Travel Budget Calculator: how much should you budget for a trip?
You find a £70 return flight, assume you've found a cheap weekend away, then add baggage, airport transfers, accommodation, food and activities. Suddenly the trip costs £480. Use this trip cost calculator to price the whole trip — not just the flight — before you book.
Work out your trip budget
Enter your total budget, number of travellers, trip length, destination cost level and travel style. The calculator splits your budget across accommodation, food, local transport, activities, entry fees and insurance, baggage extras and a 5% buffer — then shows what is left for flights per person.
How much does a trip cost? What a travel budget should include
How much to budget for a trip depends on seven categories — and the fee layer sitting on top of the sticker price is bigger than it used to be. Baggage charges, entry authorisations and tourist taxes have all risen recently. A good travel cost calculator accounts for all of them.
1. Flights and getting there
The headline fare is rarely the real number. A checked bag typically costs £20–£60 each way on Ryanair and roughly £9.50–£50 on easyJet, more if you add it at the airport. A £35 "low-cost" flight often lands at £80–£100 once bags are added.
2. Accommodation
Price the whole stay including taxes — many European cities charge a nightly tourist tax on top of the room rate. Travelling solo means you carry the full room cost yourself.
3. Food
Roughly £15–£35 a day for supermarkets and street food, £30–£50 for cafés plus a restaurant meal, and £60 and up if you eat out most evenings.
4. Local transport
Airport transfers, metro and bus fares, ride-hailing, intercity trains, car hire and fuel — the category people underestimate most.
5. Activities
Museums, excursions, boat trips, ski passes and organised tours can quietly become a third of the trip.
6. Visas and travel documents
| Document | Fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| UK ETA | £20 | Per person, valid 2 years. Rose from £16 in April 2026. |
| US ESTA | $40.27 | Per person, valid 2 years. Nearly doubled after the September 2025 increase. |
| EU ETIAS | €20 | Per person, valid 3 years. Delayed to 2027 — not required yet. |
| Schengen short-stay visa | €90 | Where a full visa is required rather than ETIAS. |
| UK standard visitor visa | £135 | Six-month visit visa, where required. |
7. Emergency buffer
Don't plan a £1,000 trip that costs exactly £1,000. Keep 5–10% aside for unexpected transport, exchange-rate movement and baggage charges.
Worked example: a £750 trip
Travelling alone, five nights, mid-cost European city, comfortable style: flight incl. checked bag £110, accommodation £325, food £150, local transport £40, activities £75, authorisation and insurance £25, buffer £25 — total £750.
How to make your travel budget go further
Be flexible with the destination, be flexible with dates, and compare total trip cost rather than flight cost alone — a pricier flight to a cheaper destination often wins.