travel costing sample

Travel Budget Worksheet

Are you planning a major trip? Will you be able to stay within your budget? Rather than just spending without a plan and then dealing with the debt for the next few years, use our travel budget template to list your travel expenses. It will help you estimate your total travel costs and see if you will be able to take your trip without going over budget.

License : Private Use (not for distribution or resale)

Authors: Jon Wittwer and Jim Wittwer

Description

This travel budget template makes it easy to enter your travel expenses for your next trip. The top section allows you to set a total budget, and as you enter your travel costs you can quickly see where the money is going, how much extra you'll have, or how much you'll need to add to your budget.

The worksheet is set up to let you enter a quantity and unit cost for each item. For example, for lodging you can enter the number of nights you will be staying and the cost per night. If you will be driving rather than flying, you can enter the total miles and the cost per mile. Remember to include both fuel and wear as part of the cost (see the link below for what the IRS uses as the standard mileage rate - $0.56/mile in 2014).

Additional Resources

• Be sure to check out our Travel Itinerary and Packing List templates.
• IRS Publication showing Standard Mileage Rates at irs.gov - You might consider using the standard mileage rate if you are estimating the cost of driving.
• Tips for Creating a Budget for Travel at wikihow.com - This article is actually a really good resource to help you remember what to consider when budgeting for a trip.

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How to Make a Travel Budget in 2023 [Free Template]

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Table of Contents

Can you afford to travel, the 2 approaches to travel budgets, travel budget template worksheet, travel budget considerations, websites to help research travel costs, the best apps for travel budgets and expense tracking, saving for your vacation, final thoughts.

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Creating a travel budget isn’t all about boring spreadsheets and searching for low budget bargains — a finely-crafted budget it is designed to maximize your total travel experience.

Let’s start out easy here. You may have dreams of globetrotting and living your best life in distant lands, but can you actually afford it?

The amount you have to spend on your trip will need to be proportionate to the place you are visiting. By that, we mean that some destinations can be done on the cheap, while others will be a bit more of an investment.

Where you want to stay, what you intend to do when you get there, and physically how far away you will be from home can all have a considerable bearing on how deep your pockets will need to be.

Before you book yourself silly, really break down the potential costs of your dream trip and tally it up with the amount of money you will realistically have to fund it.

Bottom Line: Sometimes, it may be better to put your plans on hold until you have saved up enough cash to really experience a place, rather than rushing to get there and missing out on some of the best bits.

Whether you are a plan-well-in-advance sort of traveler or more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of person, there are different ways to approach setting out your budget based on what works best for you.

Plan Your Adventure Well in Advance

The most traditional way to book a vacation is to think of somewhere you want to go, plan your vacation dates, and decide how long you want to stay. This kind of advanced planning is the usual go-to for most travelers, as it allows you to book time off of work or plan trips around school semesters, and gives you the opportunity to firm up plans before you leave.

Knowing when and where you are going also has another key advantage — it gives you plenty of time to save up all the cash you will need to really enjoy your time there. Booking in advance also means you get your choice of cheaper accommodation at better rates.

Book months in advance and you can research your planned itinerary and potential expenditure, and maybe even save enough extra for upgrades of luxuries to make your adventure truly special. This kind of planning is a great incentive for saving hard.

Travel Based on Your Bank Balance

If, on the other hand, you want to take your cash and get the hell out of dodge, you can work backward to identify the most amount of fun you can have for your money. If you are feeling lucky, and you know how much you are willing to spend, the world really is your oyster.

The awesome power of the internet has made impulse traveling even easier, as you can simply hit up any number of booking sites to find an exciting destination, as well as suitable flights, accommodation, and excursions in just a few clicks.

Another great way to make your budget go further is to think outside the box. Visiting popular destinations out of season, taking shorter vacation times, or even looking at places away from the main tourist trail can all make your money go further.

A trip to the legendary Yosemite National Park during April or May, for example, is a great way to experience some of the most iconic open spaces in America before the schools let out, or hit the beaches of Miami or the Florida Keys during September and October when tourists shy away from the increased risk of stormy weather.

You can also look at alternatives to the more traditional resort destinations to get more bang for your buck. Consider a trip to Reno instead of Las Vegas, hit the slopes in Winter Park instead of the sky-high prices in Vail, or take in the history of Williamsburg and avoid the price tags of New York or Los Angeles on your next city break.

To help you plan and keep track of your travel budget we have created a free, handy Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

📋  Click to Download Our Travel Budget Template >  📋

When planning your travel budget, there are lots of different things to consider. Break down your budget into subsections to make it easier to plan and stick to:

Passport and Visas

One of the most essential elements of your travel plan will revolve around the legal and local requirements for travel to and from your destination. You must research any visa requirements and restrictions before you fly, and be sure to have all the documentation you need before you leave.

Most countries will have their own individual and very specific entry requirements, and there may be restrictions on how much local currency you can bring with you, as well as how long you can stay.

As a very rough guide, some examples of the requirements for U.S. citizens could include:

• Travel to Europe — If you are traveling to or through any of the main 26 European countries, you must know the requirements of the Schengen Agreement, which eliminates borders and assumes that travelers will be able to enjoy up to 3-months of visa-free travel. This will change in January 2021 with the introduction of the ETIAS .
• Travel to Australia — You must have a valid U.S. passport and an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) to enjoy up to 90 days of travel in Australia.
• Travel to Central America — You will not need a visa to visit most Central American countries, but you may need a tourist card for some destinations (~$10) to allow stays of up to 90 days visa-free.
• Travel To South Africa — You must have a valid U.S. passport, but do not need a visa for stays of 30 days or less.

Check out our guide to tourist visa information on over 100 countries.

Travel Insurance

There are many great reasons why you should always buy travel insurance coverage for your trips overseas, and only 1 reason not to. Trust us. If the worst should happen while you are away, you will wish you hadn’t tried to save money by skipping on the insurance, so make sure you always make space for travel insurance in your travel budget .

The best travel insurance policy does not necessarily have to be the most expensive one you find, but it probably won’t be the cheapest either. With this in mind, shop around and speak to a variety of providers before committing to any 1 product.

There will be different levels of coverage available to suit the requirements of every type of traveler, from lone backpackers to family vacations, but at the very least you should try to include:

• Emergency medical expenses
• Repatriation expenses
• Cancellation or curtailment coverage
• Lost baggage coverage
• Travel delay/missed departure coverage
• Journey disruption coverage
• Personal liability coverage
• Legal expenses coverage
• Electronics loss/theft and damage coverage

Depending on where you go, what you’ll be doing, and the nature of your trip, you may want to also consider dedicated financial protection that could include specific coverage for:

• Winter sports coverage
• Terrorism disruption coverage
• Cruise coverage
• Business coverage
• Sports equipment coverage

It is important to remember that the domestic health insurance that you use at home will not necessarily cover you if you get into medical trouble overseas . Don’t leave it to chance — invest wisely in your travel insurance and never skimp on the coverage just to save yourself a few bucks before you go.

You should also look into insurance coverage for your prized electrical items and personal belongings, too . While we would recommend leaving the diamonds at home, unless you are going somewhere exceptionally glamorous, many of us will take expensive electronics with us everywhere we go.

Find coverage that offers repairs or replacement for damaged, broken, lost, or stolen items before you go.

Hot Tip: There are some credit cards with travel insurance , so you might already have some coverage without knowing it!

Vaccinations

Some parts of the world pose more of a risk to our health than others. By ensuring that you have all the travel vaccinations you need before you go, you can reduce the risk of developing serious diseases that your immune system may not be used to.

You can pretty much be vaccinated against all of the world’s most common communicable diseases at your local doctor’s office, health care center, or health department, and there will be medical professionals who will be able to provide you with useful information for your trip.

You will need to do your own research before you travel and speak to healthcare providers about the risks. But, as a rough guide to keep in mind when planning your travel budget, here are some of the most common travel vaccinations and their approximate costs:

• Cholera — A single-dose oral vaccine costs around $45.
• Hepatitis A — A single-dose vaccine costs around $115.
• Japanese Encephalitis — 2 doses given 4 weeks apart costs around $290 per injection.
• Meningococcal Disease — This single-dose vaccine is recommended from pre-teenage years and costs around $135.
• Rabies — A series of 3 or 4 injections into the muscles over the course of 4 weeks costs around $3000 for the entire course.
• Typhoid Fever — A single oral dose for anyone over 6 years old costs around $60.
• Yellow Fever — This vaccine is not stocked everywhere, but if you can find a clinic that offers it, you will need a single shot costing as much as $350.
• Malaria — There is no single vaccine, but antimalarial tablets can be taken to reduce the risk of contracting the disease by 90%. These may need to be taken as far as 3 months in advance and can cost anything from $20 a pack up to $260 per pack.

Clothes, Gear, and Toiletries

What you need to take with you will depend very much on where you headed. Whether you choose to travel light or max out your luggage allowance is up to you, but there are plenty of ways to help keep costs down when it comes to packing for your next adventure.

Compile a Capsule Wardrobe

Travel guides always bang on about the legendary “capsule wardrobe” — but it literally is a real thing. By taking 7 or 8 items of clothing with you that can be worn in a variety of ways you can dress for days at a time without worrying about overfilling your luggage or maxing out your travel budget.

Choose 2 pants, skirts or jeans, 3 tops, 1 sweater, 1 dress or a smart shirt and a coat or jacket, and you should be pretty much good to go. Throw in beachwear, sports gear, or thermals as-needed and some socks and underwear to see yourself sorted for the duration of your stay.

Another way to keep costs down is to avoid buying new stuff for every vacation . Your favorite bikini, flip flops, party dress, or even hoodie should be shown off time and time again, so never feel the need to replace your vacation clothing unless you really need to.

Here are some destination-specific packing lists:

• Beach Vacation Packing List
• Cruise Vacation Packing List
• Disney Vacation Packing List

If you want to take your travel camera with you, your GoPro for awesome live video, your phone, tablet, laptop, headphones , or any other bits of kit — think carefully about whether or not you really need it.

Taking more expensive gear with you increases the risk of stuff getting lost, broken, or stolen, as well as weighing your luggage down and tying you to charging ports and electrical sockets.

Keeping Clean

Most people like to have their favorite toiletries with them, but save money and space in your luggage by not taking full-size products.

You needn’t even worry about wasting money on cute little travel size products either. Simply decant your full-size bottles and pots into smaller travel containers instead . This is super easy to do, meets with TSA regulations, and saves you a few dollars here and there.

Alternatively, buy what you need when you arrive. Most destinations and airports will have plenty of shops to choose from. One area where you shouldn’t cut costs, however, is sunscreen. Buy the best you can, ideally from a trusted brand, before you leave.

Finally, check if the airline you are using charges extra for checked baggage and if so, see if you can get away with just a carry-on case instead.

The amount you pay for your flights will vary widely depending on a wide number of variants, including:

• Your destination
• Who you choose to fly with
• Whether you fly direct
• Whether you fly return or one-way
• The day of the week and time of day that you fly, and even the time of year
• Where you fly from
• When you book

There are many different ways to fly around the skies, but here are some ways to bag cheaper flights :

• Use Points and Miles — If you aren’t accumulating points to fly, read this beginner’s guide to get started.
• Book as Early as You Can — Flights often significantly increase in price within 3 weeks of the departure date.
• Stay Flexible — Flights leaving on different days or at times of day can be cheaper than others.
• Don’t Dismiss Discount Airlines — Short journeys, internal flights, and even some international journeys can be way cheaper on discount, no-frills airlines.
• Sign Up and Shop Around — Sign up with airlines direct to be notified of discounts and flash sales, and be sure to check in on all airlines that fly to your preferred destination.
• Use Aggregation Sites — Sometimes this is a winner, sometimes it isn’t — but don’t be afraid to try. Sites like Kayak or Skyscanner can be good, but don’t just accept the first price they give you.
• Buy Connecting Flights — It can be cheaper to buy 2 separate connecting flights than a direct 1. Check your destination and see who stops where along the route.

Accommodation

Again, how much you spend on where you stay is entirely up to you. Keeping costs down can be harder in large cities or expensive beach resorts, but there are ways to rest your head without losing your mind over the cost of it all.

Whether you are going for an all-out 5-star luxury or a family-friendly motel room, there are always deals to be had. Book direct through the hotel, include weeknights or a Sunday night in your stay, and be flexible on location.

Hot Tip: A hotel just outside of town, for example, will offer more attractive nightly rates and free parking and will usually represent better value for money than a downtown hotel will.

Renting a private home or vacation apartment on a short term basis can be much more affordable than a hotel. You can also find some superb properties for rent, complete with everything you need to enjoy your stay.

Fully-equipped kitchens, parking, TVs, and even pools often come standard and depending on your destination, there are lots of great Airbnbs and other holiday rental websites available.

If you are heading to the coast, the backcountry, or just getting out into the great outdoors, camping can completely transform your experience. Many campsites come complete with showers and cooking facilities and even pools, sports facilities, and fitness centers. You can take your own tent or rent one.

Another great way to save money on accommodation is to look at hostels in the area. A far cry from old fashioned student accommodation, many modern hostels are clean, bright, and modern and offer a combination of dorm-style bedrooms and private double or family rooms with en-suite facilities.

Hot Tip: Hostels are a great way to stay right in the middle of some of the most expensive cities in the world.

Rent a Recreational Vehicle

Another great choice if you are heading out on the open road, RVs can save you a fortune as you literally take your accommodation with you. RV trips are fun, family-friendly, and provided you aren’t always in a gas station, a great way to save money on where you stay.

RVshare and Outdoorsy are 2 companies that rent out campers and RVs.

You can pretty much rent any kind of vehicle , anywhere in the world. Although if you are staying in a city, public transport is a much more useful and affordable proposition.

The same rules also apply to some intercontinental trips, as well. For example, it can be easier and cheaper to travel through Europe using trains and buses than worrying about having to take care of a car when you get there.

If you want to explore out of the way destinations, hard to reach beaches, or just like the idea of being free to come and go as you please, car hire is readily available in most corners of the world.

Before you commit to it, think about the rental fees, fuel costs, and other potential expenditures and compare the costs of using public transport in your chosen destination.

Car hire here in the U.S. will vary depending on the type of car you choose and how long you intend to hire it. Small city cars are the most cost-effective, and big SUVs, 4x4s and luxury cars can also be hired if you have deep pockets.

When it comes to car rental, keep your costs down by:

• Booking your vehicle in advance
• Looking outside the airport as you may get a better deal in town
• Choosing a practical vehicle to suit your needs, not your dream supercar
• Being aware of mileage limits and one-way fees
• Use a credit card with car rental insurance , so you can be ready to turn down unnecessary add-ons and cross-sells that you don’t need
• Making sure the vehicle is checked for damage before you take the keys
• Only hiring it for as long as you need it
• Keeping your eyes out for deals on particular types of car, and better prices for longer-term rentals

Local Transportation

Most tourist hotspots, big towns, cities, and even some iconic landmarks will offer a wide range of public transport options to get you around. There will be more choice and more frequent services in highly populated areas, while services may become more restricted further out in the countryside or suburbs.

If you are clever, you could save yourself a small fortune by grabbing good deals on public transport, leaving you with more cash to spend on the fun things in life.

Try these to tips for traveling around town on the cheap:

• Buy daily, weekly or even monthly travel passes in advance
• Bulk buy tickets online or via an app
• Take advantage of student passes or discounted fares for families, seniors, or children
• Avoid traveling during peak commuter times
• Services like Greyhound offer cheaper fares for mid-week journeys
• Sign up for early notification of flash sales and other promotional codes and discounts

Attractions and Activities

Wherever you are headed, there will no doubt be plenty of things to do and places to see when you get there. The key to not missing a single thing is researching everything before you leave.

Have a plan in place of all the activities you want to take part in and the attractions you want to see and integrate the potential entrance costs, additional fees, and other expenses into your initial budget.

With a bit of luck, you will be able to find plenty of local discounts, city passes, and money-saving ways to see all of the very best attractions at rock bottom prices.

Pick up a copy of the local listings magazine or newspaper and check out free events , as well as using the coupons and discount codes they supply for all kinds of attractions. You can also subscribe to online discount sites like Groupon to find discounted ticket prices.

Historical landmarks, museums , art galleries, theme parks , sporting events, concerts, and many more attractions often offer reduced entrance prices at off-peak times or group discounts to entice visitors in. Some even have a free entrance day once a month.

Big cities often have lots of free entertainment on offer, too. Check out the artsy districts of major cities for street entertainers and free shows. If you are heading to the beach, research costs such as sunbed rental, locker rental, and even the menus at local restaurants to gauge an idea of how much a day on the beach could potentially cost you.

If you want to try your hand at surfing, sailing, or other kinds of water sports, you may want to get back on the internet and find reduced price lessons or discounts for group bookings.

Walk-Around Money

While you may have budgeted every dollar down to the last cent, you should also keep a contingency plan for some pocket money . Days out in the town, lazy afternoons on the beach, or even a trip on a planned excursion can present you with lots of little unknown expenses.

Whether you need to buy an extra bottle of water, some sunscreen for your face, or entrance to additional attractions, keeping a little cash on you is a good way to be prepared.

Large amounts of cash should never be carried about your person while you are out exploring, but a couple of dollars stashed into your pocket or travel wallet and can be incredibly useful.

In order to keep your money safe, you should:

• Never flash wads of cash
• Keep your notes and loose change somewhere safe like your inside pocket or in a money belt
• Carry small denomination notes and coins
• Understand the local currency you are carrying, so you known how much to give over when paying

Walk-around money is simply a little buffer to keep you going, but set yourself a daily budget and stick to it.

Gifts and Souvenirs

These days, almost everyone travels at some point. This means that those unusual and unique products that we used to buy as souvenirs are no longer as sought after as they once were.

Nearly every tourist destination on earth will be able to sell you tacky bits and pieces for you to take home, but savvy travelers bypass these and look for more personalized and unique mementos to take home with them instead.

Bottom Line: A t-shirt here, a guide book there, and lots of little bits and pieces in between can soon add up. Spend wisely, and if you must buy gifts and souvenirs, choose ones that have a special meaning to you, that you can treasure forever.

To help make your research easier, some clever folks who have traveled before you have made websites that can help you to research and plan every single aspect of your next big adventure and what the costs involved may be.

Budget Your Trip

Budget Your Trip is a huge repository of travel costs that have been hand-gathered from thousands of travelers, and now provides an incredibly comprehensive guide to how much your trip will really cost you.

You can create and personalize your very own travel budget once you register with the website. You can also pick up tons of top travel tips and advice for both new and experienced travelers alike.

Nomad List offers a heap of resources and information for remote workers, digital nomads, and travelers, Nomad List is designed to help users navigate the world. Find information on thousands of destinations, places to work, neighborhoods to stay, and even make new friends before you go.

A great site for anyone who wants to work and travel for longer-term adventures, you can ask questions and arrange meet-ups to touch base with other like-minded wanderers.

This clever little website has 1 goal in mind — to let you know exactly how much money you really need to stay at your dream destination. Expatistan offers direct comparisons between different locations and the website is essentially a giant cost-of-living database that is updated and improved on a regular basis.

Using collaborative information garnered from expats from all over the world, this website really will give you the lowdown of where you can, and can’t, afford to be.

Keeping track of your expenses using your bank balance alone can be a real pain. A dedicated travel money app will help you to keep control of your finances, even when you can’t check the internet. Here are some of the best:

Trail Wallet

This easy to use expense tracker is a great way to keep an accurate record of your finances on the go. Designed to be incredibly intuitive and easy to use, you can make a note of all your expenses in a way that makes the best sense to you. Set up daily spending limits, view records of your recent outgoings, and upload images of receipts for multiple trips with custom start and end dates.

Perfect for use both at home and away, this clever little app will even let you input amounts in local currencies from over 200 countries , and you can update the app with the current exchange rate.

Trail Wallet can be used on both iPhone and iPad and is free for up to 25 items, or unlock unlimited amounts for continuous travel with the $4.99 upgrade.

Trabee Pocket

Trabee Pocket is available on both iOS and Android, and you can choose between the free version or additional services in the paid-for version. Even with the basic version, you can add the details of as many expenses as you like, covering various trips and destinations. You can choose your currency, and there are 8 basic categories to file your virtual expenses under.

You can add images of the physical receipt and produce an expense report and breakdown of expenditure using the data from each category . The upgrade costs around $2.49, and you can add multiple currencies and additional customized categories.

All in all, Trabee Pocket is sleek and an easy to use app that helps you to see how much you are spending and where you are spending it.

TripCoin is a concise and easy to use app that is available on iOS only. It is free to download , and there are no upgrade options at the present time. This smart app allows you to keep tabs on your spending at the touch of a button while making is super easy to add new entries when you need to.

Summary reports can quickly be compiled to let you see progress reports and spreadsheets, and you can even export the data to Excel, Numbers, Open Office, or Google to keep your inner accountant happy anywhere in the world.

Wally was designed to help anyone to manage their finances, anywhere in the world easily. It promises to offer a simple, seamless tool that works in an intuitive way, making it super easy to keep track of your money on the move.

The basic version allows you to add details of all of your regular incoming and outgoings as well as inputting your day to day expenditure, creating groups to manage joint accounts, and splitting payments with your friends when you need to.

It can be set to your local currency and lets you divide your outgoings into easy to find pre-set categories. Available on both iOs and Android, you can upgrade to the paid-for version for $24.99 a year to enjoy unlimited trips and categories.

This is a brilliant invention for anyone traveling with friends. Available on both iOS and Android, you can download it for free, but an in-app upgrade is available to Splitwise Pro. No more scrambling around with a pen and paper to split the bill, this app allows you and your buddies to keep track of your shared expenses and balances at the touch of a button.

You can add a bill, and choose how to split it, or send text or email requests to remind your friends and family that payments are now due. You can also categorize your expenses, calculate amounts in over 100 different currencies, and even sync all of your expenditures with the Cloud.

If you want to keep a more detailed record of your accounts, this little app will also export the data into easy to read CSV reports.

Before you worry about how to manage your finances while you are away, you will need to devise a plan that gives you the funds to get you there in the first place. Unless you have been blessed with a sudden windfall or a lottery win, you will need to save your cents to achieve your goals.

Set a Savings Timeline

If you receive a regular wage, or you are able to forecast your earnings accurately, you can start to set a timeline on how long it will take you to save up for your vacation . If you put aside just $100 a month, for example, you will be able to have $1200 to play with in just a year. This amount may not pay for a new life abroad, but it could you buy a week by the ocean.

Bottom Line: Think of where you want to go to, find out how much it will cost, and then set a monthly savings goal and stick to it. Some months you may have to sacrifice on your social life or shopping habits, but it will all be worth it in the end.

Multiple Savings Accounts

Once you know how much you need to save each month, be sure to physically remove that money from your day to day bank account. Set up at least 1 separate savings account and electronically move it , or set up an automated payment to leave your regular account on payday.

Visualization

Re-train your brain to save instead of spend, and you will be able to tally up every cent you save with something amazing . Your first $150 saved, for example, could mean that you have those tickets for that boat party in Miami in the bag, or that you are on your way to paying for a 4-star hotel instead of a mid-range one.

Whether you are dreaming of trekking up the Himalayas, backpacking around Asia, Interailing through Europe , or a long-awaited family vacation, seeing what your savings can afford will super motivate you to save more.

Wherever you are planning on traveling to, being in control of your finances will make your experience even more amazing. Worrying about getting into debt on your credit cards or not having the cash in your pocket to really explore the region will ruin your adventures.

Save hard, spend well, and look for ways to save money across every aspect of your trip. Plan your spending before you go and keep track of your expenditure while you travel. There are deals to be had on flights, accommodation, food, attractions, and almost every area of your next vacation. Plan in advance and enjoy knowing that you are having the best time for less.

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How to Calculate Cost of Travel

Last Updated: July 21, 2024

This article was co-authored by Greg Guiteras . 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. This article has been viewed 154,435 times.

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.

Calculating Your Travel Budget

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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!

• 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.

• 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.

• Try to think of any miscellaneous costs that you may have such as toll roads or baggage fees.

Budgeting Fuel Costs

• Put together all of the driving trips you plan to take to get a total traveling distance.

• 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.

• 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

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.businessinsider.com/budget-spreadsheet-advice-2018-4
• ↑ https://familytravelsonabudget.com/how-to-estimate-travel-expenses/
• ↑ https://travel-made-simple.com/how-to-make-a-travel-budget/

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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.

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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How to Create a Travel Budget that Works (Free Spreadsheet Template)

Are you desperate to travel the world but don’t think you can afford it? Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. Let’s create the perfect travel budget to make sure you don’t overspend and can keep on travelling. Travelling on a budget doesn’t have to be difficult.

Off to Get Lost  is reader-supported. Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning that at no additional cost to you, I will receive an affiliate commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Who needs a travel budget?

Almost everyone will benefit from having a travel budget, but they’re ideal for someone travelling on a low budget. Travelling is great, but it’s also expensive. You can easily burn through a lot of money very quickly without even realising it. I know I have!

By having a travel budget, you can make the most of your money. In this guide, you’ll be given a free budget planner spreadsheet so you can easily see what money you have, how much you’ll need, and where your money is going. With this all at hand, you can then make your money last. 

I also like to use my travel budget to plan my vacations. It’s a great way to keep all my research in one place. If I know there’s a tour I want to do or a museum to visit, it goes into the budget. This way, when I am away, I can easily check my phone and have all the reminders there. 

Top Tip: Download Google Sheets onto your phone so you can access your budget spreadsheet wherever you are!

Why is a travel budget important?

Making a budget will help you find out whether or not you can afford a trip. You can quickly see if you currently have enough funds, or need to save more in order to do everything you want to do.

I find this a huge incentive to keep saving. If you’re like me, saving money is difficult. But with a goal in mind, it becomes so much easier to say no to a new dress. That’s why having the goal to save money for travel is a great starting point for any budget. sa

It can also see what kind of holiday you can afford. Maybe you don’t want to save any more and are impatient to get on the road. With this travel budget, you can find a trip that fits your savings and start having fun straight away.

Whilst travelling, a travel budget will help make your money last. By tracking your spending, you can see where you’re overdoing it. Perhaps you notice you’ve overspent on eating out so it might be time to cook for yourself.

Or maybe you’ve been really good with spending and have some money left over. Now you can have that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and take the scuba lesson you’ve always wanted!

How to a Travel Budget that Actually Works

What do you need to consider when creating a travel budget.

It’s actually pretty easy to create a travel budget. Really, there are just two things to consider: the essentials, and the desires. In other words, what you have to buy and what you want to buy. Essential items tend to be fixed, so are super easy to put into your budget, whereas what you want is more subjective and changes more often depending on the trip you’re going to.

Below I have a few things to consider when creating your budget. If you follow this list, hopefully, there will be very few surprise expenses on your trip. 

To help you even more, I’ve created this easy-to-use budget planner to bring all your research together.

Start Budgeting like a Pro

This free Travel Budget Spreedsheet will help you predict vacation expensise, set saving goals, and keep track of your spending.

Subscribe to get your Travel Budget Spreedsheet and begin acheiving your travel goals today.

Use this planner to find out how much a trip will really cost you. You can see how much you need to save, as well as track your spending whilst on your travels. I find it so useful to see how I’ve divided my budget and adjust it accordingly as I go along.

Let’s have a Look at your Travel Budget Necessities

These are the easy things to budget. They’re things you just have to do, and the price rarely changes no matter when you buy them.

If you’re travelling outside of your home country, make sure to check the travel restrictions and whether or not you’ll need a visa. 

For example, UK residents will need: 

When travelling to Australia , you must have a valid UK passport and an ETA visa, which costs between $150-$300. This allows you to travel in Australia for 90 days within a 365-day period. 

When travelling to Europe , it is currently free for UK citizens. However, this is expected to change in November 2024. 

When travelling to Thailand, your passport must have at least 6 months of validity remaining from your date of entry into Thailand, and you can stay in Thailand visa-free for 30 days. If you wish to stay for more than 30 days or want to work in Thailand, you need a valid visa. This must be obtained before you travel.

2: Passport

Whilst it might be obvious that you need a passport to travel internationally, it’s always worth double-checking your passport’s expiry date. Some countries (see above for some examples) require your passport to have a certain amount of validity left on your passport when you enter the country. 

You might think your passport is in date, but it would be terrible to arrive and not be allowed to travel because it expires in 3 months’ time. I’ve known people who’ve had to cancel last minute because of this exact reason! It’s not fun, that’s for sure.

3: Travel Insurance 

It’s always good to travel with insurance. It’s not expensive, so why take the risk? Check out Visitors Coverage . They are an American brand but provide coverage for people outside of the states. They have different options depending on your trip.

4: Vaccinations

In the post-pandemic world, we live in, there are even more vaccination requirements than usual when it comes to travelling. Whilst most countries have relaxed the rules on testing negative PCR tests etc. before flying, it’s always worth double-checking before you fly. 

Those tests aren’t cheap, and it’s an annoying expense to have to pay last minute. 

Of course, there are other vaccinations you will need to get depending on where you’re travelling to. Make sure you do some research and protect yourself from any potential illnesses you could get. If you’re unsure what vaccinations you need, make an appointment with your local GP to get all the information.

Now, onto the fun part! Where do you want to spend your money?

You’ve now created solid foundations for your travel budget. Next, you need to work out where you want to spend your money. I like to find the cheapest transport and save money on food so I can spend it on activities and the occasional eating out instead.

But that usually means I have to make sacrifices like travelling with just a carry-on and travelling at bad times which is usually the best way to find cheap flights.

If this doesn’t appeal to you, that’s fine. All you have to do is adjust your budget to have a larger fund for transport.

Make your way through the list and see where you want to put your money. You might have to do a bit of research at this point. You don’t want to allocate just £20 to food per day only to get to your destination and realise you grossly underestimate how expensive food is.

5: Food whilst travelling 

I love food. It’s something I am more than happy to spend money on but that also means I can get a bit carried away. Despite allocating more funds to it, I still have to be strict with my budget. I’ve created this post to help you save money on food whilst travelling abroad.  

The best way to save money is to cook all your own food. When you do eat out, eat the local cuisine. If you do this, your budget should be ok. It’s worth doing some research into the area you’re going to. Search on different Europe travel blogs and read articles like Nomadic Matt’s budget guides. He breaks down a lot of the costs you need to make your own budget from food to accommodation.

6: Drink 

A big part of backpacking is the social side of it. Going out and meeting new people is one of the best things about travelling. And whilst it doesn’t have to include drinking, it often does. Spending your evenings sitting outside in a warm country sipping on a cool drink is a pretty nice way to end your day. These drinks don’t have to be alcoholic, but make sure to budget some money towards this.

This is another hard one to stick to as these plans are often spontaneous, but really try your best to stick to them. You might decide to drink alcohol just one night a week and drink soft drinks the rest. Or maybe you’d prefer to spread it out and have one beer a night to keep yourself on track. 

7: Accommodation

The biggest thing with accommodation is to check out multiple sights. Don’t stick to the first place you see. I like to use both booking.com and Hostelworld . Y ou often see the same hostels on both but at different prices.

When thinking about accommodation, try to be aware of the facilities available to you and what’s included. If you’re going to be cooking your own food, you’ll want a kitchen available to you. A lot of hostels will have a shared kitchen available, but it’s not a guarantee. 

You might also find somewhere with breakfast included in the price. This is a great bonus as it means you don’t have to budget for a whole meal. Be wary of hotels that have it as an add-on option. Usually, it’s at least 10 euros extra per day, which is more than I would budget for breakfast.

My favourite way to find places to go for cheap flights is Skyscanner . They give me the most constantly cheap flights and give you a lot of options. You can search anywhere to find a super cheap destination and shows you cheaper dates on either side of your search.

Flight prices fluctuate a lot, and it can be a bit of a game to find the best deals. If you need some ideas, check out this guide on how to find the cheapest flights .

9: Transportation

It’s vital to work out how much you’re going to spend on transport whilst away. This will depend a lot on the type of holiday you’re going on. This encompasses quite a lot, so check out what things to think about below.  

If you’re planning an interrail trip, buying an interrail ticket will have your main trains sorted. But don’t forget about potential day trips and any smaller, in-country trains you might want to take. I like to use Trainline to book my trains whilst travelling in Europe. They are consistent with finding the cheapest deals and make it really easy to find train timetables.

If you’re looking at renting a ca r, check out Discover Cars . They are an award-winning company and compare over 500 suppliers to find you the best deal wherever you’re travelling.

Other things you need to consider when it comes to transport:

What public transport is available to you and how much does local transport cost? Do they have a multi-ticket deal?

Is public transport reliable?

Will you even need to use public transport? If it’s a smaller city or all the places you want to see are within walking distance, you might not need to budget anything for this at all.

How much is transport to and from the airport? I always forget to budget for the return journey and have had to spend a sad amount on last-minute taxis when the buses have failed.

10: Activities

This is where you can have some fun with your research. Get to know what’s happening at your destination, and begin adding things to your list of what you want to do. If it’s a city holiday, see if there are museums you want to go to and look at what free activities are available to you. Most cities will have free walking tours that are great ways to see the city whilst saving your budget. 

Or maybe you’re travelling to the coast and want to finally learn to surf? Perhaps there’s a boat trip that looks unmissable. The important thing with any budget is to balance making your money last and spending it on what you really want to experience.  

I like to use Get Your Guide to browse my options. They often have bundle tickets with added queue jump which is great if you’re travelling with less time.

Also, think about what you will be buying. Are you one for getting presents for others? Or maybe you like to collect postcards from everywhere you go? These might not be big expenditures, but they can add up so it’s good to include them. 

11: Emergency Fund

The final thing you need to create is an emergency fund.

The reality of travel is that things can go wrong. Whether you simply forgot to budget for something, or you miss a flight, you need to be able to financially cover these. 

More often than not, you won’t have to dip into these savings, at least not for anything major. But I almost always end up taking a little for small things here and there. Just knowing I have it is also a great stress reliever and makes me more confident whilst travelling.

If you’re worried about travelling solo, check out these tips on how to stay safe when travelling . They’re easy to implement but can make a huge difference in feeling confident when venturing out on your own.

How to use your travel budget when you’re away

Whilst you’re away on your travels, your budget will help make your money last. Without a budget, it can be difficult to know where you can spend your money, and where your money’s suddenly disappeared to.

By tracking what you’ve spent, even if loosely, you can see exactly where you might be overspending and can act accordingly. Travel can be very spur of the moment, and you don’t want to miss an opportunity because you’re not sure if you can afford it. With your tracker, you’ll easily be able to see how much money you have and where you can spare it, and never miss out on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity again. 

Budget saving tips 

• Work whilst away through companies such as Worldpackers
• Use these tips to get the cheapest flights every time.
• Travel light with a compact carry on
• Save money on food whilst travelling with these tips

Taking the time to create a travel budget is a great way to discover where you’re going. Find incredible things to do, even if they’re free activities, and pop them into your budget. It’ll help you save money whilst way, as once you’ve created your budget, you can use it to keep track of your spending, and also see where you have overbudgeted. Maybe you don’t need that much money for food, so can afford to spend more on activities. 

If you’ve filled out the budget planner and discovered your dream vacation is out of your budget, you can now make a plan to save. Check out these easy and actionable tips on how to save money and travel more . Soon, your dream vacation will be well within reach.

Kizzi is a travel blogger and photographer who loves sharing her passion for exploring the world. is the creator of Off to Get Lost. Her love for travel began in 2017 when she went on her first solo adventure to Sri Lanka. Recently, Kizzi has been exploring the hidden depths of Europe and sharing her findings on Off To Get Lost. Through Off to Get Lost, Kizzi aims to empower fellow adventurers, teaching how to maximize their time, budget, and grow confidence while uncovering Europe's finest treasures.

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Hi, I'm Kizzi and welcome to Off to Get Lost where the aim is to do exactly that! So let's get lost across the world, dicover new expereinces, and have the adventure of a lifetime. Here on Off to Get Lost, you'll find budget saving tips, perfectly planned itineraries and helpful advice on how to do it all solo.

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Travel & Trip Budget Templates in Google Sheets and Excel

Get the most out of your trip using our travel budget templates in google docs, sheets, word, and excel formats. plan all your expenses, including plane tickets, apartment or hotel booking, visas, car rental and others. choose from dozens of editable and printable designs in different colors.

Simple Travelling Budget

Cute Travel Budget

Travel Budget

Year Travel Budget for Family

Bright Travel Budget

Yellow Travel Budget

Travel Budget With Clouds

Paris Trip Budget

Orange Business Travel Budget

Minimal Travel Budget

Pastel Travel Budget

Sea Travel Budget

Traveling is always fun and interesting. However, travel is always associated with various kinds of expenses, which are best foreseen in advance. If you want to always be sure that you have chosen the right budget for your trip, then we recommend using any travel budgeting template from TheGoodocs . Our amazing Google Sheets templates are always the best option to save time and money.

Just imagine that you won't need to understand spreadsheet functionalities and built-in instruments, but you'll still get a professional, well-structured, and well-designed budget plan. We have a traveling budget template for any personal or business need. It does not matter if you work in a travel agency or just going on vacation and want to calculate its cost in advance. You will definitely find the right option only with us.

How do you like our offer? We advise you to study the list of advantages because of which our clients and visitors prefer our platform!

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Cut Your Trip Costs In Half With This Excel Template

• 1.1 Why Use an Excel Template?
• 1.2 Getting Started with the Template
• 1.3 Estimating Your Trip Costs
• 1.4 Tracking Your Expenses
• 1.5 Monitoring Your Budget
• 1.6 Planning for Future Trips
• 1.7 Sharing the Template
• 1.8 Conclusion

Traveling on a Budget? Use This Excel Template to Plan Your Trip Costs

Are you dreaming of your next adventure but worried about breaking the bank? Don’t worry! We’ve got you covered. With our easy-to-use Excel template, you can plan and track your trip costs like a pro. Whether you’re jetting off to a tropical paradise or exploring a new city, this tool will help you stay within your budget and make the most of your travel experience.

Why Use an Excel Template?

Excel templates are a game-changer when it comes to planning and organizing your trip costs. They provide a structured way to track your expenses, compare prices, and ensure you don’t overspend. With our Excel template, you can easily input your estimated costs for accommodation, transportation, meals, activities, and more. The template will then calculate your total expenses and give you a clear picture of how much you need to save or adjust your plans.

Getting Started with the Template

Getting started with our Excel template is as easy as 1-2-3. Simply download the template from our website and open it in Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. The template is pre-formatted with categories for different expense types, making it incredibly user-friendly. You can customize the template to fit your specific needs by adding or deleting categories, or even create subcategories for more detailed tracking.

Estimating Your Trip Costs

Before you start filling in the template, it’s important to estimate your trip costs as accurately as possible. Research the destination you’re visiting and gather information on accommodation prices, transportation options, food costs, and any activities or attractions you plan to indulge in. This will give you a baseline to work with and ensure your budget is realistic.

Tracking Your Expenses

Once you’re on your trip, use the template to track your expenses. Simply input the amount spent for each category, and the template will automatically update your total expenses. This will help you stay on top of your spending and avoid any nasty surprises when you return home.

Monitoring Your Budget

One of the best features of our Excel template is the ability to monitor your budget in real-time. As you input your expenses, the template will calculate the remaining budget for each category, giving you a clear visual representation of where you stand. This will help you make informed decisions on whether to splurge or save on certain aspects of your trip.

Planning for Future Trips

Our Excel template is not just a one-time tool. It can be used for all your future trips, allowing you to compare costs and make adjustments based on your previous experiences. By analyzing your spending patterns, you’ll become a pro at budgeting for travel and ensure you get the most out of every adventure.

Sharing the Template

We believe in the power of sharing, so feel free to pass on our Excel template to your fellow travelers. By helping others plan their trip costs efficiently, you’ll be contributing to a community of savvy travelers who make the most of their budgets. Together, we can create a world where everyone can explore and experience the wonders of travel without breaking the bank.

Don’t let the fear of overspending hold you back from your dream trip. With our Excel template, you can take control of your travel budget and make every dollar count. Start planning your next adventure today and enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing you’ve got your trip costs under control. Happy travels!

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Travel Budget Calculator

Your total travel cost, basic information, daily expenses, other expenses, custom expenses, frequently asked questions, what is a travel budget calculator, how do i use this calculator, what should i include in my travel budget.

When planning your trip, it is essential to include all potential expenses such as airfare, local transportation, accommodation, meals, entertainment, excursions, shopping, and emergency funds. Also consider smaller costs like tips, visas, and travel insurance, which can add up.

For local transportation, carefully evaluate your options. Are you renting a car at your destination to get around? Or perhaps you're considering taxis, riding the subway, or local buses? Using services like Uber might also be an option. Each choice comes with its own set of considerations and costs. For instance, if you’re renting a car, remember to account for additional taxes and fees, as well as the cost of parking, which can be particularly high in downtown areas. Conversely, if you're staying at a hotel in the city center, you might save on transportation costs by walking or utilizing the hotel’s complimentary shuttle services from the airport and then relying on public transportation to explore the area.

Furthermore, it's important to research the sights you want to see and plan your transportation accordingly. This preparation can help you determine the most cost-effective and convenient way to travel during your trip. Whether you choose a rental car, public transit, or another method, understanding the full scope of your transportation needs and costs will ensure a smoother, more enjoyable travel experience.

Can I add my own expenses to the travel budget calculator?

Can i use this calculator for international trips, is the travel budget calculator suitable for planning group holidays, what strategies can help me save on vacation activities expenses.

To economize on vacation activities, here are some strategic tips you might consider:

• Purchase Tickets Early : Securing your tickets before your trip can lead to significant savings, as pre-booking often comes with discounts. This also helps you avoid long waits at attractions, allowing more time for enjoyment.
• Research Local Opportunities : Before your vacation begins, take the time to look into local activities and attractions. This not only builds anticipation for your trip but can also uncover less-known, cost-effective options.
• Utilize Discount Brochures : Keep an eye out for discount brochures available in hotels or local tourist centers. These brochures are filled with coupons and special offers for local attractions and day trips that might not be widely advertised.
• Opt for All-Inclusive Packages : When the cost of individual activities starts to accumulate, consider all-inclusive options. Resorts or theme parks that offer these packages include various activities at a reduced rate, giving you a clearer understanding of the total expense of your trip from the outset.

How can I bring my own food for the flight to save money?

What tips can help me save on the cost of food per day during my travels.

When aiming to reduce daily food costs while traveling, consider the following strategies:

• Avoid Airport and In-Flight Purchases : Airports are notorious for high food prices. To counter this, pack your own snacks and meals for your flight. This not just cuts costs but also ensures you have healthier and more satisfying options.
• Steer Clear of Room Service and Minibars : These are among the most overpriced services in hotels. Planning your meals ahead and avoiding the convenience of direct hotel dining can save a significant amount of money.
• Eat Like a Local : Instead of dining in tourist-centric restaurants, find where the locals eat. Local markets, grocery stores, and small eateries often offer delicious food at a fraction of the cost. Look for pre-made meals or food counters that sell regional specialties.
• Explore Local Beverages : Instead of indulging in expensive drinks at the hotel bar, try local breweries or wineries. Purchasing local brands can be cheaper and add a unique cultural experience to your trip.

By employing these tips, you can enjoy a rich culinary experience without splurging excessively, allowing you to indulge in other aspects of your journey.

How can I leverage personal connections to secure affordable lodging options?

Leveraging personal connections can significantly reduce lodging costs when planning a vacation. Start by reaching out to your network to inquire if anyone owns a vacation home, a lake house, or a rental property that might be unoccupied, particularly during the off-season. Such properties can often be made available to you, sometimes at a reduced cost or even for free, if the timing is right.

Additionally, consider proposing a vacation swap with friends who live in another part of the country. This arrangement involves you and your friend swapping homes for a period, which not only gives you both free accommodations but also the opportunity to explore a new area. You might also offer to house sit or pet sit for your friend during their vacation, providing them peace of mind and yourself a cost-effective place to stay. Such creative arrangements can lead to enjoyable and affordable vacation experiences by maximizing your personal relationships.

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How to Budget for a Trip: The Easiest Travel Budgeting Method (+ Tips!)

Here’s a silly secret: I love budgeting travel… and I also think that most guides to creating a travel budget make it entirely too complicated.

I initially wrote this guide on how to budget for a trip almost 7 years ago, when we were prepping for what we were then calling a 6 month round the world trip (spoiler: depending on your definition of “trip”, it never actually ended).

50+ countries and the better part of a decade later, I’m still using the exact same, simple formula for calculating our budget while traveling–even if our definition of “on a budget” has changed over the years.

Planning to hit the road soon and wondering how much money you need for your trip?

Whether you’re headed off on a 2-week Europe trip or you’re planning to live out of a backpack for years like we did, our simple method for budgeting travel expenses has you covered.

Here’s the travel budget strategy that we swear by to this day!

Table of Contents

Our Formula for Creating a Travel Budget

Why we like this travel budgeting system, example of how to budget for a trip, tips for travel budgeting, planning a trip.

Some links in this post may be affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Please see our disclosure policy for more detail.

Here’s our incredible simple calculation for travel expenses:

(Money Saved – Major Expenses) / Number of Days Traveling = D aily Budget

That’s it–simple, easy to remember, and allows you to easily translate your savings from a pile of money into an actual travel budget.

Some long term travelers prefer to divide by the number of weeks instead of the number of days, on the premise that some days you may blow a large amount, and then have cheaper days to make up for it.

While that is 100% true and Jeremy and I definitely balance expensive days with inexpensive ones, I still prefer to think in terms of days.

In my experience, smaller numbers tend to be more easily tracked, and are less overwhelming as a result.

How to Define Major Travel Expenses

“Major expenses” can be somewhat of an ambiguous term, but I tend to use this for pricey plane tickets, travel insurance, and large monthly bills that you’re still responsible for during your trip (say, a car payment or health insurance). 

If you’re headed to any destinations that require a visa, be sure to include those costs as well!

For shorter trips, I also like to include lodging and certain cheaper transportation costs (night trains, budget airline flights, rental cars) here, but for long-term travel, that’s obviously not practical.

The point of the major expenses category is simply to remove the money that is allocated for specific expenses from play before determining how much you have to spend.

This is to avoid either a) running around feeling like you have more money than you do and overspending or b) anxiously fretting about the upcoming expense (like a plane ticket home) and saying no to things that you want to do because you’re needlessly stressed about not having enough money.

Personally, we’re much more likely to do the second.

Looking back on almost 7 years of travel, I can now definitively say that there have been more experiences than we’ve said no to when we should have jumped at the opportunity than times we splurged on an experience that wasn’t worth deducting from our calculated travel budget.

Luckily, thanks to this travel budgeting system, those experiences have been few and far between.

For us, this method of creating a travel budget works perfectly.

Thanks to careful tracking, we have never overspent on a trip, and we’ve also never worried much about money during our travels.

The worst that will happen is that we have a couple of pricey days in a row and follow it up with a day of inexpensive hiking or laying on the beach to make up for it (hardly a tragedy).

While I tend to track our daily expenses via mental estimates, I will write out cash expenses daily and credit card/more easily tracked expenses a couple of times a week–yes, even 7 years later.

It may seem like a drag, but 10 minutes of work can relieve a lot of stress and fear of the unknown that can come with just letting your money slip to the back of your mind.

(At least, it will be in the back of your mind until you start panicking over the thought of where your checking account balance might be when trying to fall asleep at night!).

Let’s say that a couple traveling is traveling to Paris from the USA for one week, and wants to calculate their travel budget.

In the interest of not searching too deeply for a pretend trip, I’ll say they buy the first flights they search for don’t stress about that too much. They’re also cautious and want travel insurance for their trip.

Our pretend couple has a $4000 travel budget, in total.

Major Travel Expenses for Our Mock Paris Trip

Round-Trip Flights to Paris: $2000

Travel Insurance : $150 

Hotel Room, $130/night for 7 nights: $910

($4000 total budget – $3060 major expenses) / 7 days = $134.28/day to spend, or $67.14/per person, per day.

I would round those down to $134 or $67, both for the ease of math and to build in a slightly conservative slant to the budget.

This would need to cover activities/tours, souvenirs/shopping, transportation while in Paris, and food/drinks.

That’s not only doable but completely comfortable in Paris, as long as our pretend couple is not hoping for luxury travel.

Know what’s worth it to you.

If you’re a major foodie, skimping on dining probably isn’t going to work for you–and if you’re a SCUBA lover, suggesting you limit dives on a beach trip may sound miserable.

Whatever your priorities are, focus on those and skimp on other areas, instead–even if other travelers consider the things you skip to be must-see sights.

Check in on your budget regularly.

Even if you don’t check in daily, be sure to track your budget at least every few days.

This will help keep you from blowing off course in either direction and also relieve any anxiety you have about not knowing the status of your budget.

Remember that traveling on a budget doesn’t mean having less fun!

Some of our favorite travel experiences cost little to nothing.

Browsing local markets, enjoying a beach day, going for a hike, wandering aimlessly through cities, sampling street food, and more all make for wonderful and incredibly memorable travel days.

Travel budgeting can be daunting when you get started, but once you get used to it, it enhances, rather than detracts from your experiences.

Not only are there wonderful travel experiences to be had at all budgets, but knowing where you are in your trip financially is much less stressful than constantly worrying that you’re over your travel budget… without having the concrete data to confirm either way.

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About Kate Storm

In May 2016, I left my suburban life in the USA and became a full-time traveler. Since then, I have visited 50+ countries on 5 continents and lived in Portugal, developing a special love of traveling in Europe (especially Italy) along the way. Today, along with my husband Jeremy and dog Ranger, I’m working toward my eventual goal of splitting my life between Europe and the USA.

11 thoughts on “How to Budget for a Trip: The Easiest Travel Budgeting Method (+ Tips!)”

Excellent post. I was checking continuously this blog and I am impressed!

Extremely useful information specifically the last part :) I care for such info a lot. I was looking for this particular information for a long time. Thank you and good luck.

Thank you! Appreciate you stopping by! :-)

bookmarked!!, I love your site!

Another small thing to consider would be to convert your daily budget amount to local currency.

Great point, thanks for stopping by! :-)

This is by far the best travel blog I have come across. Thank you!!!

So happy to hear that, DeElla!

Great info!

Good info. Thanks we will be traveling Italy for 28 days. The last 7 we are staying with friends. We don’t want to rent a car but use trains between towns and subway/buses in the cities. How do I budget for that? Are there month long passes for each? Excluding airfare we have $7000 food/transportation/entrance fees. Does that sound doable? We are flying into Rome, then Florence and take day trips from there, then ending up in Ugento. Any recommendations?

Thanks, Brenda!

You can definitely get around Italy without a car, that’s not a problem at all. $7000 for for 28 days on the ground also sounds reasonable (I’m assuming you’re traveling as a couple).

Trenitalia does have a monthly pass of sorts for trains, similar to the Eurail pass but for Italy only. However, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it without knowing your schedule. Most likely, booking each leg individually is fine.

For short distances in rural areas that you travel by bus, you won’t need online tickets or anything like that. Same for any “local” trains you take, like the slow train between Florence and Bologna. You can buy those tickets step by step as you go, as the prices are set.

Where the prices get higher and you’ll need to budget in advance is for the high-speed train routes around Italy, like from Florence to Lecce, for example. Those trains have dynamic pricing, so if you can book your tickets in advance, you’ll both spend less and be able to budget more easily.

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Create a Travel Budget Vacation Cost Worksheet

By: Author Kim Tate

Posted on Published: January 5, 2015

Dreaming of an epic summer road trip? How about a relaxing day lounging on the beach soaking up the rays? If you have plans to travel, you should use my travel budget vacation cost worksheet to find out how much you need to save for your trip.

Then you can use any or all of my 12 ideas on how to save for a vacation and travel with peace of mind knowing your trip won’t be putting you into debt!

You may have seen my post about the average vacation cost , but this worksheet (linked at the bottom of this post) will help you dial in what your actual estimated costs will be. Perhaps you need more room than the average traveler, or maybe you eat more? Whatever your preferences are, this travel budget vacation cost worksheet will help you dial into your estimated average vacation cost.

Let’s look at the categories:

Transportation

Here you can figure your costs whether you decide to fly or drive . If you fly then you can total your airfare, baggage fees, parking, and destination car rental or transportation. If you choose to drive then you can estimate your fuel expense by using a MPG/miles driven calculation. This doesn’t take into account the wear on your car or any maintenance you’ll need to perform before traveling.

Whether you stay at a hotel, B&B, rental home, or campsite, input your nightly rate and number of nights. Don’t forget to include the taxes that will be added to your lodging as they can often add around 10-15% to your room rate.

You should also consider budgeting for bell services if the hotel has that amenity as well as planning on tipping your housekeeper. A good rule of thumb is $1 per person per day, depending on mess or service needs. Many hotels are starting to charge daily resort fees or fees for parking and internet, so be sure to budget for any of those add-ons if needed.

Do your research online about what attractions you want to visit and what the admission fees are for them. You can also typically find parking fees listed on the attraction’s website if you’re planning to drive and park. Decide what your souvenir budget is and make sure you inform your kids. We like to give our girls a flat amount and they can choose to spend it whenever they want, but once it’s spent, it’s gone.

This is a hard section to help you budget for because we all have different feelings about food. If you happen to book a hotel with free breakfast, you can save some money in this section. Also, if you’re eating at nice restaurants or theme parks, these estimated amounts might not be enough.

I’ve tried to give you a ballpark figure so you can still have an idea of what to budget. If you’re wanting to eat at nice restaurants each evening, just bump up your dinner total. If you’re going to buy groceries and cook your own meals each evening, you’ll save on dinner costs but need to include grocery expenses.

I hope this has helped you get an estimation for the expenses on your upcoming trip. You can click on the link below to download my free printable budget worksheet.

DOWNLOAD MY BUDGET WORKSHEET

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Betsy Weeks

Wednesday 23rd of September 2020

I just signed up and didn't get the travel budget worksheet when I signed up.

Hi Betsy, thanks for commenting! This was linked to an old email service and I didn't realize it wasn't switched to my new service. Find my printables here: https://stuffedsuitcase.com/k3-thank-you-for-subscribing-78s/ Sorry for the inconvenience!

Sunday 7th of October 2018

Good morning-

I love your website & have used your travel budget planner worksheet in the past. I cannot find it in any of my files/websites/pins, etc. I updated my subscription this morning and still cannot access it. Would you please, please, please send me a copy?

Thank you in advance for your trouble! ~P

Just emailed the link to you, Polly!

Marisha Bates

Wednesday 7th of February 2018

I subscribed and lost my place when trying to download.

Saturday 10th of February 2018

Hi Marisha - I'm not sure I understand. Did it take you off the webpage? I might need to check that setting, my apologies! Let me know if you got the worksheet ok and if you need any further info!

Sunday 18th of October 2015

I subscribed and having the same issue :(

Sunday 12th of July 2015

I've actually been a subscriber for a while but this is my first time trying to get a printable. It isn't working for me.

Monday 13th of July 2015

Just emailed the vacation budget printable to you Tira!

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Charting a Course to New Horizons

• Travel budget

Tour Costing Sheet Sample: A Complete Guide To Efficiently Manage Your Travel Expenses

• 1 Introduction
• 2.1 Components of a Tour Costing Sheet
• 2.2 Sample Tour Costing Sheet
• 3.1 1. Plan Your Budget
• 3.2 2. Record Your Expenses
• 3.3 3. Review and Analyze
• 3.4 4. Adjust Your Plans if Needed
• 3.5 5. Stay Disciplined
• 4 Conclusion

Introduction

Traveling is an exhilarating experience, but it can quickly become overwhelming when it comes to managing your expenses. Keeping track of all the costs associated with your tour can be a daunting task. However, with a well-structured tour costing sheet, you can easily monitor and control your travel budget. In this article, we will provide you with a sample tour costing sheet and guide you on how to effectively use it to optimize your travel expenses.

Why Use a Tour Costing Sheet?

A tour costing sheet is a valuable tool that allows you to plan, track, and analyze your travel expenses. It helps you understand where your money is going and enables you to make informed decisions to stay within your budget. By using a tour costing sheet, you can avoid overspending, identify areas where you can save money, and ensure that your travel plans are financially sustainable.

Components of a Tour Costing Sheet

A tour costing sheet typically consists of several key components:

• Date: The date of the expense
• Expense Category: Categorize your expenses (e.g., accommodation, transportation, meals, activities)
• Details: Provide a brief description of the expense
• Amount: The cost of the expense
• Payment Method: How the expense was paid (e.g., cash, credit card)

Sample Tour Costing Sheet

Here is a sample tour costing sheet to illustrate how it can be structured:

How to Use the Tour Costing Sheet

Now that you have a tour costing sheet, let’s dive into how to effectively use it:

1. Plan Your Budget

Before you embark on your tour, set a realistic budget. Determine how much you are willing to spend on different expense categories such as accommodation, transportation, meals, and activities. This will serve as your baseline for tracking your expenses.

2. Record Your Expenses

As you incur expenses during your tour, diligently record them in the tour costing sheet. Fill in the date, expense category, details, amount, and payment method for each expense. This will help you maintain an accurate and up-to-date record of your spending.

3. Review and Analyze

Regularly review your tour costing sheet to track your spending patterns. Analyze which expense categories are consuming a significant portion of your budget. This will enable you to identify areas where you can cut back or find more cost-effective alternatives.

4. Adjust Your Plans if Needed

If you notice that you are overspending in certain areas, consider adjusting your plans. Look for ways to reduce costs without compromising the quality of your experience. For example, you could opt for budget accommodations or explore affordable dining options.

5. Stay Disciplined

Stick to your budget and avoid unnecessary expenses. It’s easy to get carried away while traveling, but staying disciplined will help you stay within your financial limits and ensure a stress-free experience.

A tour costing sheet is an invaluable tool for managing your travel expenses. By using it effectively, you can optimize your budget, avoid overspending, and make the most of your travel experience. Remember to plan your budget, record your expenses, review and analyze your spending, adjust your plans if needed, and stay disciplined throughout your tour. With a well-structured tour costing sheet and a little financial awareness, you can embark on your journey with confidence and peace of mind.

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Budget Templates

18+ travel budget template in google docs | google sheets | ms excel | ms word | numbers | pages | pdf.

Organizing for a trip or vacation is the most tedious thing to do. Travel budgets will help you determine, in advance, whether you have enough money to spend on your vacation. Travel budgets that excel in saving money should include the expected expenses such as food, accommodation, leisure activities, transportation, and other miscellaneous items. These budget templates help you make and organize your expenses in a way you can save more money before and also, after your trip.

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More in budget templates, travel agency marketing budget template, it travel budget template, travel expense report template, travel agency business plan template, sample school budget template, printable budget planner template, travel planner template, travel expense template, business trip budget template.

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Home » Google Sheets » 9 Best Free☝️ Google Sheets Travel Budget Templates for 2023

• Updated: April 17, 2023

9 Best Free☝️ Google Sheets Travel Budget Templates for 2023

Planning for a vacation is undoubtedly one of the more exciting budgeting exercises you can do. Even a business trip can be an occasion to look forward to. 

However, a lack of proper planning can result in a flop of a holiday or a business trip rather than a fabulous or productive one. 

But that doesn’t have to be you. In this article, we review some of the best Google Sheets travel budget templates to help you prepare for your long-awaited break or business trip!

1. Free Downloadable Travel Budget Template

Designed by Vertex42

If your itinerary is going to be jam-packed with lots of stopovers and plenty of travel activities to see and do, the Free Downloadable Travel Budget Template by Vertex42 is an excellent option.

It is so user-friendly and ideally suited to travel planning, with a graph that depicts the sum totals of your budget categories so that you can view how these costs are going without necessarily having to go back to the drawing board to establish where you overspend.

2.Daily Travel Budget Template

Designed by Charlie Marchant

The Daily Travel Budget Template by Charlie Marchant is an excellent step-by-step guide to use if you have a jam-packed travel trip coming up that requires you to track daily expenses more carefully. 

What’s unique about this travel budget template is that you have a local currency column and a home currency column you can use for comparison purposes. 

And then there’s also a total budget row that you can compare to the sum of your daily totals to see if you are edging towards going over budget or keeping to the plan .

3. Artist Tour Budget Template

Designed by The Crafty Musician

The Artist Tour Budget Template by The Crafty Musician is a great touring budget if you plan on going from place to place and want to enjoy yourself in the process while not being too preoccupied by expenses that go with the territory. 

This budget template also has a special column for venue prices depending on the town you’re in, so you can pick the most profitable venue for you depending on your tour goals and the spend you have available – which, of course, relies on how your trip pans out while you’re visiting each destination.

4. Business Travel Budget Template

Designed by Spreadsheet Daddy

The Business Travel Budget by Spreadsheet Daddy is designed nicely for business trip expenses. This spreadsheet should help you monitor and account for expenses on a business trip for record-keeping purposes. 

Category expenses that this budget template include are airfare, hotel, car rental, gas, entertainment, food, and other miscellaneous costs.

5. Corporate Travel Budget Template

Since a corporate travel budget needs to be a little more finessed than the norm, this spreadsheet template by Spreadsheet Daddy is the one to use to accurately record typical corporate travel costs in a neat and corporate-looking document for future company reference.

6. Family Travel Template

The Family Travel Template by Spreadsheet is perfect for your next family vacation. It has a place for listing itineraries and transportation details. 

If you need a helpful reminder on what to pack, this template has a section for that, too, so you won’t forget the essentials when you and your family depart on a long journey.

7. Study Abroad Travel Budget Template

Studying and living abroad can be costly. Take control over your new lifestyle expenses with The Study Abroad Travel Budget Template by Spreadsheet Daddy and jot down the main category expenses to avoid being caught unawares regarding unanticipated expenses in a new country.

8. Sales Travel Budget

The Sales Travel Budget Template is ideal for recording all the sales you make while on your travels. You can even use filters to establish what you sold more of and when this occurred to validate your trip.

9. Year-Long Travel Budget Template

The Year-Long Travel Budget Template by Spreadsheet Daddy is a good example to use if you are a perpetual traveler and require a suitable budget for year-round travel.

You can even record miles traveled, how much time you spent traveling during daylight hours and during the night, and additional expenses incurred. You can gain insights and reflect on how your travels were spent and if the trip was optimized as much as possible.

Does Google Sheets have a travel budget template?

Google Sheets does not have a travel budget template that you can download within its standard templates. However, there are plenty of free travel budget templates available for download that you can access simply by clicking on the links shown above. Perhaps best of all is the fact you can customize these spreadsheet templates to personify your travel trip best.

How do I create a travel budget in Google Sheets?

Travel budgets are one of these things where you might not think it necessary to list certain expenses. Or you may think it’s necessary to list everything – but this can get a little messy and difficult to track if you don’t have the main travel categories to follow.

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How To Make an Accurate Budget for Traveling

By: Author Zachary Friedman

Posted on Last updated: February 27, 2024

Categories Travel Budgeting , Travel Tips

Home » Travel » Travel Tips » How To Make an Accurate Budget for Traveling

When planning a trip, it is easy to underestimate your costs and go over your travel budget. There are lots of little expenses that add up. This guide explains how to create an accurate budget for traveling.

In this guide, I will outline every expense that you’re likely to incur and explain how to estimate it. We’ll cover transportation, accommodation, food and drink, admission tickets, tours, activities, visas, travel gear, and more.

This process works for all budget ranges and trip lengths. It doesn’t matter if you’re planning a weekend getaway, an international vacation, or an extended round-the-world trip. If you follow this guide, you’ll end up with an accurate trip budget. I will also explain how to track your spending while on your trip to help you stick to your travel budget.

In the past 12 years, I’ve traveled to almost 70 countries. I’ve spent several year-long stints on the road. During that time, I have developed an easy and precise way to budget my travel expenses. In this guide, I’ll share how I create a travel budget, step-by-step.

Key Takeaways- How to Create a Travel Budget

– Step 1: Identify your biggest expenses. For most trips, this will be airfare and tours. – Step 2: Estimate your expenses for accommodation, food, and drinks. – Step 3: Estimate your expenses for ground transportation. Consider bus and train tickets, regional flights, taxis, Uber, and public transportation. – Step 3: Estimate your expenses for visas, travel insurance, travel vaccines, and other documents you may need. – Step 4: Consider additional expenses. Think about the travel gear you need to buy. Think about other small expenses like SIM cards, laundry, haircuts, etc. – Step 5: Re-evaluate your budget. Consider your priorities. Think about where you want to splurge and where you want to save. – Step 6: Save up for your trip. Make sure you have an emergency fund in case of unexpected expenses.

This guide is broken down into 5 categories:

• Transportation
• Accommodation
• Food and Drink
• Entertainment, Tours, Admission Tickets, and A ctivities
• Additional Expenses: Insurance, Visas, Vaccines, and Travel Gear

After calculating all of our travel expenses, you will add them up to see what your desired itinerary would cost. From there, you can make adjustments to fit your total trip budget. At the end of each section, I include some helpful money-saving tips that I have picked up on the road.

How Much Does it Cost to Travel?

The cost of traveling depends on a variety of factors, so it is hard to give an exact answer. Generally speaking, the farther and longer you travel, the more expensive your trip will be.

Your destination is the main factor that determines how much your trip will cost. You’ll spend a lot less while traveling in Southeast Asia or Central America than If you were traveling through Western Europe. Traveling locally is cheaper than traveling abroad. When you travel abroad, you can expect your travel expenses to increase due to the high cost of airfare.

Budgeting for your trip is also highly dependent on personal preference. How much luxury do you need? Do you plan on staying in luxury hotels or budget hostels? Do you want to try out local restaurants or cook your own meals? Can you travel by bus or do you need to fly? Do you enjoy expensive activities such as Scuba diving or taking hot air balloon rides? All of these factors can drastically affect the total cost of your trip.

Traveling can range from relatively inexpensive to quite costly. The good news is that there are plenty of ways to save while still having a wonderful experience. You can shop for deals on flights and accommodation. You can stay in hostels instead of hotels. It’s possible to enjoy a great trip with a surprisingly small amount of money. Budget travelers can travel on just $1200-$1800 per month. If you’re traveling in an expensive region, you might spend $2500 per month.

Transportation Budget for Traveling

Getting from point A to point B is a major travel expense. Maybe even the biggest expense depending on where you’re traveling. According to this guide, travelers spend an average of 44% of their travel budget on transportation. Transportation costs include flights, parking, a rental car, bus and train tickets, and public transport. In this section, I’ll explain how to estimate your transportation budget for travel. I’ll also share some tips to help you save on transport.

Airfare Budget for Traveling

The single largest individual expense of your trip will likely be your airplane ticket. Airfare is expensive. A round-trip intercontinental ticket can cost $1000-$1500 or more. A round-trip domestic ticket in the U.S. is around $300.

You can use a flight booking tool such as Skyscanner, Kayak, or Google Flights to estimate the cost of your flights. These tools can quickly give you an overview of flight prices for the entire month. This gives you a good idea of ticket prices. You can also use these services to find cheap flights.

There a few ways to save money on airfare. When booking your ticket, try to be flexible with your travel dates. Generally, it’s cheaper to fly during the week than on weekends. Flights during the off-season and shoulder seasons are cheaper than flights during peak seasons and holidays.

You can also save money by flying into a different airport. Many major cities have multiple airports. For example, if you’re flying to New York, check the price of flights to LaGuardia (LGA), John F. Kennedy (JFK), and Newark (EWR) airports. Sometimes flying into one is cheaper. Most booking sites allow you to search multiple airports.

Sometimes you can save money by flying to a city that’s in the same region as your destination but cheaper to fly into. For example, maybe you want to fly to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. You might save money by flying into a major hub city like Bangkok. From there, you can take a cheap flight on a budget airline to Kuala Lumpur. Some major hubs around the world include Dubai Airport, London Heathrow, Istanbul Airport, Chicago O’Hare International, Incheon Airport, and more. You can often find cheap flights flying into and out of these airports.

You may also save by flying to a nearby city and then taking ground transport to your destination. Sometimes cities are cheaper to fly to than others. For example, instead of flying directly into Orange County, California, you may find a better deal on a flight to Los Angeles International Airport(LAX). From there, you could take a shuttle, bus, or rental car to your destination. Most booking sites allow you to search nearby airports.

You can also save by flying budget airlines rather than big-name national airlines. Budget airlines offer fewer services but cheaper flights.

Another way to save on flights is to t ake advantage of credit card offers. I flew round trip between Los Angeles and Africa for free with credit card miles.

If you’re planning on taking an extended trip around the world, you may be able to save by buying a round-the-world ticket. Many airlines offer round-the-world tickets with stops on different continents. Several third-party services are also available to help you mix and match. For more info, check out my guide to planning a round-the-world trip.

Regional Transportation Costs Between Cities and Countries: Buses, Trains, Flights, and Ferries

If you’re traveling to multiple cities or countries during your trip y ou must also consider the cost of transport between destinations. You’ll have to fly, take a bus, or take a train, between each city or country you plan to visit. Generally, a regional bus trip that lasts 6-12 hours costs around $20-$100. A train journey from one city to the next could cost $50-$200. A one-way regional flight costs around $100-$300.

Before your trip, be sure to research the price of bus and train tickets and flights on all of the routes you plan to travel. Most bus and train companies list ticket prices on their websites these days. To save time, you can use a booking site to find the cost of tickets. A great resource for finding bus and train routes and prices is rome2rio.com. This site makes it easy to research transportation options and estimate the cost of tickets. Another great booking site for finding bus ticket prices is Busbud. For train routes and ticket prices, seat61.com is an excellent resource. You can use a flight booking tool such as Skyscanner, Kayak, or Google Flights to estimate the cost of regional flights.

Regional transportation costs are usually pretty affordable. If you’re traveling around a lot during your trip, transport costs can add up. Generally, the cheapest way to travel from one city to the next is by bus. Trains and flights are usually more expensive. It’s still worth checking prices. Sometimes flying is the cheapest option thanks to budget airlines.

Local Transport: Public Transportation, Rental Car, Taxis, and Uber

Next, take into consideration transport costs around the towns and cities that you will be visiting. This includes taxi, Uber, metro, city bus, and tuk-tuk fares. To estimate this, look at the locations of the sites that you plan to visit within the city and research the transportation costs between there and your accommodation. You can usually find average one-way transport prices online. 

If you don’t feel like taking the time to estimate the cost of local transportation, you can simply raise your daily spending money budget by the average price of a round-trip public transport ticket. Sometimes you can buy a weekly or monthly unlimited pass and add that to the cost of your trip.

Rental Cars

If you plan to drive a rental car, you’ll need to factor in the cost of the rental, gas, and insurance. Visit your favorite booking site to check the price of car rentals. Discover Cars and Kayak are popular options for booking a rental car. On average, renting a car costs $40-$80 per day.

Remember that the price of rental cars varies throughout the year. Prices increase during the busy season and during holidays because demand increases. Rental car prices also vary greatly by location.

Tips for Saving Money on Transportation

The cost of local transportation can quickly add up. If you take a taxi or Uber or take multiple metro trips daily, you could spend hundreds of dollars per month. There are a few ways to save.

To reduce your cost of local transport, try to walk more. Instead of taking an Uber, walk from your hotel to the museum. Walking is free. As an added benefit, walking helps you get to know the city better. It’s also healthy.

When taking a taxi or tuk-tuk, negotiate hard. Taxi drivers love to rip off foreigners. If a cab driver won’t give you a reasonable rate, keep asking drivers until you find a driver that wants the fare.

Cycling is also a great way to get around cities. Many cities offer affordable city bike rental programs. These programs are often open to tourists. Cycling is a cheap and healthy way to get from point A to point B. If you’re on an extremely low budget, you could consider hitchhiking.

Accommodation Budget for Traveling: Hotels, Hostels, and Airbnbs

After transportation, your biggest travel expense is probably accommodation. After all, you will need somewhere to sleep every night of your trip. It’s easy to go over your travel budget if you overspend on accommodation.

To estimate your accommodation budget, go to a booking site like Booking.com or Agoda and research the price of hotels at your destination . Airbnb is also a great option in some regions. If you’re on a tighter budget, check Hostelworld for the price of dorm rooms.

When searching for accommodation , check the prices of multiple properties in every city that you plan to visit . Try to find an average price. Sort properties by most popular instead of cheapest. This can take quite a bit of time but it is necessary to get an accurate idea of your accommodation cost. If you’re conservative with your budgeting, you’re less likely to overspend.

Remember that accommodation prices change based on the season in many places so this must also be taken into consideration. In general, traveling during the summer is more expensive because demand is higher. Traveling during holidays and festivals is also more expensive than traveling during the normal season. For example, in Rio de Janeiro, the price of hotels doubles during Carnival. Some properties also charge more on the weekends than during the week. It’s important to consider the season when estimating the price of accommodation.

Once you have found the average cost per night for each city that you plan to visit, simply multiply the nightly price by the number of nights that you plan to stay. Next, add them all up. This is your total accommodation budget for the trip. If you’re not sure how long you plan to stay in each destination, you can calculate an average nightly accommodation cost based on hotel prices in each place you plan to visit.

There are a couple of ways to save money on accommodation. You could stay in a dorm room in a hostel. A bed in a dorm costs 25-50% of the price of a hotel room. If an average hotel room costs $100-$150 at your destination, a hostel dorm bed might cost $20-$40.

Camping is also a great way to save money on accommodation. Oftentimes a campground costs $15-$25 per night. There are also plenty of free campsites if you look around. In some countries, wild camping is legal. Some hostels allow you to pitch your tent on their property for less than the cost of a dorm bed. These days, I sometimes travel with a small tent or hammock to save on accommodation.

Another great way to save on accommodation is to t ravel at night. By taking overnight buses, trains, and flights, you save on a night of accommodation every time. This can really add up if you move around a lot during your trip . Even though sleeping on a bus is uncomfortable, the money you save may be worth it depending on your travel budget. For example, if you travel to a new city every 4 days, you can potentially cut your accommodation budget by a quarter by sleeping while you travel.

Food and Drink Budget for Traveling

Food and drinks are some of your biggest travel costs. It’s difficult to estimate the cost of food and drinks. This is one thing that varies quite a bit from person to person. Everyone enjoys different types of foods. Some people prefer to eat in restaurants every day while on vacation. Others don’t mind cooking for themselves. Some people drink and others don’t. Some people are happy to eat local foods and street food. Others prefer eating more familiar foods. Of course, the cost of food and drinks also varies greatly by destination. In some countries, you can eat a meal in a restaurant for $10. In other countries, a meal costs $25. For this reason, food and drink is the hardest part of the budget to calculate.

To give you an idea of how much food might cost you, on average Americans spend $35 per day on food while taking an international vacation according to this guide . It’s easy to spend much more or much less than this depending on your eating habits. There are also a few ways you can cut your food budget.

When calculating your food budget, think about what you plan to eat, where you plan to eat, and how much you need to eat. You’ll have to budget more for food if you plan to eat in restaurants for every meal. Restaurants are expensive. If you’re a foodie who likes to sample different foods and eat in fine restaurants, you’ll need to budget plenty for food. If you’re staying in a hostel or Airbnb with a kitchen, you can buy groceries and cook some of your own meals. This is cheaper. Also, consider how much you like to eat. If you’re a big eater, you’ll spend more on food.

Also, think about what you like to eat. Some travelers happily eat local food while others are picky and prefer more familiar foods. It’s also important to r emember, you’ll probably need to eat more than you’re used to because you’ll be more active while traveling.  Travel is exhausting. You’ll burn lots of calories while sightseeing and moving around.

If you cook all of your own meals it’s possible to eat for just $5-$10 per day in much of the world. Eating all of your meals in restaurants costs around $30-$50 per day in most countries. If you enjoy a mix of restaurants, street food, and cooking for yourself, you can eat well for $15-$25 per day.

If you want to create a more accurate food budget, you can do some research on food costs in the region you plan to travel to. Look up some restaurant menus online. If you can, look at the cost of groceries. Create a rough daily food budget and multiply it by the number of days in your trip. This will give you a guide to try to stick to while you are traveling.

You don’t need to spend the same amount on food daily. You can average your food budget out across your trip. For example, maybe one day you splurge on a nice steak dinner and spend $50 on dinner. You can cook a cheap meal to balance your travel budget the next day.

Another important cost to consider is alcohol. If you are a drinker, you could spend more on alcohol than you spend on food. Consider how much you drink, how often you drink, and what you drink when calculating your alcohol budget.

Drink prices vary greatly around the world. For example, in some countries, you can buy a beer for $3. In other countries, a beer costs $15. If you prefer cocktails, you’ll spend more. It’s easy to spend $100 on alcohol on a night out.

To get an idea of how much you’ll spend drinking, look up some restaurant menus in your destination and check the price of drinks. Consider how many drinks you like to have with your meals and while going out. Also, think about how many times per week you plan to go out drinking. Most people tend to drink more while on vacation than while at home. You may spend more on drinks than you expect.

Drinking too much a lcohol is one of the easiest ways to go over budget. If you’re on a tight budget, you’ll need to be careful with drinking and partying while you travel. I have met travelers who had to cut their trip short because they partied too much.

There are a few ways to reduce your travel budget for food and drink s.

One of the best ways to save money on food is to cook for yourself. It’s far cheaper to buy food in a grocery store and cook it than it is to eat in restaurants . If you are on a very low travel budget, you can travel with your own cooking gear. A camp pot and stove are easy to pack and allow you to cook while traveling. Of course, you won’t want to cook all of your own meals. You’ll still want to go out once in a while to sample the local cuisine.

One of the easiest ways to reduce your travel budget is to drink less alcohol. Drinking is expensive. It’s easy to overspend and blow your budget when you go out to a bar or club. Reducing your drinking or giving up drinking altogether will greatly cut costs. When I was younger, around two-thirds of my food and drink budget went toward alcohol. These days, I like to pick and choose my going-out nights carefully rather than drinking every night. I spend far less on alcohol. Another option is to buy some drinks in a grocery store or liquor store and drink in your hotel room instead of going to an expensive bar.

Another great way to save is to book hotels and hostels that include breakfast. This saves you at least a few dollars per day because you won’t have to buy coffee or breakfast in the morning. It’s also one less meal to worry about. If there is a continental breakfast, you may even be able to sneak a bit extra out for later.

Another way to reduce your food budget is to maintain a vegetarian diet. If you’re willing to live on cheap foods such as rice, beans, eggs, and fresh vegetables, you can eat cheaply anywhere in the world.

Admission tickets, Tours, Entertainment, and Activities Budget for Traveling

Next, you need to budget for all of the activities you plan to do during your trip. This includes admission tickets, entrance fees, tours, permits, guides, tips, equipment rentals, entertainment costs, etc.

To calculate the cost of activities you must research the costs of all of the activities you plan to do and add them up. For example, if you plan to visit an amusement park, go to their website and check the cost of tickets. If you plan to go skydiving, visit the company’s website and check the prices. If you’re visiting Machu Picchu, check the price of tours.

When you book tours, calculating the cost of activities is pretty easy. You pay one price that includes a guide, entrance, and transportation. If you plan to piece things together and go independently, it can become a bit more complicated. You’ll have to consider the price of transport, parking, tickets, a guide, etc.

Doing your research and k nowing the rough price of everything that you want to do during your trip helps you avoid expensive surprises. Sometimes activities cost much more than you think. For example, I was surprised by the ridiculous entry fees to Serengeti National Park while going on a safari. I spend a couple of hundred dollars more than I expected to spend.

There are some additional major travel expenses that are easy to forget about. For example, if you’re driving your own vehicle, you may have to pay for parking. Parking in a crowded city could cost you $20-$50 a day. You’ll also have to consider the cost of tips for your guide. While you’re doing an activity or sightseeing, you might also be forced to eat in expensive touristy restaurants. Sometimes food options are limited.

There are a few ways to save money on activities while you travel.

In most cases, you can save some money by doing activities independently instead of booking a tour. Take public transportation to your destination, forgo a guide if you can, and pack your own food. I did this when I went on a safari in the Maasai mara in Kenya. The tour cost was $350 but I was able to organize the safari by myself for less than $200 .

Another way to save money on activities is to book locally instead of booking in advance. Waiting until you arrive allows you to shop around locally and negotiate directly with tour companies. You can often score some great last-minute deals if are willing to wait a few days. The only time this doesn’t work is if you are working with a tight schedule and you must do an activity on a particular day. In this case, it’s best to book in advance.

You can also save money by simply skipping some stuff. You don’t need to visit every attraction just to say you’ve been. If something doesn’t interest you, skip it. If you think a particular activity or attraction is too expensive or offers a poor value, skip it. Spend your day doing something you enjoy instead. It’s your vacation.

You can also save by taking advantage of discounts and free days. Some museums offer free entry once per week. If you are a student, many tourist sites offer student discounts. Sites will be more crowded on free days but if you are willing to put up with more people, you’ll save money.

There are also plenty of free things you can do. You don’t have to spend money every day. Check out my guide, 30 free things to do while traveling for some ideas.

Additional Expenses to Consider While Making Your Travel Budget

There are a number of additional expenses you’ll incur including travel insurance, visas, and vaccinations. These additional expenses can add up.

Travel Insurance

Travel insurance will be one of your major travel expenses if you’re traveling long-term. The cost of travel insurance depends on the kind of coverage you buy, the amount of coverage you buy, the amount of the deductible, where you’re traveling, and your age.

Travel insurance can cost anywhere from $20-$150+ per month depending on the coverage. The more coverage you get, the more the policy will cost. Most travelers should have a minimum of $100,000 in coverage. If you’re traveling to the U.S., you should have at least $250,000 in coverage.

Older travelers pay more for travel insurance than younger travelers. Those traveling to dangerous regions also pay more. Policies with a lower deductable or no deductable have a higher premium.

If you’re on a budget, you can opt for medical-only travel insurance. Travel insurance that covers your luggage and trip interruptions is significantly more expensive. If you carry expensive equipment with you, like cameras and computers, you may need to buy separate insurance if you want everything covered.

In most countries, travel insurance is optional but highly recommended. I use SafetyWing Nomad Insurance. They offer affordable insurance for long-term travel.

Many budget travelers consider travel insurance to be unnecessary and a waste of money. Personally, I disagree. I consider travel insurance to be essential. Particularly for travelers who participate in extreme sports or visit destinations that could be considered dangerous. A good travel insurance policy can cover you in the event of an injury or unexpected illness. Some policies can cover theft, damage, or loss of your belongings and trip interruptions. It’s worth it for the peace of mind.

Vaccinations, Medications, and Other Health-Related Costs

Travel insurance doesn’t cover everything. You might have other health-related costs that you have to budget for.

Depending on your destination, you may need some travel vaccinations. For example, a few countries require you to have a Yellow Fever vaccine. This is a common entry requirement in many countries in Africa and some South America. You need proof of vaccination to enter. Some vaccinations are highly recommended but not required. For example, before you travel, you may want to get typhoid, hepatitis A and B, and rabies vaccines.

Travel vaccines can be expensive. You may spend several hundred dollars on a medical consultation and vaccines. In the U.S, a Yellow Fever vaccine can cost $200 alone. If you’ve never had any travel vaccinations before, you could easily spend $500 on vaccines before your trip.

In addition, you may also need to buy malaria pills if you’re traveling to a region with malaria. Before your trip, you’ll need a malaria consultation and a prescription for malaria prophylaxis. One of the most popular types of malaria prophylaxis, Malaraon, can cost $200 per month. Cheaper options are available.

If need to take any medications, you may need to buy a supply for your trip. If you run out, you may need to buy some while you’re abroad. Maybe you want to go to the gym while you travel. You’ll have to budget for gym entry fees.

Before your trip, you should check whether or not you need a visa to visit your destination. Whether or not you need a visa depends on the passport you’re traveling with, which countries you’re visiting, how long you plan to stay, and the purpose of your trip.

For most international trips, visas are a minor expense. Most tourist visas cost $20-$50. Many visas are free. There are a few expensive ones that cost $100-$300 dollars.

Sometimes there are additional costs involved in obtaining vias. For example, if you have to apply for a visa in advance, you may have to pay to ship your passport to and from the embassy. For complicated visas, you may have to hire a visa agency.

If you’re taking a round-the-world trip, visas may be a major expense. For example, when I traveled through Africa, I spent about $600 on visas in 5 months of travel. Most countries in the region charge $50-$100 for a tourist visa.

Some visas are more expensive than others. For example, residence visas, digital nomad visas, working holiday visas, student visas, etc. are often more expensive than standard tourist visas.

Your passport can also determine the visa cost. For example, when I traveled to Tanzania, I paid $100 for a visa with my U.S. passport. My friend paid $50. We both received the same visa. Mine cost more because of my nationality. Some countries charge reciprocal visa fees. This means they charge foreign visitors the same price that their citizens pay for a visa to your country.

Travel Gear: Equipment, Clothing, and Electronics

Another major cost that many people don’t take into consideration is travel gear. Before your trip, you may need to buy luggage. A good backpack or suitcase can cost $100-$200. You might also need to buy a daypack, luggage locks, packing cubes, a toiletries bag, a money belt, and other accessories. In addition, you’ll have to buy travel-sized toiletries including soap, shampoo, sunblock, bug spray, etc.

If you travel regularly, you might have all of the gear you need. If you’re taking your first big trip, you might need to budget $200-$300 for travel gear.

You may also want to buy some new clothing before your trip. One of the most important pieces of gravel gear is a comfortable pair of shoes. Chances are you’ll be on your feet a lot while out sightseeing. You might also want to buy some travel clothing. Travel clothing is lightweight, durable, wrinkle-resistant, and quick-drying. You might also want to buy some new clothes for going out.

You’ll probably want to budget at least $100-$200 for some new clothes. Of course, if you’re on a tight travel budget, you can always wear whatever is in your closet.

Clothing and Gear Replacement

Stuff tends to wear out quicker when you’re traveling. Your electronics will be exposed to vibration, humidity, and dust. Your clothes will wear out faster because you’ll wear each item more often and for longer periods. Travel is not good for the longevity of your possessions. It causes lots of wear and tear. It’s also easy to break or lose items while you travel. Particularly if you’re moving around often. Theft is also an issue.

If you are traveling long-term, you should add $50-$100 per month to your travel budget. You can use these travel funds to replace clothing and travel gear as it wears out, breaks, gets lost, or gets stolen.

For example, maybe your phone gets pickpocketed and you need to purchase a new one. If you accounted for gear replacement in your budget this unexpected expense is already accounted for in your travel budget. Maybe your shoes wear out. If you left room in your travel budget, buying a new pair of shoes isn’t an issue.

Expenses You Have Back Home

It’s also important to consider any recurring expenses you have back home. For example, you might have to make rent or mortgage payments. You may have to continue paying your utility bills and cell phone bill while you’re away. If you have credit card bills or car payments, you’ll have to keep paying while you’re traveling. You might have to pay for health insurance, auto insurance, and home insurance. These expenses can add up.

To reduce your traveling costs, try to eliminate as many bills as possible before your trip. You can cancel or pause your streaming services or phone service. You may be able to suspend or reduce your insurance if you’re traveling abroad. If you’re traveling long-term, it might make sense to sell your home and car to further reduce your expenses. It doesn’t make sense to pay for something you’re not going to use.

Other Small Expenses

There are a number of other minor expenses you may encounter. You may need to pay for phone service. In most countries, you can buy a sim card with calling and text and some data for $10-$20 per month. Alternatively, you could use your phone plan from back home if it works internationally. If you’re on a tight travel budget, you could rely on free WiFi for communication.

You may also have to pay for laundry. A small load of laundry might cost $4-6 at a laundromat. You can also pay for laundry service for $10-$20 per load. If you’re on a budget, you can buy laundry detergent and wash your own clothes in your hotel room sink or in a bucket.

If you’re traveling for a month or more, you might also have to get your hair cut. A haircut could cost anywhere from $5-$100 depending on the type of haircut and where you’re traveling. To save some money, you can also cut your own hair . I always pack a pair of clippers when I travel.

Emergency Money

It’s a good idea to stash away some emergency money in case your credit or debit card is lost or stolen. I usually bring $300-$1000 depending on where I am traveling. I try to bring enough money to sustain myself for at least a week.

When you’re traveling long-term, it’s also important to have an emergency fund in case you have to return home unexpectedly. You should always have enough money to buy yourself a ticket home.

After You Have Found All of Your Travel Expenses

After you have found the costs of transportation, accommodation, food, activities, and everything else, add everything up to see how much your desired itinerary costs. This will give you a pretty accurate cost for your trip. You can divide the total by the length of your trip to calculate your average travel costs. You can calculate a monthly, weekly, or daily cost for your trip. This can be helpful while budgeting.

Chances are, your desired trip costs more than you want to spend. At this point, you can make adjustments to your trip budget to make it more affordable.

How to Stay on Budget While Traveling

During your trip, you should track your spending. This will help you stick to your budget. If you overspend one day, you can reduce your spending to get back on track.

Tracking your travel expenses can be difficult, but using a spreadsheet will make it easier. With a s imple spreadsheet, you can record every purchase. Your spreadsheet can be as detailed or as simple as you like.

Start by creating columns for categories of expenditure such as accommodation, food, transportation, tours, and entertainment costs. Within these categories, add rows for each expense and note the date and cost. You can also add a column to note if the expense is one-time or recurring. Every time you spend money, add it to your spreadsheet.

This helps you get an overview of your spending and make sure you stay within your travel budget. Once you’ve input all the data into your spreadsheet, use the formulas provided to quickly calculate your total expenditures for each category and sum up the totals for all categories. This will give you an at-a-glance view of how much money you’re spending on each item. If you find that you’re going over budget, you’ll be able to quickly tell where you’re overspending.

If that requires too much effort, you can simply track your spending on your phone’s notepad app . A paper notepad also works. After you buy something, write it down .

Generally, I just take note when I withdraw money from the ATM. I also go over my credit card bill and transfer the purchases into my spreadsheet. I don’t really care about the specifics of each purchase every day. For me, it’s not worth the effort to write down every time I buy a soda. I just track total expenditure.

You should use your spending spreadsheet to periodically check whether or not you are sticking to your travel budget. When you first start traveling, you might have to check weekly. If you’re traveling long-term, you can check your spending monthly. If you’re considering a major purchase like an expensive tour or airplane ticket, check your budget before hitting the buy button to check whether or not you can afford it.

Compare the amount that you spent with the amount that you budgeted. If you find that you are over budget, you can make adjustments as you continue your trip. If you overspend a bit one week, try to be more careful with your spending the next. Some weeks, you will have an unexpected expense; some weeks, you may come under budget. It’s all about the average.

Lately, I’ve been living as a digital nomad. I usually check my spending monthly. If I overspent, I’ll try to be more frugal the next month. If I’m under budget, I simply save the extra money.

Another Way to Budget for Traveling

If you’re planning a long trip, it can be easier to make a daily or monthly budget to stick to. It would be too difficult to add up all of your expenses. When you travel long term, you may not know how long you’re going to spend in each destination or what you’re going to do. You may not even know where you’re going. Your budget probably wouldn’t be very accurate.

The easiest way to create a travel budget for long international trips is to start with the total amount of money you have saved for your trip. From there, subtract all major expenses that you can think of. You may include airfare, travel insurance, expensive tours and activities, bills you have back home, etc. For shorter domestic trips, you might include accommodation and known transportation expenses. Move this money from your checking account to your savings account. When the money is out of your checking account, you’re less likely to spend it.

Divide whatever’s left over by the number of days you plan to travel. This gives you a rough daily budget that you can try to stick to. If you want a monthly budget, you can multiply the daily budget by 30. You could also create a weekly budget if you prefer.

Having a rough daily budget can make it easier to stay on budget. If your budget is $100 and you spend $10 on museum tickets, $20 for lunch, and $30 for a bed in a hostel, you know you have $40 left for the day. If you go over one day, you can try to spend less the next day to average it out.

Removing major expenses makes it easier to calculate a realistic daily budget and stick to it. The money that you set aside for major expenses is basically already spent. If you remove it from your budget, you won’t feel like you have more money than you do. You also won’t have to worry about large upcoming expenses, such as an international airline ticket. It’s difficult to budget if one day you have to spend $1200 on an airplane ticket. This blows your daily budget. With this method, the money is already set aside prior to determining how much you have left to spend daily. All you have to worry about is daily costs such as food and accommodation. You won’t skip things as often because you are stressed about your finances. You know that you have already budgeted for major expenses.

An Example of a Travel Budget

Imagine you’re traveling to Kenya for two weeks for a vacation from the U.S. and you want to create a travel budget. Let’s say you have a $5000 budget for the whole trip.

First, add up all of your major expenses. Maybe you spend $2000 on airfare, $500 on a safari in the Maasai Mara, and $1500 on hotel rooms. This means your major expenses cost $4000. This leaves you with $1000 for daily expenses. $1000/14 days = $71.42 per day in spending money.

This $71 would need to cover your food and drinks, souvenirs, local transportation, and any other activities or tours you plan to do while visiting Kenya. That is a manageable budget. You’ll still have to watch your spending but at least your airfare home and accommodation will be covered. You’ll have plenty of spending money for food and entertainment costs. This simple formula will work for any trip.

Tips for Reducing Your Travel Budget

• Skip some cities- Visiting fewer destinations cuts your transportation costs and activity costs. It’s nice to spend more time in one city rather than moving around every other day.
• Visit cheaper countries-  Traveling in expensive developed countries like Norway or Japan can cost well over $100 per day. In many developing countries, you can get by on less than $40 per day.
• Travel slowly- Rather than flying from one city to another, take a bus or train. To save even more, you can walk or bicycle tour.  Also, stay in each city longer. You’ll spend less on accommodation.
• Prioritize your expenses- Maybe want to go on a hot air balloon ride and eat at a Michelin-star restaurant but you can’t afford both. Pick one and skip the other.
• Travel domestically- Domestic trips are generally cheaper than international trips. You’ll save big on airfare when you stay closer to home.
• Stay in cheaper accommodation- Rather than hotels, consider staying in hostels. Camping is also great for saving money.
• Spend more time in each city- If you spend a week or a month in each city, you can often find discounts on accommodation. I recommend checking Airbnb if you decide to do this. Many hosts offer weekly and monthly discounts.
• Cook your own food- Rather than eating out, cook for yourself. It’s cheap and easy to make basic meals like sandwiches, salads, or pasta. It’s pretty easy to cook yourself a meal for $5. A meal in a restaurant might cost $15-$25.
• Take advantage of credit card points- Credit card companies offer generous introductory offers when you sign up. You can also earn points for all of your travel expenses. You could save a few hundred dollars or earn a free flight if you pick the right card. You can save money by signing up for a travel credit card.
• Find ways to reduce fees- Use a credit card without foreign transaction fees or ATM fees. I use the Schwab bank debit card.
• Take advantage of free attractions- You can often visit museums, parks, and beaches for free. For more ideas, check out my guide: 30 free things to do while traveling .
• Shorten your trip- If you aren’t willing to make any sacrifices in terms of comfort, you can always simply travel for a shorter period of time.
• Wait and save more money- Maybe your desired trip costs $10,000 but you only have $8,000 saved for your trip. Consider postponing your trip for a few months to save more money.

My Travel Budget Philosophy

While planning my first trip abroad, I had no idea how much money I would spend. I bought a round-trip plane ticket and a Eurail pass and set off without making a budget. During my trip, I didn’t really overspend but I was constantly worried about running out of money. Over the next 10 years of travel, I learned how to budget.

I’m naturally a pretty frugal traveler. I take my personal finance seriously. I walk to save on transportation . S ometimes, I travel by night to save on accommodation. I cook my own meals instead of going to a restaurant. The less I spend, the longer and further I am able to travel. One area I splurge is accommodation. I prefer to stay in a private hotel or Airbnb rather than hostels.

While making a travel budget for international trips, I try to be very conservative. I overestimate every expense by 20% or so. This gives me a bit of cushioning if things are more expensive than I expect. I prefer to spend less rather than underestimate my cost and overspend or run out of money.

With that being said, I don’t like to miss out on anything. There is no point in going somewhere if you’re just going to sit around the hotel all day trying not to spend any money. There is a difference between cutting back on luxury and cutting back on experiences. I much prefer to spend money visiting a national park, museum, or concert than staying in a fancy hotel or eating a nice meal. 

To Wrap it Up

Unless money is no object, it is a good idea to make a travel budget before setting off on a trip. If you have a travel budget, your trip will go smoother and you’ll end up saving money.

The first time you make a travel budget, it may take you a couple of hours. You’ll spend the majority of your time researching the costs of flights, hotels, and activities. After you get the hang of it, you could make a rough trip budget in 20 minutes. You can also save time by creating a budget while you plan your trip. Simply take note of costs as you research.

The level of detail that you need to go into with your budget depends on how good you are with money. If you’re good at personal finance, you can just keep a simple budget. If you’re a spender, you’ll have to track your expenses more closely to make sure you don’t overspend.

Just having a budget isn’t very helpful. You have to stick to it. During your trip, d on’t forget to track your budget periodically as you go. Make spending adjustments as necessary . Wherever you’re traveling, I hope this guide helps you stay on budget and save some money.

Do you make a budget for traveling? Share your tips in the comments below!

For more help budgeting, check out my Guide to Ultra Low Budget Travel on $10 Per Day .

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Zachary Friedman is an accomplished travel writer and professional blogger. Since 2011, he has traveled to 66 countries and 6 continents. He founded ‘Where The Road Forks’ in 2017 to provide readers with information and insights based on his travel and outdoor recreation experience and expertise. Zachary is also an avid cyclist and hiker. Living as a digital nomad, Zachary balances his professional life with his passions for hiking, camping, cycling, and worldwide exploration. For a deeper dive into his journey and background, visit the About page. For inquiries and collaborations, please reach out through the Contact page. You can also follow him on Facebook.

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Ten Best Travel Budget Template Excel Free Spreadsheet

A travel budget template excel sheet is a great way to keep track of your travel expenses. It helps you to know how much you have left in your budget and what you can do with that money. You can use this travel budget template excel spreadsheet to keep track of your travel expenses by adding each item and then totaling the amount at the bottom. It is also helpful to keep track of the different types of expenses you have so that you can figure out where your money is going.

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To make travel plans easier, it is best to have a budget that you can stick to. This can be done by using a travel budget template excel spreadsheet. This will allow you to track your expenses and plan your trips accordingly. You can choose what type of activities you want to do, the amount of days you want to spend on each activity, and the total cost of each trip. This will allow you to plan out your trips and know exactly how much money you need for each trip. Budget template sheets are freely available in the WPS office. WPS office is a free office suite that is available for download from its website and the Google Play Store. The suite consists of word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, and graphics software for both Windows and Mac computers. You can download the whole software from their official website for free. WPS office is easy to install and comes with a variety of options that are perfect for any office or home use.

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