’re on a tight budget. It’s difficult to estimate

Find free things to do

One of the easiest ways to save money is not spend money on activities at all! While it’s not likely you’ll only engage in free activities, you can offset the cost and save money on your road trip by seeking out free things to do.

You can reference blogs, official tourism websites, and local places like your accommodation to discover free things to do at your destination.

Walking tours, church visits, and free museum days are some go-to free activities!

City & National Park Passes

The theme of your road trip will influence if you buy the tourism pass at your itinerary stops, but they can be worth the price.

For example, the Zurich City Card includes entry to a list of museums and attractions, discounted entry to more, and discounts on transportation.

Or if you’re road tripping through the midwest, the CityPass Chicago will save you money if you plan on doing every attraction.

If you are on a US national parks road trip, then it’s definitely worth buying the National Park Pass . While passes can seem expensive up front, if the activities you are planning to do are included, then it could be a tool to help you save money.

Printable Road Trip Budget Planner

Plan and track your budget with my cute, easy-to-use road trip budget planner! You can download and print this free planner in The Travel Library!

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I hope this post and extra resource are helpful throughout planning your road trip budget!

How is your road trip budget coming along? Let me know in the comments!

Save these budget travel tips on Pinterest!

Have fun and be safe hitting the road!

Michela is a travel writer and photographer living in northern Italy. She is passionate about helping people make the most of their travels by sharing advice gained from her personal experiences, off-the-beaten-path destinations and time-saving quick itineraries. Browse her top articles or have her help you plan your itinerary to your dream destination!

Find me on: Web | Instagram

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Free Travel Budget Calculator: Easily Make Your Vacation Budget

Packed for Life contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using one of these links, we may receive compensation at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. See my Disclosure policy for more info.

Ready to take the hassle out of planning and managing your vacation budget? Our online Free Travel Budget Calculator is  simple, and easy to use, and can help you plan and track your vacation expenses in just a few clicks.  

I’ve used these same methods and categories of expenses for every trip I’ve taken over the last 25 years. From multiple  3 month solo adventures through Europe and South America, to weeks long trips to Cuba and Vancouver Island, Canada with my family. 

Now online with automatic calculations, so you don’t have to mess around with spreadsheets or hand write in printables that clutter up your home. 

In this post you’ll get access to this free tool, plus, you’ll get my top tips for planning your budget effectively for your trips and how to save money on travel. All the advice you need for smarter travel planning is right here.

Table of Contents

How to Use the Travel Budget Calculator & Try It Out!

Make sure to bookmark this page so you can come back to it anytime you need to track your vacation expenses and make travel plans.

This free vacation budget calculator will give you an estimate of total travel costs for your trip and whether your budget is enough to cover what you want to do.

It can help you identify areas you can potentially save money on trip expenses. Whether it’s choosing more budget-friendly hotels, walking or taking the bus instead of taxis, or prioritizing your top not-to-miss activities.

You can also start with your budget.

Then play around with the length of your trip, how much hotels, flights etc will cost to help you determine your price range for each travel expense as well.

• Enter 0 (zero) if there are certain categories you don’t need . The calculator will output an error ($NaN) if you don’t.
• Instructions for the calculator are below the Travel Budget Calculator, to give you an idea of what you should include under each budget item.

Vacation Budget Calculator

Calculator instructions.

Enter all your estimated expenses you’ve gathered during your vacation research.

Make sure it’s actually a realistic travel budget. For a  family trip with young kids, you’ll also need to factor other things like diapers, baby wipes etc.

• Travel Budget : Enter your overall vacation budget you have for this trip.
• Number of Travellers: Enter the number of people you are paying for on this trip
• Number of Nights: Enter the number of nights you will need accommodations for. This will be used to calculate hotel costs.
• Number of Vacation Days: Enter the number of days you will be on vacation. Include travel days to be safe . This will be used to calculate your overall food & drink, daily transportation and activity costs.
• Total Flight Costs: Enter the estimated total of flight costs for everyone travelling. Be sure to include any baggage fees.
• Transportation Costs: Enter the total transportation costs for the trip. This is for any major transport costs that aren’t flights like trains, city transfers, car or RV rentals.
• Daily Transportation Costs: Enter your anticipated daily transport costs. This is for things like taxis, buses, Ubers, parking costs etc, you might need to get around every day.
• Hotel Costs (Per Night): Enter the amount your accommodations will cost each night. Don’t forget to include any tips for housekeeping staff etc. you may need to pay.
• Total Tour Costs: Enter your overall total budget or cost for tours, including guide tips.
• Activity Costs (Per Day) : Enter the amount you expect to spend on activities daily (do not include tours). These are for things like seeing movies, souvenirs, shopping, trips to a rec centre / pool, bowling, seeing a hockey game or a concert etc.
• Food & Drink Costs (per Day): Enter your overall daily food & drink budget or expected costs for everyone. Don’t forget to include tips.
• Miscellaneous Expenses: Enter an amount of money you will have overall for unexpected expenses or miscellaneous costs that pop up. Be sure to also include extra travel expenses not covered elsewhere.
• Travel Insurance: Enter the overall amount of money you will pay for travel insurance for everyone. This is for things like travel health insurance, trip cancellation insurance etc.

Budget Outputs

Currency Note: While the output is in dollars (uses the $ symbol), you can really use any numerical currency you’d like. Just ignore the $ symbol.

Once you hit the calculate button, you will get 4 pieces of info based on the numbers you provided:

• Total Vacation Costs : This is the estimated cost for your vacation based on the info you provided.
• Over Budget / Under Budget: This is the amount you are either over or under budget. If your expenses are over your vacation budget, it will say Over Budget and the number will be negative. If it says Under Budget, that is the amount you are under your estimated budget.
• Travel Costs Per Day: This is the amount of money your trip will cost you each day.
• Cost Per Person Per Day: This is the amount of money your trip will cost you per person, each day.

Make sure to review your results. If your over budget are there things you can do to bring the costs down? Or is there a way you can save or make more money before your trip?

Why You Need A Travel Budget

Listen, I am all for spending a little extra to do things our family doesn’t get to do at home. 

But there is nothing more anxiety-inducing than running out of money on a trip, or having to pay off huge credit card bills at 28%  interest because you didn’t plan ahead.

This is where a vacation budget can really help. 

It doesn’t mean you can’t have fun or spend money.

Creating a budget will actually help you be able to afford your dreams. Plus be able to relax & have fun on your vacation knowing you won’t be in debt when you get back home.

The trip budget calculator will make financial planning fun, and easy.

How To Set Your Travel Budget & Determine Expenses

1. determine your overall travel budget.

First things first. Decide on your overall vacation budget or the money you are willing to spend on this trip.

When determining your overall vacation budget, you’ll want to consider a few things:

• How much money are you willing to spend on this trip?
• How much have you already saved?
• How long do you plan to go for? (more or less time can impact your budget)
• How many people will be travelling? (some places like Europe limit 4 people to a hotel room, this can significantly impact cost)
• When do you want to travel and how much time do you have to add to your vacation fund?
• How much extra can you afford to put away every week / month on top of your regular bills & household expenses?
• Is there any way you can decrease household expenses, or increase your income to add to your vacation fund faster?

Just make sure it’s a realistic budget. It doesn’t do anybody any good to use too low or too high numbers as a starting point. 

2. Do Your Research

The type of trip you want to take, the length and the type of activities you want to do, will really impact your budget.

For example a week long trip to Thailand will be much different than a week in Japan, or a trip to Disneyworld.

Do some intial research to give you an idea of what your basic travel expenses will costs, so you can have ballpark figures to enter in the travel cost calculator.

You can always google average costs of living / travelling at your destination.

Careful planning is an important part of any travel budget. 

3. Find Ways to Cut Costs

Unless you have a rich benefactor, or suddenly won the lottery, it’s a good idea to consider ways you can cut costs, save money and use your travel budget wisely.

Besides using our holiday budget calculator, our favourite ways to save money on travel expenses.

Transportation & Accommodation

• Find flight deals & error fares : The best way is with Going (Formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights) Flight tickets can be a big expense and make up a good portion of the total cost usually. 
• Consider housesitting: is our go-to site for housesitting around the world.
• Rent a place with a kitchen : Save money on food with a vacation rental . They can also be cheaper than renting multiple hotel rooms if you have a large family or group.
• Compare car rentals: Using Discover Cars can help you save up to 70% by quickly comparing rental cars options.
• Book early: Hotels, flights and trains are generally cheaper booked in advance. You won’t want to risk paying significantly more waiting until last minute.
• Take public transportation: If it’s safe to do so, take the local bus, or walk instead of relying on expensive taxis all the time.

⭐️ Also check out our list of the best ways to save money on flights .

General Money Saving Tips

• Travel off season or peak season: Not only is it usually much cheaper, there’s usually fewer tourists.
• Use a credit card with no foreign transaction fees : Those transaction fees can really add up. Also consider if travel credit cards with points are for you.
• Eat where the locals eat : Avoiding the touristy restuarants, and eating where the locals eat will not only save you lots of money, it will give you a more authentic look into their local cuisine and culture.
• Avoid popular destinations:  The most popular touristy destinations  often cost a lot of money, compared to smaller, lesser known destinations.  
• Consider using travel agents: Sometimes a travel agent can find you a great deal, with much less work on your part. 
• Adjust your travel style: Luxury resorts may be out of your price range. Road trips, camping trips can be just as memorable for for a family vacation.
• Plan free activities : Pick some free activities to do in between your more expensive tours, theme parks, & day trips to ancient ruins. 
• Check out these ways to save on flights

Final Thoughts Using The Vacation Budget Calendar

Creating a vacation budget might seem challenging, but don’t worry! Equipped with the right tools and a bit of strategic planning, your next epic adventure is closer than you think.

Using a vacation budget calculator can help guide you to make smart, affordable choices, allowing you to experience the journey you’ve always dreamed of, without stressing about expenses.

Travel can be exciting and enjoyable at all budget levels. So here’s to making memories with your family, and friends.

Related travel planning resources:

• Ultimate Pre-Travel Checklist
• Family beach vacation tips
• Tips for saving money on road trips
• Easy ways to build a travel fund
• Save money on attractions: Where to buy online tour tickets

Donna Garrison is the founder of Packed for Life, an ever curious traveler with a passion for making memories with her family. With a unique perspective on travelling on a budget gathered over 30 years, 20 countries and 5 continents she gives families the tools & resources they need to experience the joys of travelling more for less through practical solutions. She helps over 20,000 families a month plan & take the family travel, camping and road trip adventures of their dreams in Canada, the USA and around the world. Contact her at: Donna [at] packedforlife.com

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• Scenic Drives
• Road Trip Planner

Road Trip Planning Made Easy

Create custom day trips, weekend getaways, and cross country adventures worldwide

Powerful features for planning your epic road trips (and the shorter adventures in between)

Unlimited stops.

Add unlimited stops and sub-stops. Combine your own stops with our pre-planned routes and recommended places of interest.

Smart Scheduling

By the minute, hour, or overnight, set preferences for each stop. Export your trip to your own Calendar.

Set Vehicle Type

Car, RV, camper trailer, truck, motorcycle, pulling a boat? Get a realistic estimate of driving time. Adjust travel speed by percentages for each unique situation.

Divide Trips Into Days

Divide your trips into manageable driving days based on your custom settings by time or distance. And of course you can customize each day differently.

Route Preferences

Configure route preferences such as avoiding highways or tolls for each day or any segment of your trip.

Use Any Device

Plan trips from your desktop computer, iPad, Android tablet, and mobile phone with the same easy-to-use interface. No app to download or software to install.

Automated To Do List guides you through the road trip planning process.

Manage Your Budget

Track expenditures before you go and along the way. See a summary of expenses for entrance fees, activities, restaurants, and lodging, etc.

Gas Calculator

See the estimated fuel cost for your vehicle type.

EV Charging

Find EV charging stations along your route. Get reminders to recharge. Use Charging Ranges to display icons on the map where your vehicle will require recharging.

Export Options

We support Google Earth (KML), Garmin Communicator, BaseCamp and MapSource (GPX), Co-Pilot Live (TRP), Microsoft Streets and Trips, TomTom itineraries (ITN), TomTom Places of Interest (OV2), Comma Separated Files (CSV), and Tab Separated Files (TSV).

Directions on paper come in handy. Print your road trip with turn-by-turn maps and full directions, divided into your day-by-day itinerary.

Is This Really Free?

Yes! It is free to use our Scenic Drive Itineraries and Road Trip Planner. Please consider purchasing your National Park or National Forest passes on myscenicdrives.com.

Why Do I Need An Account?

A free account is only required for the Road Trip Planner, enabling you to create, edit, and save your trips. Your account is secure. We never share your information.

Do I Need to Download An App or Install Software?

No app or software is needed. myscenicdrives.com works in any browser. Simply go to myscenicdrives.com

More Resources

Documentation, myscenicdrives.com, how it works.

Your trip calculator

With rising flight prices, you may be wondering: is it worth booking the ticket, or should I just drive? We're here to help you figure out what you might save (or spend) if you decide to load up the car and hit the road - or if taking to the skies is really the more affordable option.

Where are you going?

Estimates are based on an analysis of current and historical minimum roundtrip flight prices for one traveler and average car rental prices in the past 31 days. Actual prices may vary. Always check current prices and routes before booking. See Methodology .

Get inspired by other travelers

Check out these road trip guides to see how other travelers have navigated the open road.

Best road trip cars

Road trip hacks, best family road trip, best couples road trip games, best road trip snacks, road trips with dogs, methodology.

Road Trip Planning Tool: Useful Guide To Make The Best Route And Budget

By: Author Rob Taylor

Posted on Published: May 26, 2021  - Last updated: May 26, 2022

Planning an awesome road trip can be hard work, especially if you’re exploring someplace you’ve never been before. We created out road trip planning tool to make it easier to build an itinerary AND a budget for road tripping. This easy tool is ideally used alongside a map program to ensure you build a great road trip route.

Check out my book, The Road Trip Survival Guide , for ideas on packing and preparedness, as well as 18 awesome road trip itineraries! GET MY BOOK HERE!

Elements of a Great Road Trip

Now, what makes a great road trip plan? Is it covering the most ground? Is it crossing off roadside attractions?

What I think makes a great road trip is immersing yourself in the local culture and experiencing unique sights and nature. I think having an element of relaxation is important too, but we tend to save those for other types of vacations.

As you use this road trip planning tool , consider not just how much time you have, but how much energy you and your travel crew have to use each day. Having a jam packed schedule is fun for some people, but may be stressful or just not enjoyable for others. Be wise (and kind) as you make your awesome road trip plan.

Choosing Your Activities and Road Trip Sights

Tell me a destination and I’m sure I can find 15 things I want to do or see there, and even more along the way. No road trip, or vacation of any sort for that matter, needs to include doing every single thing. So how do you actually choose your road trip activities and stops? I love having road trip themes to guide our activities along the way.

For each day of a road trip, we choose one big activity, one small/easy thing to do or see, and then have two backup options. There are times that we’ll do a road trip to a destination and then stay there for a few days before moving on, and in that case we tend to have more activities lined up since we have less driving time.

Part of the Road Trip Planning Tool is laying out everything you REALLY want to do along your journey. Having just one big thing to do or see each day will help you have a daily goal as well as leave time to discover other options along the way.

Road Trip Activity Suggestions for Kids

While everyone is welcome to take a road trip and anytime, I feel like it’s typically families with kids that plan road trips most frequently. A common question we get is how to find road trip activities and stops that KIDS will enjoy. My knee-jerk response is “You know your kids; I don’t. What do they like?” That’s not helpful though.

Here are some easy activities to put into the road trip planning tool that will keep kids engaged and enjoying the family road trip experience:

• children’s museums
• farms and agricultural stops
• shaded hiking trails with waterfalls
• beach stops, including tide pools
• large visitor centers (they have activities and programs usually)
• public art gardens
• interactive food experiences
• city parks and playgrounds (great to find in advance for long drive days)

I could go on and on, but these sorts of activities can be found all over the place (I know you won’t have a beach day in Death Valley) and make for a nice break to the driving. Because these are fun, engaging stops to add to your road trip, kids will likely enjoy them much more than art or history museums, even though those do have a place.

We like to get the kids involved with road trip planning by researching our route or destination and finding these sorts of activities and then having them choose which we do. Getting kids involved in road trip planning makes them feel invested in the trip and they’ll enjoy it more.

Unique Road Trip Stops for Adults

Just because these suggestions are geared towards the adults on a road trip, these stops can be fun for kids too. Yes, that’s right: even a winery or brewery can be fun and appropriate for kids.

We like to have a nice mix of history and outdoors when we travel. Whether or not our kids are with us rarely impacts our activity decisions, except that we may choose to do a more tame version or we may allow ourselves to be out much later each day.

Our top picks for fun activities to add into our road trip plans:

• historic sites and monuments
• challenging hiking trails
• swimming holes out in nature
• breweries or wineries
• local music events
• challenging paddling or outdoor adventures (rock climbing or rappelling)
• weird museums or places that are more mature in nature

You’d be surprised how many stops you can add to a short drive, so making a list of things that interest you and then cherry-picking the most unique things to do along the way is a great way to plan a road trip.

On the road trip planning tool, add anything that you discover that’s not an absolute must to the Extra Sights / Backup Plan section.

Where to Stay Each Night

The biggest expense in any travel is lodging. Some road trips, like our Yellowstone itineraries or Sequoia National Park are easy to save money on lodging because you can camp. Other destinations, like doing a road trip through Nova Scotia or Palm Springs and Joshua Tree are more practical for hotels.

Recently we analyzed our Florida Keys road trips and determined that doing the Florida Keys on a budget is complicated only due to the cost of hotels. The best way to decide where to stay each night on a road trip and stick to a budget is to research and book as far in advance as you can.

Unless there is a campground or unique place to stay that we’ve been planning on for a long time, we build our road trip plans and then find accommodations along our route, never more than 200 miles from where our day began. Every road trip is different, but at no time do we ever excitedly drive more than 200 miles.

One Night or Several Nights in One Place?

Depending on the overall road trip plan, you make want to have a home base for a few nights at a time. Just because you’re staying in the same hotel for more than one night doesn’t mean you’re not doing a road trip right. Stay however long you want wherever you want. That’s the glory of the road trip.

When I use our road trip planning tool, I always have a few nights in the middle of the trip where we stay in the same place. On longer trips we do at least two segments where we have a home base for a couple nights. We strive to never been road-sick or tired of traveling, so taking time to rejuvenate and not have a long driving day is very important to us.

Ultimately, do what’s right for your schedule and budget, but pace your distance and plan your nights to minimize the time in the car and maximize your daily recharge.

Road Trip Planning Tool

Access the Road Trip Planning Tool below , following the instructions within the spreadsheet.

Begin by copying the spreadsheet document. Once you’ve done that, add your primary destination or travel dates to the title and then complete each page. When you’re all done, print off your Drive Time Planner (itinerary) and Extra Sights / Backup Plan. Enjoy your adventure!

Road Trip Drive Time Planner

This is the first part of the Road Trip Planning Tool. How to do this efficiently isn’t that tough, even though initially you might be like “I don’t even know how to plan a route, let alone drive times?” So here’s the scoop for step-by-step road trip route planning:

• Choose your mapping program (I love Google Maps on a computer, not phone/tablet)
• Input your starting point
• Input your ending point
• Add your main sights/activities
• Reorder stops so they’re in a realistic order for visiting efficiently

You should use the map program you’ll also use on your drive so that you can either save your route or so that you’re familiar with how the map program refers to your points of interest along the way.

Points of Interest

Input your points of interest (including overnight stops) with the mileage to the next stop. Knowing that there are short stops to make along the way and that you don’t want to be in the car all day every day, plan to drive no more than around 200 miles on any given day. That doesn’t mean that you must drive that far (and rarely will) but that you won’t drive farther than that each day. If you’re planning a cross-country road trip, you may want to go further each day, but for the maximum enjoyment, limit yourself.

Our road trip planning tool has formulas added into the background to add up your drive time and distance for each day so that you don’t create a crazy plan that will wear everyone out to the point of misery.

Extra Sights and Backup Plan

In the Extra Sights and Backup Plan section of the road trip planning tool you’ll note interesting things that you MAY want to stop at along the way. These can be simple hikes, viewpoints you find along your route, random pie shops you have read have the best key lime pie ever… Basically, this is where you can put all the stops that you’d enjoy but aren’t required.

“I don’t need to list off extra sights. That’s extra work. Nope, it’s not extra work. You’re already planning a route and taking note of where you’ll be heading, so as you do that, jot down the points of interest you see on the map or research the best things to do in each place and pull from that list. It’s easy and has a purpose to both fill time if you end a big activity early, and to be an alternative plan if something goes wrong.

“Is a backup plan really necessary?” Yes, it is. Too many times we’ve hit the road and been foiled, either be inclement weather in Yellowstone or natural disasters, like a forest fire in Glacier National Park . Heck, we’ve even been unable to find parking near the beach in San Diego and had to have a backup plan for beach days that couldn’t happen.

Having backup options for daily activities or even alternative routes between destinations is very helpful when things go awry.

Road Trip Planning Tool Budget Calculator

Even when we’re flush with cash or on a work trip with covered costs, I still feel the need to be considerate of my budget, whether I’ve actually got one or if I just mentally set one. Budget can be a determining factor for many when planning a road trip:

• length of time off – paid or unpaid, how much time away can you take?
• cost of lodging – expensive cities or affordable inns/camping
• dining – daily meals for a family of four can be costly
• transportation – are you using your own car or flying somewhere and renting a car?

The budgeting part of our road trip planning tool will help you take all these things into account.

Road Trip Food and Dining Budget

Dining is an inevitable cost. Whether you choose the finest restaurants or to seek out the most affordable local options, dining costs can add up quickly, particularly for a family.

Assuming that you’re not having a five star meal three times each day, you can still dine out for your breakfast, lunch and dinner and stay on a budget. The best way to save money on meals during a road trip through is by preparing your own meals. This could be for picnics or for dining in your hotel or vacation rental if that’s an option.

Accommodations Budget

What is your travel style for this road trip? Are you staying in gorgeous resorts in each destination or looking for more affordable options?

Accommodations costs will vary greatly based on the type of lodging you choose and the region you’re in. In general, less expensive hotels are found in Midwest, Northeast and Southeast USA destinations. The Pacific Northwest, California, National Capitol region and the Rockies tend to have much higher nightly rates.

We consider the following rates to be fairly accurate for medium to nice travel brand hotels, such as Best Western or Holiday Inn. You may find much better deals if booking in advance, or you may find spikes in pricing. Remember that multiple nights in one place often produces a lower nightly rate.

Road Trip Transportation Budget

Transportation costs vary based on three things: flights, gas prices, and if you’re renting a car or not. You’ll find that your point of origin makes a huge difference in your total road trip budget. The most affordable road trip begins from home and focuses on local destinations.

Daily Activities Budgeting

It’s easy to forget to budget for actual daily road trip stops and activities. Something great about being on a road trip is that much of the fun is free or really inexpensive, but sometimes there are big ticket items. Tours and park tickets come to mind for big costs, such as Dry Tortugas National Park ($200) or Disneyland ($150).

If you’re on your own and want to do something costly, great, go for it. If you’re traveling as a family, big ticket activities can really add up BIG TIME. We like to plan one big event or activity per road trip, and two if we have the time and budget available.

Luckily, things like state parks and historic places tend to be more affordable, hence the perfect things to add to your road trip plan. On the Budget sheet in the road trip planning tool you’ll see there are different levels of budgeting to choose from to account for activities.

You ready? I think it’s time to jump into the Road Trip Planning Tool!

Use the Road Trip Planning Tool

10 awesome road trip plans to do.

We have a gazillion road trip plans that we love, but I’ve picked just 10 that will always be exciting to our family. You can use these plans in the Road Trip Planning Tool, and like with any itinerary you can always adjust things to fit the time you have and activities you enjoy.

• Florida Keys Road Trip: Enjoying the Overseas Highway
• Olympic Peninsula Road Trip: the Best of the PNW
• Complete Oregon Road Trip Loop
• Detailed Oregon Coast Road Trip
• California Coast Road Trip from Tip to Tip
• Florida Gulf Coast Road Trip
• Western Montana Road Trip: Western Towns and Wildlife
• Nova Scotia Road Trip: Bay of Fundy and the South Shore
• Historic Virginia and DC Trip
• Reno Tahoe Road Trip Itinerary

I can’t wait to hear what road trips you plan! If you have any questions, our inbox is always open! Send us a note or leave a comment and we’ll follow up ASAP.

Sunday 1st of October 2023

Thank you for sharing such amazing information. Keep updating us about road trips.

Join our Adventure: Get all my insider tips for traveling to the coolest places on earth

• Free Printable Road Trip Budget Planner

Sharing is caring!

For most of us, taking a road trip is an exciting idea that we’ve been waiting for since the beginning of summer. The thought of driving long distances in our own cars and exploring new places sounds like pure bliss. But before you load up your car with some snacks and hit the highway, it’s important to be prepared for what lies ahead. That’s why today I want to share a free printable road trip planner that will help make sure you’re as ready as possible for your adventure and keep you on budget!

JOIN OUR TRAVEL GROUP ON FACEBOOK!

This road trip budget planner is a free downloadable template that will help you map out your expenses for the next time you take on an epic adventure. The worksheet includes spaces to enter each day’s starting and ending mileage, fuel costs (gas/diesel), per diem estimate, lodging estimates, meals estimates, attractions cost estimate, incidentals estimate, and mileage estimates. This allows you to calculate your average daily costs for the trip so that you can know how much money to set aside before leaving on your journey.

This road trip budget planner can also be used after your adventure to keep track of how much you spent on the entire trip, and allows space for any additional expenses that may have come up during your travels so you’re able to plan accordingly in the future.

The best way to save money while on a road trip is by planning ahead. You’ve got this, we know you can do it! Just take your time and make sure that every detail of the journey has been accounted for in advance. And if all else fails, just remember what they say about leaving things better than when you found them (or so I was told). Happy Road Tripping everyone! Print Your Planner !

If your road trip involves camping, be sure and print out our Indoor Camping Activities for Kids printable. Perfect for when the weather isn’t what you thought it would be. You can also check out our 10 best road trip tips for kids .

PLACES TO VISIT ON YOUR ROAD TRIP/ROAD TRIP IDEAS:

Legoland Florida is the perfect trip for families for all sizes. There is a lot of different things to see and do in the area.

If you are thinking about RVing with Your Pets, Georgia is a very pet friendly state.

New Mexico is full of beautiful mountains and scenery. We will be doing several different posts on New Mexico so stay tuned but today we want to talk about the wonderful history of Lincoln New Mexico!

Check out our other Road Trip articles and don’t forget to download the free printable road trip budget planner!

Family Destinations & Articles You Should Check Out

• Branson Mo Roller Coasters: The Fast and The Furious
• Visit the Arbuckle Mountains and Turner Falls Oklahoma
• Free Printable License Plate Game : Road Trip Games in the Car
• Traveling Tips for Visiting LEGOLAND Florida
• Nickelodeon Resort Punta Cana
• Travel to Dog Friendly Orlando Florida
• Pretend Play for Kids : Free Printable Travel Set
• 5 Teen Friendly Attractions in OKC
• 10 Disney Vacation Tips You Need to Know
• Travel Gatlinburg – Theme Parks and Attractions
• Visit Old MacDonald’s Farm
• Great Wolf Lodge & Holiday Inn Review
• Things to Do in Branson with Kids

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

• Facebook Group
• Explore Oklahoma Facebook Group
• Hot Deals Group
• Recipe Group
• Homesteading Facebook Group
• Don’t forget to invite your friend’s to our Facebook groups! We would also love to see your vacation pictures!

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