How to Calculate Road Trip Cost: 2026 Formula, Steps & Examples
How to Calculate Road Trip Cost: 2026 Formula, Steps & Examples To calculate road trip cost, use this formula: fuel cost = (total miles ÷ MPG) × gas price per gallon, then add lodging, food, tolls, and activities. A 1,000-mile round trip in a 28-MPG car at $3.40 a gallon costs 1,000 ÷ 28 × $3.40 = $121 in fuel; add one hotel night and two days of meals for two people and the all-in total reaches about $500. Run your own numbers in our free Road Trip Cost Calculator(/travel/road-trip-planner-calculator). Two summers ago I mapped a 1,400-mile round trip from Denver to the Black Hills and back. I budgeted $170 for gas — 50 gallons at $3.40 — and felt set. I forgot that two hotel nights ($300), food for two ($300), and park fees plus tolls ($185) would more than quadruple the bill to $955. The fuel I obsessed...
How to Estimate Costs for a Road Trip: 2026 Data & Averages
How to Estimate Costs for a Road Trip: 2026 Data & Averages To estimate costs for a road trip in 2026, budget about $0.16 per mile for gas (27 MPG at the AAA national average of $4.32/gallon), plus $162 per night for hotels and $50 per person per day for food. A 1,200-mile round trip for two people, with two hotel nights, runs about $856 all-in, or $428 each. Use our free Road Trip Cost Calculator(/travel/road-trip-planner-calculator) to estimate yours by distance, MPG, and number of travelers. The single most common estimating mistake is to price the gas and forget that lodging and meals usually cost more than the fuel. Take a 1,940-mile round trip in a 27-MPG crossover at $4.32/gallon: gas comes to about $310, which feels like the big line item. But three motel nights at $158, $149, and $171 add $478, and food for two over four days...