Budget the trip
Family Trip Budget Calculator
Enter who is travelling, how many nights you are away and what you expect to pay for flights and rooms. The calculator adds food, applies the child and infant fare percentages you set, and gives a total you can print or copy. Prices are in US dollars, and the starting room and food figures are US examples to replace with your own destination's prices. No email, no account, and nothing leaves your browser.
Estimated total$4,860
$1,215 per person for 4 travelers, $607 per day over 8 days.
| Category | Amount | How |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | $0 | Enter a round-trip fare for one adult to include flights. |
| Lodging | $1,218 | 1 room at $174 for 7 nights. |
| Food | $3,200 | $100 per person per day for 4 people over 8 days. |
| Activities | $0 | $0 a day for 8 days. |
| Bags, transfers and extras | $0 | The amount you entered for the whole trip. |
| Buffer | $442 | 10% on top of everything above. You choose this number. |
An estimate, not a quote. Check real prices before you book.
Want a plan that fits this number? Hey Ula is in early access.
How the estimate works
The calculator separates what is sourced from what only you know. The two starting figures, a room rate and a daily food cost, are US examples from the sources listed below. They are estimates, so replace them with prices for your own destination. Flights, activities and extras are fields you fill in, because we do not have a sourced average for them and we will not invent one. Leave a field at zero and that line stays out of the total.
Flights: each adult pays the fare you enter. A baby under two without a seat adds nothing on domestic trips. This is our default, so check your airline. On international trips, that baby adds the percentage you set. That box starts at 0 because the figure depends on the airline. Children aged 2 to 11 pay the child percentage you set, which starts at 100% because many fares give no child discount. Anyone aged 12 or over pays the adult fare. The age 12 cut-off is our modelling choice, so check the airline.
Food: the food amount per person per day, times everyone travelling, times nights plus one days. It starts at $100, a US example we derived from Numbeo restaurant prices for the USA. It is an estimate, and food costs differ a lot between countries.
Lodging: rooms times nightly rate times nights. The starting rate is $174, the US average room rate from the Hotels.com 2025 Hotel Price Index. It is for a single room, so a family room or a second room costs more. Replace it with the price you are actually quoted.
Buffer: a percentage you choose, added on top. It starts at 10% as a prompt to leave room for surprises. It is a planning habit, not a statistic.
What counts as a family cost
The line items that change when kids come along are fares, rooms and food. Whether a lap infant pays a fare depends on the airline and the route, while a child with a seat pays a fare. Room needs change too, so the rooms field is yours to set. The calculator takes every child's age rather than a headcount so it can apply the right fare to each one.
Costs the calculator leaves to the extras field: checked bags, car seat hire, airport transfers, travel insurance, resort fees and a kitchen deposit. Add them once you know them.
Assumptions and sources
The two US example figures the calculator starts with, and where they come from. Read on 20 October 2026.
- Numbeo, cost of living in the USA. Restaurant prices of $20 for an inexpensive meal and $80 for a mid-range meal for two. The US example of $100 per person per day is our derivation from them, not a published daily food cost. Numbeo is crowd-sourced. Updated 20 October 2026.
- Hotels.com 2025 Hotel Price Index. The US average room rate of $174 a night (4-star: $226), from the June 2025 release. It is a single-room rate, so a family room or two rooms would cost more. June 2025 release, read 20 October 2026.
Both starting figures are US examples for a global audience, and both are estimates. Replace them with prices for your own destination. Our modelling choices, which are not sourced figures: days counted as nights plus one, a 12 year cut-off between child and adult fares, and the 10% starting buffer.
Example budgets
Flights, activities and extras are left at zero in these examples because they depend on your route and plans. Lodging uses the $174 US example rate and food uses the $100 US example. Each total is calculated by the same code as the tool above.
| Family | Lodging | Food (US example) | Total with 10% buffer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 adults, children 4 and 8, 7 nights | $1,218 | $3,200 | $4,860 |
| 2 adults, children 1 and 3, 4 nights | $696 | $2,000 | $2,966 |
| 2 adults, children 9, 12 and 15, 10 nights | $1,740 | $5,500 | $7,964 |
Ways to lower the total
- Look at lodging with a kitchen. Cooking some meals lets you lower the food amount per person per day.
- Compare the total with one room against two rooms before you book. Rooms are usually the biggest line for a family.
- Check whether your youngest child can fly as a lap infant. Airlines treat children under two differently, and the calculator shows what a lap infant saves on the flights line.
- Move the dates. Change nights by one or two and see how the total moves, since the lodging and food lines both scale with nights.
- Lower the food amount per person per day and compare the totals.
Questions
How does the family trip budget calculator work?
You enter the number of adults, each child's age, the nights, your flight fare and your nightly room rate. The calculator adds food, applies the child and infant fare percentages you set, adds your activities and extras, and gives a total with a per-person and per-day figure.
Where do the numbers come from?
The starting room rate is $174, the US average from the Hotels.com 2025 Hotel Price Index. The starting food figure is $100 per person per day, a US example we derived from Numbeo restaurant prices. Both are estimates for a US trip, so replace them with prices for your destination. Each source is linked on this page. Flights, activities and extras are yours to enter.
Is the result a quote?
No. It is an estimate built from the numbers you give it plus two US example starting figures. Prices change. Use the result to compare plans and set a number, then check real prices before you book.
Do babies pay for a flight?
It depends on the route and the airline. Some airlines charge a percentage of the adult fare for an infant without a seat on international flights, and others charge nothing. Check your airline before you book, then enter the percentage in the calculator.
Why is the flight line zero when I first open the tool?
Because we do not know your route and will not guess a fare. Enter the round-trip fare for one adult from a search you have run, and the calculator works out the rest of the family from it.
Do you store or collect my numbers?
No. The calculator runs in your browser. Your choices are written into the page link so you can bookmark or share it. There is no email gate and no account.
Can Ula build this plan for me?
Hey Ula is your AI travel companion that plans and books trips with your OK. It is in early access, and you can join the waitlist. The calculator works without it.
How to use this budget calculator
- Add who is travelling. Enter the number of adults and each child's age. Babies under two are treated as lap infants.
- Set the nights and flights. Choose the number of nights, pick domestic, international or no flights, and enter a round-trip fare for one adult.
- Set lodging and food. Enter rooms and the nightly rate, then enter the food spend per person per day.
- Add activities, extras and a buffer. Enter what you expect to spend a day on activities, any bags or transfers, and a buffer percentage.
- Print, copy or share. Print the plan, copy it as text, or bookmark the link, which stores your choices.