How much to budget for a road trip

Budgeting for a road trip might seem like trying to herd cats. How can you predict the cost of going somewhere you might well never have been to before? But don't despair. With some basic planning, it's possible to come up with an itinerary that not only packs in treasured memories but lines up with how much you want to spend. Here's how to do it.

The first question – how far to your destination and back? Google can give you a number and you'll want to consider upping it to account for day trips or general commuting. While you're online, find your car's official fuel-economy figure and a representative per-litre fuel cost. Next, how long will you be away? Take that number and drop it by one for the nights' accommodation you'll need to book.

Now think of the activities you hope to fill your days with. There's no point aiming for mediocrity, so start with the ideal itinerary you can fit into your allotted time. List each activity and use the internet to determine their rough cost, then separate into 'must-do' and 'could-live-without' columns.

Things like food and accommodation are not fixed costs and can be the jigsaw pieces that keep a trip within budget. A quick browse online will give you an approximate per-night cost for your desired style of accommodation. But also jot down numbers for acceptable cheaper alternatives for later reference. You should also find enough information online to make an educated guess on a per-day, per-person cost for budget, mid-range and fine-dining eating. If appropriate, calculate a rough per-day number for preparing some or all meals yourself.

Now it's time to see how your budget aligns with your desired itinerary. First, subtract fixed outgoings such as petrol and must-do activities, plus an appropriate amount to be put aside for miscellaneous and/or emergency costs. To determine fuel costs, take your total driving distance, divide it by 100, then multiply that by your car's official fuel-economy rating.

After subtracting fixed costs, you'll have a 'sub-budget' that essentially tells you how much left you have to spend on food, accommodation and other stuff. The next step is taking the total cost of your preferred accommodation and the total cost of your preferred eating style and adding them together. If you're lucky, the number you come up with will be smaller than your 'sub-budget' number. You can now either rest assured knowing your road trip should be on budget or add some of those 'could-live-without' activities to the roster, making a good trip better.

The goal of a travel budget isn't spending exactly that amount when you're away. The real-world cost will almost certainly be different. But if you've done your homework, it won't be that far off. And the process will allow you to make more informed spending decisions.

Some public EV charging stations offer free or partially free charging. You'll also probably charge your car at home before you leave, perhaps using free solar power. For all of these reasons, predicting the potential cost of charging your EV on a road trip will be difficult. But, reflecting their kilometre-per-dollar advantage over petrol vehicles, you'll likely still pay less than if you did it in a traditional car.

Disclaimer

Viva Energy Australia Pty Ltd (“Viva Energy”) has compiled the above article for your general information and to use as a general reference. Whilst all reasonable care has been taken by Viva Energy in compiling this article, Viva Energy does not warrant or represent that the information in the article is free from errors or omissions or is suitable for your intended use.